Tam's diary

I gave evidence to the Commission on Rural Education in Lauder sharing a platform with Bronwen Cohen, Chief Executive, Children in Scotland.  I focussed my evidence on the need to listen to children and young people and suggested the Commission should encourage others to trust their judgement.  There was a useful example provided by one of the Commission members where the adults in opposing schools were in dispute and when the children became involved, they did not have the same problem – in fact they did not think the closure a problem at all.

I spoke at the Holyrood Conference on the Right of Children and Young People.  There were 100 participants in the first Holyrood event on this topic and it will be good to develop the theme of children’s rights in the next conference season.

Stephen Grounds and I met with Peter Kemp, Skills for Justice.  The meeting was an immediate follow up to the award of the contract for management and team development to Skills for Justice.

I met with Neil Bibby MSP and Neil Findlay MSP – both Labour members of the Education and Culture Committee.  This was an introductory meeting and the opportunity to share mutual priorities.

I attended the Early Years Taskforce meeting, chaired by Pat Watters, COSLA.  Progress is being made on the overall framework for future funding and changes at local level.

I chaired the Disability Advisory Group – a really useful presentation and report from Kirsten Stalker which has given the group a strong foundation on which to base future work.

I met with Ian Crichton (Chief Executive), Deirdre Evans (Director of National Services), and Susan Burney (Director of Information Services) all NHS Services Scotland.    This not only provided the opportunity to discuss the work of the office, but also to acquaint myself with the work of this branch of NHS.  Deirdre’s responsibilities include children with complex needs.  NHS Services has a responsibility for services required to be co-ordinated on a national basis (e.g. blood transfusion and information collation and statistical analysis). 

Stefan Stoyanov and I met with Craig Flunkert and Jen Willoughby from the Self-directed Support Bill Team.  The purpose of the meeting was to be provided with an update on the progress of the proposals in the legislation and to inform the team how these may impact on children and young people.  The particular issue of children and young people with disabilities was discussed.

I met with Moira McKinnon, Principal Officer, Child Protection, Glasgow.  This provided the opportunity to update each other on current issues and to prepare for the forthcoming child protection training for the office.

Gillian Munro and I visited Dumfries and Galloway.  We met with John Alexander (Director of Social Work) Colin Grant (Director of Education) and Hugh Smith.  The meeting provided a platform to discuss a RIGHT blether and work derived from it as well as sharing detail of the close attention the council was paying to sustain young people in positive outcomes after school.  We then visited St. Joseph’s College and met with a group consisting of 90 pupils who asked a wide range of questions into which they had put considerable thought (religion, privacy, employment laws) – this was followed by a smaller Q&A where pupils from the local primary schools contributed.  We then went to Cargenbridge Primary School and I addressed the assembly of 90 pupils who asked another round of great questions.

I chaired the BINOCC meeting of Children’s Commissioners from Northern Ireland, Ireland, Wales and England.  The main item on the agenda was the meeting arrangements for BINOCC and I am encouraged that this will hopefully improve on the content of the meetings and the links with other key areas of work for the offices.

I met with Neil Hunter, Principal Reporter at SCRA.  Neil is coming up for one year in post and he shared his early priorities in the post.  These were: to develop the influencing agenda of SCRA; to continue the re-organisation work initiated under his predecessor; adapt to the changes as a result of the Children’s Hearing legislation and potentially the children’s rights legislation.  Neil provided interesting insights into the impact of cuts on children with disabilities, including those who are looked after.

I met with Martin Sime, Chief Executive, SCVO.  This was an introductory meeting for us both and we exchanged  information on the work of our respective organisations.

I attended a Parliamentary reception hosted by the outgoing Commissioner for Freedom of Information, Kevin Dunion.  This was a well attended event paying respect to Kevin’s time in office.

Katie Brown and I met with Monica Merson, Head of Health and Well-being at Health Scotland and Emma Hogg, Programme Manager Youth Health, both NHS Scotland. The meeting was an exchange of information on the detailed work undertaken by both organisations.  It was useful to know of the developing links between NHS Scotland and Education Scotland as a result of health and well-being having a central place in Curriculum for Excellence.  NHS Scotland is keen to improve on young people’s participation and we explored options for working jointly on this.