Meeting of the Parliament 24 May 2023
I recognise that point, and I also recognise the member’s interest in the issue. I think that she is taking forward a member’s bill on that. I very much recognise the sentiment behind Liz Smith’s question, and I am happy to ensure that the summit will consider that in more detail.
The pandemic impacted on children’s learning. We know that it created anxiety and stress, and we know that that has impacted on behaviour in our schools. We also know that young people’s mental wellbeing improved when lockdown conditions ended, and that parents’ and carers’ wellbeing was also impacted. Lockdown was tough for our young people and we need to reflect that. I do not use Covid as an excuse in that respect, but we need to be mindful that Covid has changed the type of behaviour and the type of relationships that happen in our schools.
I go back to Stephen Kerr’s point about what is happening with attendance. What I do not see as cabinet secretary, because I get the national evidence base on attendance, is internal attendance challenges. For example, when young people get up and decide to leave a classroom and walk around the school, that is not captured at national level. Those are the things that I would like to pursue more broadly at the summit, because it is important that we talk about them at national level.
The majority of children and young people in Scotland are well behaved in school. I do not want to paint a false narrative, because relationships between our pupils and teachers are good. They have to be otherwise our schools could not operate, but I recognise that there are challenges post-Covid.