03.12.2015
The Scottish Parliament is coming to Dunfermline on 7 December. The Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Tricia Marwick MSP, will make a number of visits within the area.
As part of her programme she will make visits to the Fire Station Creative, a disused fire station transformed by local people for use as a dedicated hub and community space and to Queen Anne High School, where she will meet young female pupils and discuss her experiences, background and life as a politician and as Presiding Officer.
The Presiding Officer said:
“This is our final Parliament Day in this parliamentary session and as a Fifer I am delighted that we’re holding it in Dunfermline. I know how strong the community in Dunfermline is and I am looking forward to seeing for myself how projects like the Fire Station Creative have affected people’s lives.
“I’ll also be meeting pupils at the Queen Ann High School and I’m sure they will have some very tough questions in store for me!”
As well as the Presiding Officer’s visits, Parliament Day Dunfermline will also see the Education and Culture Committee hold a formal committee meeting. During the meeting the Committee will examine the Education (Scotland) Bill and will quiz the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning about plans within the bill to raise educational attainment.
Background
Parliament Day takes the Parliament out of Edinburgh and into the heart of different communities to meet local people and hear about the issues that matter to them. It has taken place in communities across Scotland, from Orkney to Dumfries.
As part of Parliament Day Dunfermline, a free conference will take place at the Carnegie Conference Centre on Saturday 5 December, giving people more information about how they can have their voice heard at the Scottish Parliament.
More information about the day, and the conference can be found on: www.scottish.parliament/PDDunfermline
The Education (Scotland) Bill was introduced in March 2015 and contains a number of measures. These include measures to
- Promote equity of attainment for disadvantaged children and take steps towards narrowing the attainment gap.
- Place a duty on education authorities both to assess the need for Gaelic medium primary education following a parental request and to actively promote and support Gaelic medium education (GME).
The Scottish Government intends to lodge two sets of amendments to the Bill at Stage 2, on Standard of Headship and the National Improvement Framework which will introduce new national standardised assessments for children in primaries 1, 4, 7 and in S3.