Meeting of the Parliament 19 November 2025
I thank Sarah Boyack, who is sitting down the front, for lodging the motion. Never mind that Bob Doris was not even in the room! I say to Pam Duncan-Glancy that I am sorry about that joke.
As a member of the Education, Children and Young People Committee, I have found it to be a pleasure to work together with colleagues from across the chamber on a wide variety of issues concerning Scotland’s education landscape. I have genuinely enjoyed my time serving on the committee. The dedication that is shown by colleagues from every party on the committee reminds me every week that, whatever our political colours, we are here for the same purpose—to improve education in Scotland and to give every young person the chance to develop and thrive.
In that vein, it is important that we ground the debate in the real challenges that our schools face—not in slogans or point scoring, but in facts. The Scottish Government’s amendment highlights the challenges that we have faced post-Covid. The reality is that schools have struggled with reduced attendance, greater variation in pupil engagement and a significant rise in the number of pupils with additional support needs. That is why I welcome the additional funding to improve outcomes for children with ASN and to strengthen and expand the ASN workforce. Let us be clear that those steps will directly impact the classroom experience by ensuring that children who need the most support receive it and that the staff who deliver that support are properly equipped.
I welcome the recent agreement that ensures that Scotland’s teachers remain the highest paid in the UK, as the cabinet secretary mentioned, with a 7.5 per cent uplift over two years. I also welcome the commitment to undertake further work to reduce teacher workload, alongside the commitment to reduce class contact time.
Crucially, we must celebrate the successes of Scotland’s young people. Their achievements in classrooms and communities, including in the arts, sciences and sports, deserve recognition in the chamber and beyond.
I turn to the motion. There are challenges and we have work to do. To tackle those issues, we need to work together. Rather than attack, we should support the work that is being done. To say that pupils and staff are being failed is disingenuous and disrespectful to all those who work hard to improve our education system. I find it disrespectful when colleagues refer to the Scottish Government as the Scottish National Party Administration. I would hope for better from colleagues whom I have always respected. I frequently disagree with the actions of the UK Government, but I still refer to it as the UK Government out of basic respect for the institution. I would have hoped that we might hold ourselves to the same standard in Scotland.
Pupils and staff deserve a debate that lifts them up and not a motion that uses them as a weapon. They deserve co-operation and not division. Despite the wording of the motion, I remain, as always, ready to work with colleagues from all parties for the benefit of children and young people across Scotland.
16:43