Hansard

I am unusually nervous today, only because I am so incredibly glad to have the opportunity to speak about Growing2gether and to share it with colleagues, the Government and anyone else who is listening, and tell them why engaging with this organisation, among the thousands of meetings that MSPs have, is one of those that I will always remember clearly. Colleagues will know the meetings that I mean; the ones that we remember because they make us feel something.

Growing2gether works with young people who are experiencing or are at risk of poverty, mental health issues and adverse childhood experiences. It intervenes to support those young people to mentor nursery children and take on leadership roles in their communities, consult with community members and develop youth-led initiatives. Right now, it is working in and around the Moray Firth and across Aberdeen.

When Gavin Morgan of Growing2gether reached out to me last year, I could tell that there was something special about what the nursery programme is doing. Gavin is so passionate. There is no other way to say it. He loves what he does, and he loves seeing the results of his work.

When I told him that we had finally secured a debate spot for the motion, I asked him whether there was anything new that he wanted to share with me since we last spoke—he sent me 10 bullet points, two PDFs and a video.

I will circulate that video to colleagues after the debate. The reason that the programme works is the willingness of the young people who take part. Their reflections are so special. I could stand here and quote them all, but you really need to hear it from them, so I will share just one that sums it up for me. They said:

“I finally feel that I am okay as a person. I thought that everyone else was better than me.”

Many young people who grow up with trauma or poverty are led to believe that they are not special, that there is nothing more for them in life, that they cannot offer anything to the world but anger and that there is really no point in trying. I know that because I have felt it. It takes a lot of internal work to undo that complex belief system, and a lot of effort from kind adults who want to convince you that it is worth giving it a go.

When I was in school, I was paired with a couple of nursery boys to mentor. I remember being really nervous about that. I did not like boys. I grew up in an all-female household, and to me, boys were mean, they hit you and they cared about Glasgow football teams for some reason. However, answering those wee boys’ questions, teaching them about the world of big school and watching them explore everything made me realise what I had learned so far and what I had to give back, and it made me feel more confident and responsible.

That meant that I was already sold on the concept, but I met Gavin online to chat about what he wanted to achieve. He explained that really he only wanted me to tell everybody else about what he was doing.

It was one of those days of back-to-back team meetings, typing up notes and actions for the evening, swapping from my work on rural affairs to healthcare to casework. However, the programme, Gavin and the energy around it stood out, and I had to see it for myself.

I arranged to meet him and some of the young people involved up at Kinmylies primary school. I spoke with a few of the young people, some of whom had left the programme the year before but had taken the opportunity to come to speak to me and be reunited with their mentees. I was taken aback by that because I was expecting to meet the current cohort. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and those teenagers could have been down the pitches, up at the retail park or just lying in bed playing Fortnite, but instead they had come to Charleston academy to make sure that I knew how good the programme was and to see their old nursery partners.

I was told about how one little girl cried and cried on the last day of the programme because she did not want to say goodbye. I could feel the emotion in the room that day as I heard about them reuniting just before I arrived. Another mentor shared that the parents of his mentee had sought him out and thanked him for whatever it was that he did to make their little girl come out of her shell. The programme leaders explained that one of the quieter girls there would have been too nervous to speak to me before she took part in the programme. She smiled and agreed; she said that it had changed everything. Both age groups bloomed from the belief that the programme leaders had in them and from the knowledge that they can build such relationships, learn from one another and be of value to the world.

What really came across as we sat around the table talking and laughing was that the teachers who helped to lead and organise the programme blended together with the young leaders. They had worked together. There was no top-down instruction; it was a partnership, and I could see that the young people carried themselves differently as a result of that.

At the end of my visit, we posed for a photo, as usual. It was a normal MSP visit photo, with everybody standing with their hands clasped and looking polite. One of the young people then pulled out their phone and took a selfie. That is the photo that I used for my social media post about the visit, because that is the one that captured the energy and joy of the day when they explained to me how special it all is. It shows what a difference it makes when young people do something for themselves.

We know that intergenerational work produces results, and we know that young people with adverse childhood experiences need a push, encouragement and opportunities to discover the amazing things about themselves that the world has told them are not there. We know that Growing2gether’s approach works, and it would be a very sensible—and successful—move if the Scottish Government were to seriously consider how it can support, explore and expand Growing2gether’s work.

Gavin Morgan is a busy man. He has been down in Westminster sharing his successes, and he is working with even more schools that want to join up and be part of the programme. However, I am sure that he could find some time in his very busy diary to help out the minister and make sure that Scotland leads the way. If we want to tackle the attainment gap, if we want more young people in positive destinations and if we want them to be genuinely involved in their community and feel a responsibility to it, this is not an opportunity that we can ignore.

I will finish with a question that Gavin shared with me. He said:

“We are continuing to see a positive impact in both our Nursery and Community programmes for children and young people and parents, teachers and young people, ask, why is this not in more schools across Scotland?”

12:57