Chamber
Plenary, 12 Jun 2002
12 Jun 2002 · S1 · Plenary
Item of business
Participation in Sport
Once again, we have experienced a constructive debate on sport and a fair degree of consensus has been achieved. There seems to be broad agreement on the issues and on what needs to be done about them. I hope that the minister will take every opportunity to act on the issues that have been highlighted today.
Some of the evidence indicates that on occasion the Executive views sport as something less than a priority. One example is the Education, Culture and Sport Committee's report on sport in schools. The report was published in October 2000, yet the Executive's response was not received until April 2002. The report drew conclusions and made recommendations that deserved action and response a great deal sooner than that. They were valid then and they are valid today.
The report's headline conclusion was that there is a need to improve the participation of young people in sport while they are at school. The report recognised that sport can play a major role in improving the health, motivation and achievement of young people across the social spectrum. The report called for greater emphasis on using sport as a vehicle for health and for academic improvement. Those are exactly the sort of things that we have discussed today, almost two years later.
Mention has been made of school sport co-ordinators. It is good that some input is going into schools again, even if it is a poor replacement for a system that was in place 20 years ago. That system was allowed to disappear, largely because of pressure on local authority funding. I stress that the school sport co-ordinators should involve all relevant partner organisations in the community, as that will lead to optimum effectiveness.
The school sport co-ordinator programme needs to be monitored and evaluated over time, as that will allow best practice to be established. There are concerns that, due to limited national direction and a lack of coming together of experiences, the co-ordinators' training has been inefficient and ineffective. That has led to a hotch-potch of delivery and mechanisms across the country.
I understand that the current Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport has rescinded the previous minister's decision to establish a school sport alliance. If that is the case, perhaps the deputy minister will set out the reasons for that decision in her summing up. I also note the proposed ministerial review of PE and that the make-up of the group will be announced in the next few weeks. I understand that the group will examine ways of continuing to raise the profile of PE and that it might also examine the issue of numbers in PE classes, which would be useful. I ask the minister to confirm whether the review will include school sport.
Swimming has rightly been mentioned, if fairly briefly. Although we have had debates about the value of learning that skill, we know that many community swimming pools have closed down in recent years because of high maintenance costs. Moreover, even some of the new schools that are being built at the moment, such as those in Glasgow, do not have swimming pools. As a result, swimming might soon be dropped from the curriculum. We want swimming lessons to be provided to all pupils to ensure that they can all swim a minimum of 25m by standard 1.
The SNP recognises the importance of sport in all areas of life and its contribution to society. It would be a matter of regret if the Executive decided to reject our amendment, because it is important that we make clear the intention to embrace co-ordination, joint working and joint funding, to improve access by reason of geography or funding, and in all ways to ensure that groups that are too often socially excluded have such access. We must all push for any initiative that improves the provision of sport in schools and the community to ensure that future generations include physical activity in their lives from childhood to adulthood.
Some of the evidence indicates that on occasion the Executive views sport as something less than a priority. One example is the Education, Culture and Sport Committee's report on sport in schools. The report was published in October 2000, yet the Executive's response was not received until April 2002. The report drew conclusions and made recommendations that deserved action and response a great deal sooner than that. They were valid then and they are valid today.
The report's headline conclusion was that there is a need to improve the participation of young people in sport while they are at school. The report recognised that sport can play a major role in improving the health, motivation and achievement of young people across the social spectrum. The report called for greater emphasis on using sport as a vehicle for health and for academic improvement. Those are exactly the sort of things that we have discussed today, almost two years later.
Mention has been made of school sport co-ordinators. It is good that some input is going into schools again, even if it is a poor replacement for a system that was in place 20 years ago. That system was allowed to disappear, largely because of pressure on local authority funding. I stress that the school sport co-ordinators should involve all relevant partner organisations in the community, as that will lead to optimum effectiveness.
The school sport co-ordinator programme needs to be monitored and evaluated over time, as that will allow best practice to be established. There are concerns that, due to limited national direction and a lack of coming together of experiences, the co-ordinators' training has been inefficient and ineffective. That has led to a hotch-potch of delivery and mechanisms across the country.
I understand that the current Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport has rescinded the previous minister's decision to establish a school sport alliance. If that is the case, perhaps the deputy minister will set out the reasons for that decision in her summing up. I also note the proposed ministerial review of PE and that the make-up of the group will be announced in the next few weeks. I understand that the group will examine ways of continuing to raise the profile of PE and that it might also examine the issue of numbers in PE classes, which would be useful. I ask the minister to confirm whether the review will include school sport.
Swimming has rightly been mentioned, if fairly briefly. Although we have had debates about the value of learning that skill, we know that many community swimming pools have closed down in recent years because of high maintenance costs. Moreover, even some of the new schools that are being built at the moment, such as those in Glasgow, do not have swimming pools. As a result, swimming might soon be dropped from the curriculum. We want swimming lessons to be provided to all pupils to ensure that they can all swim a minimum of 25m by standard 1.
The SNP recognises the importance of sport in all areas of life and its contribution to society. It would be a matter of regret if the Executive decided to reject our amendment, because it is important that we make clear the intention to embrace co-ordination, joint working and joint funding, to improve access by reason of geography or funding, and in all ways to ensure that groups that are too often socially excluded have such access. We must all push for any initiative that improves the provision of sport in schools and the community to ensure that future generations include physical activity in their lives from childhood to adulthood.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Sir David Steel):
NPA
The next item of business is the debate on motion S1M-3192, in the name of Mike Watson, on the value of participation in sport and how it can increase the qu...
The Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport (Mike Watson):
Lab
I welcome the opportunity to recognise sport's valuable contribution to improving the quality of life for everyone in Scotland. I want to highlight the impor...
Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP):
SNP
Does the minister acknowledge the essential roles played by the Glenmore outdoor centre and the Badaguish centre—both in my constituency—to ensure that young...
Mike Watson:
Lab
Absolutely. I have visited Glenmore and been very impressed with the work that is going on. I have yet to visit the Badaguish centre but I hope to have the o...
Dr Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands) (SNP):
SNP
Will the minister consider a problem that affects far-off parts of the Highlands—that of the cost of travel for people competing in sports?
Mike Watson:
Lab
The more rural areas certainly have difficulties. In our considerations for the active primary schools initiative and in our work with school sport co-ordina...
Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP):
SSP
Will the minister give way?
Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP):
SNP
Will the minister give way?
Tommy Sheridan:
SSP
Being a gentleman, I will let Margo MacDonald go first.
Ms MacDonald:
SNP
With reference to the review of PE in schools, will the minister tell us whether that will encompass both PE in primary schools and the number of sport gradu...
Mike Watson:
Lab
The review will cover physical education across all schools. If young people become aware of the benefits of sport and enjoy it from an early age, they are m...
Tommy Sheridan:
SSP
Has the minister formed the view that in order for physical education to become a core subject we have to make more dedicated time available in schools? The ...
Mike Watson:
Lab
I want young children in schools, particularly those in primary schools, to have as much physical education as they can get, both in the curriculum and as af...
Ms MacDonald:
SNP
Will the minister give way?
Mike Watson:
Lab
I must press on.It is essential that the facilities that we provide across the sporting spectrum are affordable and accessible to meet the needs of users and...
Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
I welcome the debate and the opportunity to highlight the wider benefits of sport for the country.We have heard from the minister about most if not all of th...
Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):
Con
Will Irene McGugan give way?
Irene McGugan:
SNP
No. I am still in my first minute.The Executive has also failed to highlight the fact that The Herald reported recently that four private schools had been aw...
Mr Monteith:
Con
Does Irene McGugan agree that, to consider the figures completely, one must also consider the contribution of private income—the investment by individuals in...
Irene McGugan:
SNP
I do not see why we cannot have both and keep the local authority expenditure up.In evidence yesterday to the Education, Culture and Sport Committee's inquir...
Dr Ewing:
SNP
It may surprise the chamber to learn that I was once a champion swimmer, but that I did not like gym at school, which we had a lot of. I did not like gym bec...
Irene McGugan:
SNP
The member makes a good point.Much more needs to be done to make it easier for people to participate in whatever physical activity they want to do. For some,...
Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):
Con
I am pleased to speak in the debate and to lead on the Conservative party's view. We are content to support the Executive's motion. As the minister knows fro...
Ms MacDonald:
SNP
Will the member give way?
Mr Monteith:
Con
I will in a moment, but first I will develop my argument.It is important for us to recognise that parents offer a wealth of talent. Parents are often qualifi...
Ms MacDonald:
SNP
There is no difficulty in recruiting PE teachers. The University of Edinburgh, which offers the only graduate PE course, regularly takes a complement of 100 ...
Mr Monteith:
Con
Forgive me if I seemed to misrepresent the position. I meant recruitment in the sense of parents being brought forward to become involved in schools. I am su...
Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD):
LD
Brian Monteith has not yet addressed the substance of his amendment, which proposes that "all Scottish schools have a full-time equivalent physical education...
Mr Monteith:
Con
I am glad that the member is gasping for me to reach that point, but he will forgive me if I build up my argument before I do so.We must challenge current co...
Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD):
LD
Does the member accept that some children—although not many—loathe sport of any sort? Indeed, I was one of those children: I was the last to be picked for th...