Hansard

I welcome the Scottish Government’s action plan. We judge a society by how it looks after its children. As many members have mentioned, we have a lot to learn from the time when we grew up—a time when, as children, we had more space and time to play.

There is little time in modern life in which to consider our children’s wellbeing. I am proud to hear that there is consensus in the chamber about the importance of developing a play strategy. I was delighted that the minister reminded us what investing in the early years repays in economic terms. Let me repeat that point: every £1 invested in early intervention will generate an eventual saving of up to £9 for the Scottish taxpayer.

As James Dornan did, I had a fantastic childhood. As members know, I was not born in this country but in a small farming village in France. I was close to nature and I had great support from my family and the community. If one wants a picture of how best to go about that they should purchase the last Asterix comic—it happens to take place in Scotland—“Asterix and the Picts”. The final frame of every book always shows the reader what happens when Asterix and Obelix return from their adventure. There is a great celebration with a lot of drinking and eating but, in the foreground, there are children playing. That is very important, because play is how we define our society and we should ensure that children are always able to play.

I chose Scotland not only as the place to work and live in, but as the place where my children should grow up. There is the same type of community, but it is a different and busy life living on the outskirts of Aberdeen.

We are pleased to welcome SensationALL, the charity that Mark McDonald mentioned. What do I remember about my children growing up? Perhaps I should defer to what a member who spoke before me said: we should not leave children to play on their own. I am not saying that they should be supervised; rather, that we should interact with children. Children should not only have space to play, but have space that we share. I remember my seven and eight-year-old neighbours knocking at the door and asking me to go out and play. To the surprise of my children, they wanted me to go out and kick a ball with them. We need to understand that play is great, but children should not only play on their own, but interact with adults. As George Adam said, adults can play, too.

I particularly like the Scottish Government’s attitude and its progressive approach to legislation. Similar to the curriculum for excellence, which has come into our communities and schools, the strategy is based around engagement. I particularly like the idea of the three phases. Phase 1 is engagement to help to inform the development of a national overarching strategy and to seek—this is important—the views of children and young people. We cannot do anything in legislation about children without involving them right from the start, at phase 1.

Under phase 2, depending on the views that are gathered in phase 1—I like this because there is no top-to-bottom approach; rather, people are consulted on their views before the strategies are developed—we develop detailed outcomes and strategies for parenting of children of different ages. That is very interesting. Under phase 3, the focus will be on producing something of practical value to parents; although legislation is important, it must have practical value, especially for parents.

I, too, add my thanks to the many contributors who are here today and those across the play sector and beyond who offered their views during development of the strategy. I will name some of the organisations that formed the working group: Inspiring Scotland, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Smart Play Network, Play Scotland, the Scottish Pre-School Play Association, NHS Health Scotland—health is part of what the strategy is about—Capability Scotland, Education Scotland, Creative STAR Learning Company, the Learning through Landscapes Trust, the International Play Association Scotland: Promoting the Child’s Right to Play and, of course, Tam Baillie, who is Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People.

I will say how important Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People is in our communities. He came to the region that I represent on 16 November 2011. I remember the date and I will tell members why. When he came to Aberdeenshire, he met the local authority to discuss proposed legislation from the Scottish Government. He went to Portlethen academy to meet 12 members of the school council. In Westhill academy, he met school-based youth workers and addressed no fewer than 25 members of the school council on his role. The important point is that his visit meant that the community council and the local authority took decisions to make things better for the children in our communities.

The Scottish Government’s vision and commitment to extending the powers of Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People is crucial to enabling Tam Baillie to undertake more investigations in relation to individual children and young people.

I am delighted to welcome Scotland’s first national play strategy. Children’s play is crucial to Scotland’s social and economic wellbeing. I share the minister’s ambition and believe that an independent Scotland will become the best place in the world to grow up.

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