Hansard

The petitioner made an interesting point about children who are dropped off early in the playground by school transport. The question is when responsibility for the child kicks in. Is it when they board the school bus? I agree that we should close the petition, but I think that it is incumbent on us to say to the petitioner that she should continue to negotiate with the local authority. There is no consistent policy throughout Scotland; some local authorities and schools have policies in place that take account of children arriving in the playground early and put supervision in place, whereas others do not seem to do that. It seems to come down to the headteacher’s discretion. In closing the petition, I suggest that we ask the petitioner to continue to discuss the matter with the headteacher in question. It might be that voluntary action by parents, by agreement with the headteacher, might satisfy the petitioner.