Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 02 October 2019
02 Oct 2019 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Nursery Funding (Deferred Entry to Primary School)
I am glad to have a further opportunity to discuss school deferral, following my recent appearance at the Education and Skills Committee where I made it clear that I am open to considering options in partnership with local government, parents and practitioners. I take this opportunity to put on record my thanks to the Give Them Time campaign for its tireless work to highlight the issue. I recognise the campaign’s efforts to support parents at what I know can be a challenging time. I met members of the campaign again on Friday, and they updated me on their work, the progress that they have seen in the past year and what they think still needs to be done.
Currently, all children who are still four at the start of the school year can defer and start primary 1 the following year. That flexibility allows parents to assess whether their child is ready for school and make the right choice for their child; it is a strength of the Scottish education system.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Christine Grahame)
SNP
The next item of business is a debate on motion S5M-19193, in the name of Iain Gray, on the Give Them Time campaign. I will let members take their seats as e...
Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
I am very pleased to move the motion in order to correct a legal anomaly that creates real problems for families across Scotland. I begin by paying tribute ...
The Minister for Children and Young People (Maree Todd)
SNP
I am glad to have a further opportunity to discuss school deferral, following my recent appearance at the Education and Skills Committee where I made it clea...
Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Lab
I am grateful to the minister for giving way. Does she accept that, as things stand, the flexibility that she mentions is flexible only for those parents who...
Maree Todd
SNP
I would not agree with that. Interruption. I will continue, if the member will allow me to do so. As members know, when parents choose to defer the start of ...
Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
Will the minister do Daniel Johnson the courtesy of answering his question?
Maree Todd
SNP
I just answered it. I will answer it more fully if I am allowed to progress. It is a real strength of our system that Scotland has a fully integrated three ...
Iain Gray
Lab
Will Maree Todd take an intervention?
Maree Todd
SNP
I am in my final minute.
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Time has been built in for interventions, but it is for members to decide whether to take them.
Maree Todd
SNP
I will finish. We will continue to work with parents, practitioners and their representatives to support parents and carers to make an informed decision for...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con)
Con
I am pleased to open the debate on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives and confirm our support for the Labour motion. I thank lain Gray for providing the P...
Ross Greer (West Scotland) (Green)
Green
I thank lain Gray for bringing this issue to Parliament today. The age at which children in Scotland start school directly impacts on how ready they are to ...
Beatrice Wishart (Shetland Islands) (LD)
LD
I thank Labour for the debate and pay tribute to the impressive campaign run by Give Them Time, which has already made a real difference for many of our cons...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Linda Fabiani)
SNP
We move to the open debate and speeches of four minutes. Some members have not pressed their request-to-speak buttons yet, although I suspect that they are r...
Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Lab
I am pleased to speak in the debate in support of the Give Them Time campaign, because the simple reality is this: the moment when they send their five-year-...
Maree Todd
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
The member is just closing.
Daniel Johnson
Lab
Parents should be afforded such decisions now—not once the Government has had further discussions. 15:08
Fulton MacGregor (Coatbridge and Chryston) (SNP)
SNP
I, too, thank Iain Gray for using his time to discuss the issue, which I have taken up over the past eight to 10 months. However, as other members have said,...
Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
I thank Iain Gray for bringing this debate to the chamber in Labour Party time. I also pay tribute to Fulton MacGregor, not just for his remarks in the debat...
Jenny Gilruth (Mid Fife and Glenrothes) (SNP)
SNP
I pay tribute to my friend and colleague Fulton MacGregor, who first brought the matter of the Give Them Time campaign to the chamber in May this year in a m...
Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Lab
This is not the first time that the Parliament has debated the aims of the Give Them Time campaign, but it is the first time that we will have a vote on the ...
Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
I, too, thank Iain Gray for giving us the opportunity to debate this crucial issue in the chamber once again. Under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, as we ...
Clare Adamson (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)
SNP
I, too, commend my colleague Fulton McGregor. I attended but did not speak in the debate in May. That was when I first really understood the scope and scale ...
Alison Harris (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
I thank Iain Gray for bringing the debate to the chamber, and I pay tribute to Fulton MacGregor. I also want to commend speeches by members from across the c...
Maree Todd
SNP
I thank everyone who has spoken in this debate. I know that many members will be familiar with issues relating to the policy that we are discussing, and migh...
Iain Gray
Lab
The motion is explicit that the legislation should change in this parliamentary session. Will the minister give that commitment?
Maree Todd
SNP
As I have said, I will talk to local government partners and will update Parliament on that in due course. We all agree that parents and carers should be su...
Oliver Mundell
Con
If the minister is not able to commit to legislation in this parliamentary session, will she commit today to putting interim arrangements in place to make su...