Submitting member has a registered interest.
As an amendment to motion S6M-16170 in the name of Miles Briggs (Delivering School Environments Where it is Safe for Pupils to Learn and Teachers to Teach), leave out from “the disparity” to end and insert “that the GMB union has described the environment in schools as a ‘national emergency’, and that reports from NASUWT state that teachers in Scotland ‘fear for their safety’; further notes the concerns raised by teaching unions, such as EIS, that teachers are working, on average, 11 hours per week unpaid; is concerned about the evidence of the impact of violence, particularly on women and girls, in schools; believes that this situation is not sustainable; considers that adequate staffing is required to create a safe environment in schools, and calls on the Scottish Government to publish a comprehensive plan to address gaps in the teaching and school staff workforce, as voted for by the Parliament on 15 May 2024; believes that long waits and gaps in the provision of public services, such as child and adolescent mental health services, educational psychology and speech and language therapy, have a detrimental impact on the school environment, and particularly children with additional support needs; welcomes the Equally Safe delivery plan, which gives direction to the Equally Safe at School programme; supports the finding in the Education, Children and Young People Committee’s report on additional support for learning that the Scottish Government and the Scottish Futures Trust should work with local authorities ‘to ensure that schools are designed as accessible and welcoming environments for all’, and believes that this should include classroom design as well as the availability of single-sex, accessible and Changing Places toilets, and calls on ministers to consider the growing body of evidence suggesting that 'over-exposure' to social media can result in pupils experiencing limited concentration, isolation and poor mental health, and to bring forward a national policy on how best to address this in Scotland.”
Submitted by: Miles Briggs, Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date lodged: Monday, January 20, 2025
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Submitted by: Ross Greer, West Scotland, Scottish Green Party, Date lodged: Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Submitted by: Natalie Don-Innes, Renfrewshire North and West, Scottish National Party, Date lodged: Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Supported by: Graeme Dey, Jenny Gilruth
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, January 22, 2025