 I look 55. Oedrych chi ddeith� cous deaf Oedrych chi ddeith� cous deaf I look 55. Oedrych chi ddeithaszaw I look 55. Oedrych chi ddeith Bism郎 Os y day ybod thanks abandoned Cir رmouth Cir rhannus Cir rhannus Cir rhannus er mwyn yn ddigwelio dim enwedig yn gyda'r Gwyrddon. Rydyn ni'n mwyn, Cyfnodd MacDonald, mae gennych i chi i'ch gael eich ddweud, ddim iawn i gwaith eu gymhneid rydyn ni'n bridegareddol hefyd? Felly niech chi'n sgwm yn gwneud. Rydyn ni'n gwneud feddwl ar y gallu'r galyddol achos y chyfgrifennidó i fod ei gwyllgor yr arloedd i chi agfod ar gael. Felly pob ddim mwyllfa mwneud am gweithio gallu ei gyn conscience i ddamiaith y tro. Dad's Ock was formed in 2012 in my constituency and before we recognised the achievement of this small charity we need to understand why it was necessary for it starting in the first place. In Scotland, more and more fathers are sharing or fulfilling the primary care role, resulting in a groundswell in recognition of the importance of working with dads to allow them to spend more time with their kids. The organisation working families said that fathers want to spend more time with their children and are doing more of the direct care for them. Research suggests that this desire for more time with their family is widespread, with 82 per cent of full-time working men saying they would like this. The fatherhood institute said that a substantial number of fathers are now full or part-time home dads, with 21 per cent of fathers of children under five, solely responsible for childcare at some point during the working week, and 43 per cent of fathers of school-age children providing care before or after school. In a recent study by the Equality and Human Rights Commission found that 60 per cent of parents said that fathers should spend more time with their children. The research shows that higher direct involvement from dads leads to a more positive outcome for our children. That is just some of the background to why Dad's Ock was founded by two Edinburgh fathers who came together wanting to start something to help others and have fun with their kids at the same time. There was no equivalent service in Edinburgh offered by the local council for fathers. Dad's Ock was started to fill that gap and is now the only free weekend service that makes space for all sorts of dads, grandads and male carers to come and play with their children and develop a network of support from other fathers. The founders had a good understanding of what dads wanted being dads themselves, and they came up with a winning combination, a free musical play group feeding into many people's love of music, allowing dads to know that this common bond would make it an inviting place to come without judgment or pressure. Over time, the Dad's Ock team found that dads wanted more outings with their children, so they have increased the number of free outings, giving dads the confidence to discover new places such as the national galleries or a city centre farm in a relaxed way to have fun with their kids and speak to other dads. Dad's Ock has now been going for two years. It's amazing to see the need for such an organisation grow, and they have recently been able to launch a Glasgow play group to enable them to support more families. They are working in partnership with the award-winning peak project in Glasgow, which provides vital street play for children. Dad's Ock has also built formal and informal relationships with a wide variety of organisations such as Fife Gingerbread, local midwifery and social work teams, Pilton Community Health Project, One Parent Family Support, Stepping Stones Edinburgh, the Broomhouse Centre, the Violence Reduction Unit and Whale Arts, to name but a few. They have also reached out to local schools and nurseries, have had referrals from several social work teams, and have been working with local health agencies to deliver specific messages on male health. The feedback from all this activity clearly indicates that their service has had a positive impact on parents from both a resilient point of view, improving attachments between children and parents, and expanding their social circle to allow new families. Dad's Ock is about promoting positive images of fathers and highlighting that dads want to be seen as being just as vital to their children's upbringing. In order to get that message across, they have built relationships with local councillors, MSPs and the Scottish Government, and their influence is such that even the Minister for Children and Young People herself opened one of their play groups. Dad's Ock has become advocates for dads and families and helped them to have a voice at local and national level. They now sit on the Scottish Government's fathers advisory panel, as well as their young father panel and the Edinburgh Council play forum. Through their success, they have become advocates for others to refer to. For example, the Scottish Government, the Scottish Book Trust and the MSPs have all approached Dad's Ock asking for assistance in engaging with dads. This level of engagement and development of the charity resulted in 2013, when families voted for Dad's Ock to win a local parenting magazine award called the Parents' Choice Award. Then, in June of this year, the Dad's Ock team were nominated for two national awards, organised by What's On for Little Ones. Those were the most outstanding toddler group and one for the most outstanding volunteer. Over 90,000 votes were cast for all the nominees and Dad's Ock were up against well-known national organisations. Despite that, they became the only dads group through to the final and one of the few representing Scotland. One of their volunteers, Steve Leslie, had been nominated by local dads for the most outstanding volunteer. Every week, he gave us time free of charge to set up the play group and pack everything away at the end of a hectic session. Served on the board of Dad's Ock produced CDs of the Dad's Ock members singing with their kids and generally helping out where necessary. The Dad's Ock delegates attending the event were astounded to win in both categories and in true Dad's Ock style, they led 150 strong attendees and a sing song of We Will Rock You. So, congratulations to the Dad's Ock team for all their hard work and thanks to the families who voted for them, but especially thanks to the dads and their children who have made Dad's Ock the success that it is. Many thanks. I now call on Cara Hilton to be followed by Christian Allard. I begin by thanking Gordon MacDonald on securing this debate today. I hope that it is going to be less controversial than our discussions earlier this afternoon. I was delighted to hear that Dad's Ock has won an award for the most outstanding baby and toddler group. It is hard to believe that Dad's Ock was only established just two and a half years ago, yet already it is an international award winner. It is great to see some of Dad's Ock people here in the gallery today. I would like to extend my congratulations to all those involved in getting Dad's Ock off the ground and ensuring its huge success as it expands its network of free musical playgroups across Scotland and more dads and more children have access to the Dad's Ock experience. I first came across Dad's Ock myself when the contact made to help with their search for a playgroup venue in Dunfermline. The Dunfermline group started up in June 2013, and I persuaded my husband to go along with my two youngest children. I have to admit that he was really reluctant to go along. I virtually had to push him through the door, but he must have enjoyed it because he's been going along ever since. My four-year-old son delights in singing the Dad's Ock signature tune, We Will Rock You, at the top of his voice all the time. The Dunfermline group has since been facilitated by Dad's Ock five co-ordinator Bruce Henderson, who has done a really fantastic job working with Dad's Ock Edinburgh and getting the group off the ground, reaching out to dads from all backgrounds and keeping the children entertained. Bruce has now moved on to facilitate Dad's Ock in Buckhaven and is working on launching a new group in Abbey View next month, hopefully. The dads who met Dad's Ock Dunfermline have now started their own free playgroup, Dunfermline Dads, and, like Dad's Ock, it's going from strength to strength. More dads are attending every week, and they've even started up their own five-a-side football team as well. For most mums, having a baby opens up by a new social circle, from the buggy walks to baby massage, from playgroups to book bug sessions, there's lots of opportunities for mums to make new friends and meet other mums going through the same experiences. However, as Gordon MacDonald has already highlighted, becoming a dad for the first time can often be difficult, especially for younger dads and those without family support, and the increasing number of stay-at-home dads with primary care responsibilities. Many dads simplified the whole experience quite isolating, and that's where Dad's Ock comes in. It's more than just a playgroup. It's a unique place where dads can speak to other dads about dad things, where dads can find invaluable peer support while playing with their children, where dads can be supported to be the best parents that they can be. In Fife, 5th gingerbread has successfully used the Dad's Ock model to work with teenagers and more vulnerable parents, and this work is especially beneficial in extending further support to dads outwith the formal playgroup setting. It's more costly but it does offer huge rewards, and it's absolutely vital that this work continues to be supported. Longer term funding is absolutely crucial if new groups are to be developed in the Dad's Ock models to be extended into more communities to reach more dads, grandads and male carers. Culture is also a challenge, and the project workers that I've spoken to in the ground tell me that in many of our communities, dads can be a bit reluctant to come forward, and when they do, it takes them a week while to get involved in the storytelling and especially in the singing. Reaching out to more vulnerable dads is especially challenging, and this can particularly be the case where dads have had a difficult time when they were young or where other personal challenges make it difficult to develop secure bonds and relationships with their children. That's why the partnership work is so vital in breaking this mould, encouraging positive interactions and relationships between dads and their children, given dads the extra support they need and recognising that dads are central to the family equation and play a vital role in the upbringing of their children. The result is more creative play, better relationships and a better, happier future for both dad and child, both in the preschool years, when children start school and when children become parents themselves. Can I conclude by once again congratulating dads rock on their achievements so far? I hope that they continue their brilliant work in reaching out to more dads from all backgrounds across all our communities, helping to ensure that we really do get it right for every single child and helping in the goal that we all have across the chamber of building a better and brighter future for children, dads and families right across Scotland. Thank you very much. I now call on Christian Alard to be followed by Mary Scanlon. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I would like to thank Gordon Macdonald to bring this debate to the chamber today. It's very, very important that we celebrate what fathers are today in the 21st century. I do know a bit of dads rock. One of the reasons I do know a bit of dads rock is because they came to our committee, to the Equal Opportunities Committee, when we had an inquiry on fathers and parenting. I was very pleased to be part of that inquiry and did share some of my experiences with some people of dads rock, some of the members of dads rock. I've got to declare an interest as well. I was a single father for more than 10 years and this great support that groups like dads rock are providing now for people like myself where single parents and let's not forget that more than 3 million children living in a single parent household and 23% of them have dependent children and around 8% of single parents, 136,000 are fathers so I was not on my own and dads single fathers are definitely not on their own. But more than that what so impressed me about dads rock and is the reason I'm so delighted to celebrate it today is that dads rock is so much in advance compared to other groups. We did visited other groups and I went to see one of the group in Aberdeen in the region I represent where maybe more focused on parents fathers who had some other problems than looking after their children. And what I recognize very much is that the approach that dads rock took and particularly the name you choose not only your t-shirts I think your t-shirts are fantastic and look great but the name you took dads rock and what I mean by this I think and you said it yourself in some of the evidence you give us. It's the idea that dads in families are the rock as perceived as a rock but in fact dads and I know that for myself fathers just like mothers I've got time when we need supports we are no more rocks than mothers are and it's very, very important that we recognize in the 21st century in this society in modern Scotland that fathers need help as well and it has maximum support and mothers do. And what I want to add by this is I want to say that fathers, particularly fathers in today's society when gender is still very much stereotyped, fathers not only need all that kind of support but they need to come out of the darkness. I mean by this they are not visible, fathers are not seen as mothers and it's very, very important that we change the attitudes of people around us and dad rocks are doing a fantastic, a refer again to the t-shirts I think it's that visual effect, that effect of saying we are dads and we are proud to be fathers and we want to be seen just like mothers. And that vulnerability which is important is that we may be seen as rock inside as a family, as a big part of the family but that rock is fragile as well and needs as much help as possible and this is a fantastic idea and this idea that we have more and more of this group growing all across Scotland makes me very, very proud to be in this debate today and to celebrate the fact that we are fathers. One thing we celebrate enough is the role of fathers today. We need to celebrate a lot more. I do remember that at school, mother's days was always a special day and somehow father's day was a lesser day. We need to address this. We need to shout to the rooftop the contribution that fathers are doing today. As I said again, I'm delighted to be here today and to speak about the role of fathers in society today because, believe me, just like mothers, fathers need support, all the support they can get and I recognise dad rocks but you're encouraging fathers to be all that they can be. Thank you. Mary Scanlon, after which I'll move to the closing speech to the minister. I would also like to thank Gordon MacDonald for this debate and the dads to their gallery today, T-shirts and all. That's rock deserves commendation on their group award for the most outstanding baby and toddler group, as well as board member Steve Leslie's individual award, most outstanding community group volunteer for children or families. This is a very impressive hall, given that the awards celebrate the best of children's activities and classes from across the UK, Ireland and Australia. We are decided, as Gordon MacDonald said, after a massive 90,000 votes were cast. Black groups have a special and important role for early childhood education. Many provide a wider range of equipment and activities than some may have access to at home, such as sand, water play, arts and crafts and, of course, the making and listening to music. Like many other groups, dad's rock is free, which allows the service to be accessed by many families. Dad's rock is able to provide the service free because of its own fundraising efforts. I'm pleased to say that, even last Saturday, it raised £1400 at its annual fundraiser. In addition to its Saturday play sessions, the rock academy allows children and dads to learn musical instruments. Together, it demonstrates their understanding of the importance of parents interacting with their children's first learning experiences. We've heard so much from the previous chief medical officer about early attachment between parents and child and how beneficial that is. Attending a play group has multiple benefits for children but also for parents. For children, the exposure to new experiences and the emphasis on learning through play encourages them to develop skills such as interacting confidently with other children, learning to explore the world around them and to problem solve. For parents, those groups allow them to meet other parents, participate in their child's early education and a place to discuss concerns, experiences and development. Parent-led play groups are invaluable in confirming their role parents have in their child's education. As others have said, dad's rock was founded by two fathers who understood the importance that play groups have in supporting parents and allowing parents and children to learn together but who were dismayed that there existed no groups run by dads for dads in Edinburgh. As a representative from the Highlands and Islands, I have to say you're far ahead of anything that's there and I would like to think that maybe you could come up to Inverness and beyond and show how it's done because if there's a need here, there's a need in every part of Scotland. However, the ambition for Scotland where dads are seen as being equally valuable and vital is great. However, it must be said that it's disappointing that it's not always the case and whilst it's for another debate for another day, I hope that dad's access to their children following the separation of parents is something that can be looked at more sympathetically in future than it is at the present time. I can honestly say that there's not a weak passes but I hear from a dad somewhere in the Highlands and Islands. Please, can you do something to let me see my child? Of course, very rarely I can't do anything. When equal opportunities committee were taking evidence in March, there were several submissions. One particular, Alan Reddick, a dad of two, spoke about taking his daughter to activities, including dance classes. He commented, while nobody speaks to the only dad in the room, dads feel out of place and I think that I shouldn't be here, this isn't for me. Dr Claptain, Gary Claptain of Edinburgh University, submitted his research talking of the positively involved fathering as incontestable and proven. In summing up, I would like to say, Presiding Officer, I speak from personal experience as Christian Ballard did when I say how much children need fathers and how difficult and often impossible it is for a single mum to fill that gap. Dad's Rock deserves praise for their commitment to learning through play and parent-child interaction and the support that they provide for fathers. I thank you to Gordon MacDonald and I wish that Dad's Rock will all through Scotland and not just in Edinburgh. I also thank those members who have stayed here to show their support for Dad's Rock. It's nice to be able to welcome Dad's Rock to the Parliament again. I've been personally delighted to hear of their success and I'd like to add my own congratulations to them in winning those internationally recognised awards. Thomas and David, who created Dad's Rock, as Gordon MacDonald outlined back in 2011 because they strongly believed then, as they do now, that dads can and do play a vital role in the upbringing of their children. I wholeheartedly support that belief and I know that most dads want to be fully involved in their children's lives from day one. I also know that, at times, some organisations in some sectors, including schools, GPs, playgroups and parent and toddler groups, can unintentionally make dads feel unwelcome or excluded. As I'm sure Dad's Rock would advocate, it's time that this changed. We can all see more and more dads taking a principal role when it comes to raising their wee ones, often supported by organisations like Dad's Rock. Indeed, my own personal experience reflects that given that I'm lucky enough to have such unwavering support from my own husband when it comes to caring for and raising our wee boy Angus. I no doubt when the next one comes along because I can confirm that this bump is a baby and not the result of a poor campaign diet. We know instinctively that fathers can and do play an extremely important role in their children's upbringing. We need to do all that we can to support and encourage their involvement right from the very start, from pregnancy to birth through the early years and beyond. Indeed, when I was at a Sense Scotland conference earlier this year, one of the most beautiful things I heard was how a father's voice can get through to the womb much more easily because of the deep bassy tones. That was a lovely way in which a father can have a real involvement during their partner's pregnancy. We need to make sure that we do everything we can to involve particularly dads from the start of pregnancy into the child's upbringing. During our wide-ranging consultations with fathers and professionals across Scotland during the development of our national parenting strategy, we heard how many fathers didn't feel engaged, valued or encouraged to be active and involved parents. What an absolute waste that is. As a result of what we heard during that consultation, the parenting strategy that we launched in October 2012 recognises that fathers should undeniably be closely involved in their children's lives at every single stage. As we continue to move forward with implementation of the strategy, we are working with a number of our partners to look at how we can make services relevant and better able to involve fathers more positively in the upbringing of their children. We are looking at how the strategy fits for fathers and what we really need to do to listen effectively and respond positively to what dads really want and need. I know that that is of particular interest to Christian Allard, given his own personal interests, but also because of the work that he carried out on the Equal Opportunities Committee. Through that work, we plan to continue to ensure that services such as health education and the third sector make dads feel welcome and included. For example, we are currently working alongside children in Scotland to look at ways in which our public bodies can ensure more equal treatment of dads when it comes to parenting responsibilities. We are funding organisations such as Fathers Network Scotland to deliver practical support to people and organisations at the front line who work every day with fathers and families in Scotland. We are working closely with Fathers Network Scotland to co-chair the National Fathers advisory panel, which meets throughout the year to consider how fathers can contribute to policy and practice development right across Government. We are constantly looking at how we can better engage dads and, most recently, members of the panel have been helping us to restyle our play-talk reads and family information service websites to ensure that they work in a way that speaks directly to dads. That work is all very positive and there are many people and organisations working really hard to meet the changing needs of families and fathers in Scotland, but we need to go further. We all need to think more broadly about how we portray fathers and how we can improve our interactions with them and how we celebrate them as Christian talked about in his speech. Positive messaging about fathers is critical in that process. The media, marketing, social norms, public attitudes and public services all have a role to play. As Gordon, Mary and Christian have all said, good relationships and positive social networks are equally as important for fathers as they are for mothers. I just heard today of a dad who has set up a new dad and toddler group in Barhead, supported by the early years' collaborative in East Renfrewshire, because he really wanted to provide an opportunity for local dads there and their children to meet up, to socialise, to make new pals and to support one another. Cara Hilton spoke of potential projects in Fife, and who knows, perhaps Highlands will be the next step on the map, as Mary Scanlon hoped that it would be in her speech. We need to see more initiatives such as supporting Scotland's fathers and their children, and we will continue to work with members of the Fathers advisory panel, including Dad's Rock and Fathers Network Scotland, over the next few months to map the delivery of support groups for dads right across the country. That will mean that we will better understand the provision and consider what else needs to be done to fill the gaps to encourage participation and to widen access. Tonight is about congratulating and celebrating Dad's Rock on winning the most outstanding baby and toddler group category at the international Watsonford junior awards. That is a great and much-deserved achievement for such a young charity. I think that the point that Cara made in just the two short years to be able to have those achievements is quite incredible. But now, in the eighth year, the awards celebrate the best activities, the best classes and party providers from all over the UK, as nominated and voted for by some 90,000 parents and carers. And congratulations also goes to Steve Leslie for winning the most outstanding community group volunteer for children and young families. What a complete inspiration Steve is for us all, so across the Parliament we want to say to Steve, well done and very well done indeed. Now, as Gordon noted, I have had the pleasure of visiting Dad's Rock and was fortunate to attend the opening of their grant and project. I was also really struck by their sense of fun and their dedication to promoting positive images of fatherhood. It was set up by dads for dads, as others have said. Their playgroup are positive, enjoyable and rocking places to be on a Saturday morning. Like Cara Hilton, my husband and my wee boy enjoyed themselves when they came with me to visit the project in Granton. I am glad and I was relieved. I do not know if Cara had a chance to sing We Will Rock You, but I was glad that the boys were singing out, droned out my poor attempts at joining in with the singing as well. It certainly was incredibly fun and my husband and wee boy loved their time there, albeit just a short time on a Saturday morning. Dad's Rock has also taken part in the second learning session of the earlier's collaborative in the SCCC in May of last year. That was a memorable occasion, not least because they had 800 people on their feet singing and if you are happy and you know it, clap your hands. There was also a serious side to their participation as they shared how they uniquely in Scotland bring fathers and children together for fun, for music, for messiness, but most importantly for bonding and attachment as well. Do not just take my word for it feedback from the dads themselves is much more worthy of mention when they have said Saturday mornings are always about Dad's Rock, Saturday mornings are now about Daddy and Daughter Day and I look forward to Saturday so I can catch up with the other dads and I can feel comfortable speaking about dad and male issues with others. When I asked to sum up Dad's Rock in a few words, Dad said, a one off, there is nothing else like it. It's unique, good laugh, good guys, great kids and of course somebody else said it was simply rocking. I would like to thank Gordon MacDonald once again and the others who have contributed to tonight's debate. I would also like to warmly thank Thomas, David, Steve and the rest of the team at Dad's Rock for their continued and instincting commitment to Scotland's children and their fathers and I wish them every success for the future.