Seòmar agus comataidhean

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.

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.

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?

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?

Excellent. Increasing access to pre-school childcare hours is really helpful to parents, particularly in relation to their being able to get back to work. One of the challenges is that that provision can sometimes be rigid and not work around the real-world demands of having a job.

A couple of weeks ago, Shona Robison and I visited the Fintry Mains nursery—not in my constituency but in the patch for which I used to be a local councillor—where Flexible Childcare Services Scotland supports childcare that wraps around parents’ needs. We know that parents’ ability to get out and go to work has a huge benefit in relation to tackling child poverty and all the challenges that come with it. How can we support that kind of model to be more accessible? The parents there were amazing, and all the folk who worked there were passionate about what they were doing, but, clearly, not all pre-school provision is as flexible.

I turn to the Minister for Higher and Further Education. It has been some time since the situation at the University of Dundee came to light. Although there is perhaps less immediate stress than there was at the start, the situation is still stressful for staff and students, and there is still a lack of understanding of exactly when there will be clarity about how the university will move forward in a sustainable way and what that will mean for individual staff and students in relation to their courses. It would be good if you could give us a bit of an update on that and some assurance that what feels like a protracted timescale might be coming to an end soon.

I have other questions, but I know that Mr Rennie wants to follow up in relation to the University of Dundee, so I am happy to wait and see whether I get some time later.

It might be helpful to hear from the cabinet secretary about the engagement with trade unions, because what I have heard is concerning.

My next question is for the minister. My Dundee constituency is one of the Government’s early adopter communities for the work on ELC, so can you give the committee an update on or insight into what is being done and how it is going?

That was really helpful.

I note that there is still a significant reliance on international students. We had some principals in last week who told us about some of the challenges in that regard, and we now have the new UK Government’s approach to migration, which, instead of helping the situation, might make things more challenging. Has the Government made an assessment of the white paper and the potential harms arising from further restrictions on our international student populations at universities?