Hansard

I also thank Gordon MacDonald for the debate and welcome the dads to the gallery, T-shirts and all.

Dads Rock deserves commendation for its group award for the most outstanding baby and toddler group as well as board member Steve Leslie’s individual award for the most outstanding community group volunteer for children or families. That is an impressive haul, given the fact that the awards celebrate the best of children’s activities and classes from throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia and were decided, as Gordon MacDonald said, after a massive 90,000 votes were cast.

Playgroups have a special and important role in early childhood education. Many provide a wider range of equipment and activities than some children may have access to at home, such as sand, water play, arts and crafts and making and listening to music.

Like many other groups, Dads Rock is free, which allows many families to access the service. It is able to provide that service free because of its own fundraising efforts. I am pleased to say that, only last Saturday, it raised £1,400 at its annual fundraiser.

In addition to its Saturday play sessions, Dads Rock runs a rock academy, which allows children and dads to learn together and demonstrates the organisation’s understanding of the importance of parents interacting with their children’s first learning experiences. We heard much from the previous chief medical officer about how beneficial early attachment is between parent and child.

Attending a playgroup has multiple benefits not only for children but for parents. The exposure to new experiences and the emphasis on learning through play encourages children to develop skills such as interacting confidently with other children, learning to explore the world around them and to solve problems. The groups also enable parents to meet other parents and to participate in their child’s early education, and give them a place to discuss concerns, experiences and development. Parent-led playgroups are invaluable in affirming parents’ role in their children’s early education.

As members said, Dads Rock was founded by two fathers who understood the importance of playgroups in supporting parents and enabling parents and children to learn together and who were dismayed to find that in Edinburgh there were no groups run by dads for dads. I represent the Highlands and Islands and I can say that Dads Rock is well ahead, given provision in my region. Perhaps the founders can come to Inverness and beyond, to show people how it is done. If there is a need in Edinburgh, there is a need in every part of Scotland.

Dads Rock’s vision is

“For a Scotland where dads are seen as being equally valuable and vital.”

That is great. It is disappointing that that is not always the case.

This is a matter for another debate, another day: I hope that dads’ access to their children following separation from their partners can be looked at more sympathetically in future. I can honestly say that not a week passes without a dad somewhere in the Highlands and Islands asking me whether I can do something to enable him to see his child. It is rare that I can do anything.

When the Equal Opportunities Committee took evidence in March it received several submissions. Allan Reddick, a dad of two, told the committee about being the only dad in the room when he took his daughters to activities such as dance classes. He said:

“Nobody speaks to the dad ... Dads feel out of place and think, ‘I shouldn’t be here. This isn’t for me.’”—[Official Report, Equal Opportunities Committee, 6 March 2014; c 1851.]

We heard about the research of Dr Gary Clapton, from the University of Edinburgh, and we heard that

“The value of positively involved fathering is incontestable and proven”.

I speak from experience, as Christian Allard did, when I say how much children need fathers and how difficult—indeed, often impossible—it is for a single mum to fill the gap. Dads Rock deserves praise for its commitment to learning through parent-child interaction and play and for the support that it provides to fathers. I thank Gordon MacDonald. I wish that dads rocked not just in Edinburgh but throughout Scotland.