Question reference: S6W-24844
- Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 26 January 2024
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Current status: Answered by Christine Grahame MSP (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corpora on 7 February 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what steps it is taking to ensure that schools from all areas of Scotland are not prevented from visiting the Scottish Parliament due to high travel costs.
Answer
The SPCB provides a free school engagement programme. Our Education Services staff deliver sessions and tours at the Parliament, online, and visit schools across Scotland. Digital and outreach education sessions are popular and especially appreciated by those who don’t want to travel to Edinburgh or who find coming to Edinburgh to be too challenging. Last school year, we reached schools in 69 out of 73 constituencies, and expect to reach all constituencies by the end of June 2024.
The SPCB commissioned a review into how best to deliver our education services in the most effective and inclusive way post Covid. As part of this review, our education team has engaged with schools from across Scotland to fully understand their barriers to accessing our services.
We know from this that the cost of travel can be a significant barrier, and similarly so can time out of the classroom, support availability, and transport options. There is no single solution that addresses all barriers and we have asked officials to undertake some further work. The SPCB will consider the matter again later in 2024.