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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 4 May 2021
  6. Current session: 13 May 2021 to 22 November 2025
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Displaying 1393 contributions

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Education, Children and Young People Committee [Draft]

University of Dundee

Meeting date: 25 June 2025

Joe FitzPatrick

We are speaking to the former principal tomorrow, so we will ask him about that. In your view, was that the reason for her departure being sought, or was it that he just did not like the challenge?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]

Children’s and Young People’s Participation in Sport and Physical Activity

Meeting date: 24 June 2025

Joe FitzPatrick

Is the framework helping to bridge the gap between ensuring that those folk who, as we heard earlier, are physically inactive get a bit of activity and moving folk into organised sport? I guess that that is what we have to do if we are going to get elite athletes. After all, we do not know who the elite athletes are going to be—they could be anywhere. We know for sure that socioeconomic factors influence who gets to participate, but they do not determine who has the potential.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]

Children’s and Young People’s Participation in Sport and Physical Activity

Meeting date: 24 June 2025

Joe FitzPatrick

Thanks.

I will come to Jillian Gibson last, for a really good reason. Ailsa, as you were involved in developing the framework, it would be good to hear your perspective.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]

Children’s and Young People’s Participation in Sport and Physical Activity

Meeting date: 24 June 2025

Joe FitzPatrick

That is great. Thank you.

Jillian Gibson, I wanted to come to you last because, although I think that the framework is a good document, local government will be key to making it happen in the real world. Therefore, it was good to hear about the special interest group. I know that there are some folk in local government who are—I will choose my words carefully—almost as passionate as Brian Whittle is in this area.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]

Children’s and Young People’s Participation in Sport and Physical Activity

Meeting date: 24 June 2025

Joe FitzPatrick

Gregor Muir talked earlier about the “Physical Activity for Health” framework, and I am keen to explore that a bit. As it was published last October, it is still relatively new, and it would be good to hear how the three organisations before us are responding to it and how they are trying to ensure that it is not just some document on a shelf but something that is actually changing the way in which organisations work. Given that you mentioned it earlier, Gregor, do you want to go first?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]

Children’s and Young People’s Participation in Sport and Physical Activity

Meeting date: 24 June 2025

Joe FitzPatrick

One of the things about the framework is its cross-cutting nature, which you have mentioned. Do you think that it gives you the ability to be more forceful in making the case for policy to take activity into account, if that is not happening? Do you feel that you can refer back to the framework, or is there more that we need to do in that respect?

By the way, when you said that we are not there yet, that was helpful and good to know. Had you thought that we were, we would be thinking that there was a problem, given that we know that we are not. Therefore, it was good to hear that directly from you.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]

Children’s and Young People’s Participation in Sport and Physical Activity

Meeting date: 24 June 2025

Joe FitzPatrick

So, it is good that you are pulling that resource together. It would be good to hear how that is working and how the Government’s policies and ambitions are being reflected in the work that local government is doing on the ground.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]

Children’s and Young People’s Participation in Sport and Physical Activity

Meeting date: 24 June 2025

Joe FitzPatrick

That is great. It is also good that you covered the areas I was going to go ask about next—transport and education. The one area that you did not mention, and which it is probably worth throwing in here, is health and the need for the national health service to be proactive in this. After all, as part of the public service, the NHS probably has the most to gain from having a more active nation.

I am keen to go on to more transport stuff, but I feel that I would be treading where Mr Harvie wants to tread, so I will leave it to him to ask about that later.

Education, Children and Young People Committee

Education and Skills

Meeting date: 11 June 2025

Joe FitzPatrick

You are absolutely right about the need for teachers to have space to do other things. One challenge that teachers are facing, in addition to the particular one that the convener raised earlier, concern the increase in the number of children who are neurodivergent and require support with that.

I recently visited Sidlaw View primary school in my constituency and the headteacher told us about how she is trying to go the extra mile by using the together to thrive model, in which teachers work together with parents. The model recognises that, as you said, schools now do far more than just educating and that, for some families in particular, schools are almost the centre and the one stable part of family life. The headteacher is working with parents and third parties to ensure that there is holistic support for children. Are you aware of together to thrive, which is running not only in Dundee but in a few other schools too? If not, would you like to join me in visiting either the school that I went to in Dundee or another school somewhere else?

Education, Children and Young People Committee

Education and Skills

Meeting date: 11 June 2025

Joe FitzPatrick

My substantive question will be about the University of Dundee, but I will first pick up on a few areas that other members have already touched on.

The convener has talked about the additional pressures that teachers are facing and how we support them in tackling them. Although you, as cabinet secretary, are responsible for setting national education policy, as you said in your response, one of the challenges for the Government is that local authorities are directly responsible for delivery. The issues that have been raised by the convener are important and they are having an impact on children and young people’s education. How do we ensure that the Scottish Government, local authorities and, crucially, our trade unions and staff members work together as one to tackle some of that, when there are sometimes conflicts in what people want to get out of the process, even if everybody wants to do what is best for the young folk?