Meeting of the Parliament 02 November 2023
I welcome the opportunity to discuss our shared ambition for making Scotland the best place in the world to grow up in. I understand and believe that everyone who is contributing to this debate is doing so in good faith and with that aim in their hearts and heads as they speak.
Pre-pregnancy to three years is a unique and critical period of child development, during which experience and the environment shape the foundations for life and health. Future physical and mental health and wellbeing, life expectancy, educational attainment and participation in the economy and community are all impacted by those early experiences. Our understanding of that should ensure our continued commitment and focus in this area. Every child, regardless of their circumstances, should get the best start in life.
The importance of pre-pregnancy to three years covers a simply massive range of issues and policies. Today, I would like to focus my remarks on play. I have spoken about that before as I feel that it is a really important area for our children. Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child enshrines a right to play, and play and meaningful interaction between a child and their parent or carer are essential for early mental and social development. Initiatives such as PlayTalkRead and the bookbug programme are intended to facilitate play, learning and connection during a child’s early years.
There is clear, compelling and robust evidence that play times at school and around the school day are very important. Play is not just something that is nice to have and it is not simply a shame that children do not play outdoors as much as they used to. It is a bit more serious than that. Through playing outdoors, our children can improve their physical health. Children are two and a half times more active when they are outdoors than when they are inside, and they sustain physical activity for longer.
Another important benefit is to mental health, which we are all concerned about. We instinctively know that being outdoors makes us happier. We can think about how we feel when the sun shines on our face. Multiple research studies from around the world have shown that, whatever the weather, as long as we are dressed right, children and adults feel less stressed, more relaxed and happier if they have been outdoors. Being outdoors regularly often helps children to identify safe, quiet places where they can reflect. Being outdoors and away from screens helps children to build positive relationships, to make and sustain friendships and to develop the social skills that they will need throughout life.
Outdoor play can improve academic progress. Children need time to assimilate learning, and after play time outdoors they are more attentive to lessons and more on task, and they behave better. A study of more than 2,500 children in Spain found that exposure to total surrounding greenness was associated with a 5 per cent increase in progress in working memory, a 6 per cent increase in progress in superior working memory and a 1 per cent reduction in inattentiveness.
Importantly, outdoor play also helps children to connect to the places that they live in and to the planet around them. We love only what we know. Regularly playing outdoors for sustained periods often leads to greater care and concern for the environment, and having more green space in urban neighbourhoods in Scotland is linked to lower levels of perceived stress and physiological stress.
Moving forward, I ask the Scottish Government to include play in its thinking on children and child development and to do what it can to support and increase opportunities for our children to play.
16:07