Motion to be debated on Thursday 22nd May 2008
*S3M-1951 Rhona Brankin: Skills Strategy—That the Parliament notes that the Scottish Government’s skills strategy was rejected by the Parliament on 12 September 2007; recognises the importance of skills development and utilisation in growing Scotland’s economy; voices concern at the decision of the Scottish Government to move away from supporting adult apprenticeships in vital areas such as the tourism, IT and retail sectors without consultation with work-based training providers; calls on the Scottish Government to provide the Parliament, with immediate effect, the evidence to support these moves, and further calls on the Scottish Government to bring forward a revised skills strategy immediately after the summer recess containing detailed information about the level at which its 50,000 training places are being set, its targets for apprenticeships and the performance indicators used to measure success.
Aberlour’s reaction to Motion:
Aberlour child care trust welcomes any debate on the provision of skills development in Scotland. The skills which our children and young people obtain and transfer, particularly in early life, define the lives they will lead and the impact they will have on the Scottish economy. The skills of those people who work with, care for, and support children and young people are also critical. The skills agenda is one which sits at the heart of a range of other agendas, including poverty, social justice and economic growth, it represents a critical challenge to any government and we would hope to see a degree cooperation on this issue across the party spectrum.
The Scottish Government’s publication of the national skills strategy in 2007 contained some welcome development in policy. In particular we welcome commitments to recognise the work needed in early intervention to develop skills in early years, namely:
• helping parents and carers to provide a nurturing and stimulating home environment;
• providing children with high quality pre-school and school education;
• helping parents with literacy and numeracy to enhance their ability to support their children's learning;
• achieving effective early interventions to improve outcomes for all children but particularly those who face particular disadvantage or a high risk of poor outcomes later in life; and
• supporting effective transitions between the stages of learning, including the transition from nursery to primary school.
We provide a range of services in local authority areas across Scotland which contribute to the pursuit of these goals:
Parenting:
Positive parenting is recognised by all parties as being crucial for laying the foundations to any skills development in Scotland, Aberlour are working through services across Scotland to help parents and those working with them to obtain the support and training they need to offer the best possible start for their children.
Camelon & Larbert Support to Parents (CLASP)
Langlees Family Centre: Falkirk
Primrosehill Family Centre: Aberdeen
Victoria Project: Kirkcaldy
In each of these services we help parents acquire the skills to build a loving and trusting relationship with their child. We encourage them to set boundaries and establish routines that are appropriate for children at different ages and stages. This helps to create parent/child relationships which are founded upon mutual respect and understanding. Much of this is achieved through shared activities and play. This helps to build confidence and create lasting bonds.
In supporting parents when they are having difficulties at an early stage in their children’s lives, we are helping them to raise young people who respect themselves, respect others and respect their environment. Early intervention of this type can help to stop children from becoming involved in anti-social or offending behaviour later in life, whilst giving them a solid foundation on which to build their skills development.
Finally our National Parenting Development Project, based in Greenside Place, Edinburgh, supports the development of parenting services and trains workers from across Scotland to deliver support and advice to parents and families.
Young people at risk from School Exclusion:
As with positive parenting, a young person’s experience of formal education has a tremendous impact on the skills they develop. Aberlour runs a number of projects that work with young people who are experiencing social, emotional or behavioural problems and who have been, or risk being excluded from school.
Crannog services: Throughout Dumfries and Galloway: Offers detailed assessment of young people coupled with intervention aimed at helping service users to remain in mainstream education. Where school is no longer an option alternative educational provision is offered, through a blend of formal and informal learning.
Morray Youth Action: Elgin: provides disadvantaged, excluded and vulnerable young people and their families with support that is goal-orientated, needs led and person centered, to enable them to gain and retain control of their own lives and remain in their own homes and communities. A large part of the interventions offered by MYA focus on developing the life skills of service users whilst getting them to a point at which they can engage with further education, training and employment.
Sycamore services: Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline: As part of our residential care homes, Sycamore delivers education and skills development to some of the most vulnerable young people in Scotland. We work through a range of formal and informal learning activities to build the skills development of looked after young people who traditionally have been least likely to make positive progress in either academia or skills development.
These projects work with children, their families, schools and relevant agencies to identify and tackle the issues that are causing the difficulties. While addressing the problems, children continue with their education in a setting that best meets their needs until they are ready to make the transition back to their local school.
If services like these did not exist, many children facing school exclusion would be moved to a residential school, away from their families, friends and communities. It is more expensive to send a child to residential school than it is to support them while they remain with their family. Aberlour has found that the majority of children who attend its educational projects return to, or stay at mainstream school and their risk taking or offending behaviour decreases. An independent academic study found that the Aberlour Crannog Project saves the local authority almost £1 million per year because it reduces the need to send children to expensive residential schools.