Meeting of the Parliament 21 January 2016
It has always been said that I could speak in the dark, and it is literally true that I am doing so this afternoon. Drew Smith is quite right that it is difficult to see the Presiding Officer—that gave Linda Fabiani great latitude and let her make a four-minute speech last five and half minutes, which is commendable.
I acknowledge what Linda Fabiani said in particular about volunteering. One of the most genuinely enjoyable aspects of this job is presenting awards and being part of the celebrations that take place in every area of Scotland. Over the years, it has been my pleasure to do a lot of that in Shetland and to recognise young people, no matter their background and no matter what they have done, for the role that they have played. That aspect has been reflected in speeches across the chamber this afternoon.
I want to reflect in a more positive way on Iain Gray’s amendment. I absolutely take the minister’s and Mary Scanlon’s points about the detail and I am sure that they are right about that. However, it seems to me that Iain Gray’s amendment has something quite strong and important about it—indeed, I thought that the remarks by the minister and Mary Scanlon reflected that—which is that the awards that we are talking about and the others that are mentioned in members’ considerable lists are not always recognised in the school points systems that reflect on individual pupils’ futures. I recognise that that might be more of a formal system and that it might need some work, which no doubt Iain Gray will describe. However, were the awards to be more recognised, the type of learning experience that we are seeking to achieve through our education system—and, in particular, that we would like employers to recognise—might be worthy of the approach that is proposed in Iain Gray’s amendment, although I take the minister’s point about the detail.
As the minister and others have made clear during the debate, and as Jim Sweeney’s excellent briefing for this debate makes clear, some young people find it hard to achieve formal education qualifications. That point was behind the Wood commission’s report and it is one that we are all strongly supportive of on a cross-party basis. It therefore seems to me that the learning partnerships in the senior phases of our high schools between youth work, schools and teachers is part of the approach that we want. The argument about parity of esteem seems to me to be particularly important, and we should possibly see that as the change that would provide the positive benefits of the blended learning that we are looking to achieve.
The other point relating to the minister’s wider comments that I want to reflect on is what I suppose some might describe as the current barriers to youth workers playing a greater role in schools. I think that it would be very positive indeed if they played that role. Some work has been done already that shows how effective that can be. After all, youth workers are trained and professionally qualified in the area. There is much to be gained for our education system, not least because of the introduction and practical implementation of curriculum for excellence, if the Government would take that forward in the best possible way. That might need further work and consideration and the kind of research that the Education Scotland report touches on, but it seems to me that putting skilled youth workers in schools to work with teachers to benefit pupils is very much what we are after.
I want to recognise the important work that is done in my constituency by Shetland Islands Council youth services in relation to positive destinations for young people from all backgrounds. Cara Hilton rightly made a point about the wider pressure on youth services budgets in every local authority area in Scotland. I am sure that the minister is working hard to win the internal argument about the necessary resources for that.
I also want to mention the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, which does great work with young athletes.