 The next item of business is members' business debate on motion 14384, in the name of Ruth Maguire on outdoor classroom day. The debate will be concluded without any questions being put, and I would ask those who wish to speak to press the request-to-speak buttons. I call on Ruth Maguire to open the debate for seven minutes, please. I begin by thanking all the members who signed my motion on outdoor classroom day and those who are in the chamber to take part in the debate this afternoon. Outdoor classroom day is a proven catalyst for more time spent outdoors at school, including playtime. The campaign is, of course, about more than just one day. It is a campaign to inspire more time outdoors every day. Time outdoors playing, learning, exploring and having fun, both at school and at home. To achieve that, the campaign has three aims. Number one, outdoor learning is part of every school day for every child. Number two, every child has a great playtime at school every day for at least 60 minutes, with the longer term aim of 90 minutes. Number three, schools act as advocates for more time outdoors so that outdoor play becomes part of every child's life every day. Playtime at school and around the school day is so important. The evidence is clear, compelling and robust. Play is not just nice to have. It is not a shame that children do not play outdoors as much as they used to. It is much, much more serious than that. Through playing outdoors, our children can improve their physical health. Children are two and a half times more active outdoors compared to inside, and they sustain physical activity for longer. Improvements to mental health is also a benefit. Being outdoors makes us happier. We all know that. Just think about how you feel when the sun shines on your face. However, multiple research studies from across the world show that whatever the weather, as long as we are dressed right, children and adults feel less stressed, more relaxed and happier if they have been outdoors. Being outdoors regularly and often helps children identify a safe, quiet space where they can reflect. Outdoors and away from screens helps children build positive relationships, making and sustaining friendships and developing the social skills that they will need throughout life. Outdoor play can also improve academic progress. Children need time to assimilate learning. After playtime outdoors, children are more attentive to lessons, more on task and behave better. In a study of more than two and a half thousand children in Spain, exposure to total surrounding greenness was associated with a 5 per cent increase in the progress of working memory, a 6 per cent increase in the progress of superior working memory and a 1 per cent reduction in attentiveness. Outdoor play also helps children connect to the places that they live and the planet around them. We only love what we know. Playing outdoors for sustained periods of time regularly and often leads to greater care and concern for the environment. More green space in urban neighbourhoods in Scotland is linked to lower levels of perceived stress and improved physiological stress. As Sir David Attenborough says, no one will protect what they do not care about and no one will care about what they have never experienced. Research by Tim Gill, the author of No Fear, compared outdoor learning with outdoor play and found that, while outdoor learning was important and crucial for understanding scientific facts, outdoor play left children with a love of the outdoors so that they would want to protect it. Children who are happier at schools, more attentive in lessons and feel healthy, are far more likely to succeed in school and grow up happy and healthy all their lives. Overall, Scottish teachers that responded to the survey were pretty robust and, right across the UK, 24 per cent said that nothing stops them taking lessons outdoors and 16 per cent said that nothing stops outdoor play. If I can quote one teacher in Scotland, she said, we usually ignore wet play time and put on our waterproofs and get outside. I give up my break time to supervise this. Midges can be pretty brutal at times and, however, we still go outside. That is a teacher from the west coast. Of all the teachers surveyed across the UK, 99 per cent said that they believe that play time outdoors throughout the day is critical for children to reach their full potential. The Scottish Government has committed to encouraging and supporting inclusive play-based outdoor learning as part of the outdoor learning coalition, but play time at schools is important to. Play time supports children's social, emotional and academic development within the school day. When schools stand up and tell the world that they believe outdoor play and learning is important, parents will listen and the wider community listens. If we want Scottish children to be successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors who want to protect the places that they grow up in and the environment of the planet, they need more time out of doors. If we want happy children, they need to play out of doors. We have to make playing and learning out of doors every day routine again. By supporting outdoor classroom day, not only today, but on 23 May and 7 November next year, and by supporting the goal that play time at school should be at least 60 minutes long, the Scottish Government can send the message that it believes outdoor play is important, not just at school but at every day. I am grateful to everyone who signed the motion to let the debate go ahead and I look forward to everyone's contributions and then if anyone wants to join me outside for some fresh air afterwards, we can do that too. We will move on to the open debate. It is quite heavily subscribed, so I can ask people to keep their contributions tight, and no more than four minutes please. I call Liz Smith to be followed by Jenny Gilruth. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I immediately thank Ruth Maguire for bringing the motion to the chamber, and it is an issue that is very close indeed to my own heart. I do not think that there is any doubt that this is a very important worthwhile fact global initiative, not just in Scotland, in which thousands of schools across the world will take part in the aim of promoting and inspiring outdoor education and play. In 2017, more than 2.3 million children worldwide took part, including 530,000 in the UK and Ireland, and this year more than 540,000 are expected to do so. I certainly, from my own region of Mid-Scotland and Fife, commend the initiatives in a number of primary schools such as Letham, Forg and Denny, Dunbarney, Fosaway, Port Moc and Muthall. I have just been looking at some of these this morning, and I am exceptionally impressed by some of the initiatives that they have. I did not need any conversion to the benefits of outdoor learning, partly because I am old enough to be of the generation where the expectations were that you did play outside, often unsupervised. It has to be said in the company of your own friends so that you made your own fun. I remember very long days outside, coming home perhaps only to eat and to sleep, sometimes not coming home at all. I have to say without parents having to come and find me, and the joy of being able to roam freely in fields and woods up trees with my friends and playing lots of games and sport. We thought nothing about the risks that it has to be said, perhaps we should have done, but I am very clear indeed that the experience built in me is a very strong resilience, a curiosity about the wider world and a tolerance—much needed, may I say, in today's world—when I think that tolerance is perhaps sadly missing. It certainly gave me a personal taste for the wilds of Scotland and the staying power that was required to complete them in rows, particularly on days when I was making a solo ascent in difficult conditions, and I have to tell Ruth Maguire that midges are not just west coast phenomenon. I was, I hope, well equipped and very experienced because of my outdoor training, but nonetheless this is a passion that I want to pass on to many other particularly young people. Ruth Maguire has mentioned all the scientific and educational information about just how valuable this kind of education is. I couldn't agree more with that, but actually I don't really think we need it at all because I think common sense tells us about the advantages for children's wellbeing and behaviour. Certainly, in terms of being able to lower anxieties and deal with some of the mental health issues that we are obviously seeing a growth in just now, outdoor play and education could hardly be more important. I particularly noticed the recent study by the University of Essex that had done quite a lot of quantitative analysis on this, and it was very impressive about some of the benefits that it could have. According to the results of a new study commissioned by Project Dirt, which is a wonderful term, 99 per cent of teachers in the UK believe that outdoor playtime at school is absolutely critical as children try to reach their full potential. For me, the more important statistic was that 45 per cent of UK teachers questioned whether they were able to do that, partly because of curriculum pressures and some of the issues around organisational features. However, I don't think that that's the only thing that is holding us back. I think that what is much more damaging is the pervasive cotton wool culture. I think that there's an increasing link, dare I say, to what we call the snowflake generation—some of the young people I was speaking to you about this—which provides us with a lot of food for thought in terms of how we raise our young people and make them resilient. I think that there are too many excuses now for parents to cling to in terms of overprotecting their children and having an impact that they might miss some of the most valuable learning. Yes, of course. No, I'm afraid that you've come to the end of your contribution. Perhaps someone else will let the leader of the debate come in. Thank you very much, Ms Smith. I call Jenny Gouruth to be followed by Jenny Marra. Can I start by congratulating my friend and colleague Ruth Maguire MSP on securing this afternoon's debate, a topic on which I know that she has campaigned tirelessly since her election in 2016? Outdoor learning is, of course, central to the ethos of curriculum for excellence. Indeed, in Ruth Maguire's contribution, she noted the four capacities of curriculum for excellence—a curriculum that puts the learner at its heart. As a secondary school teacher to trade, however, outdoor learning was not, perhaps, a natural inclination for me. Maybe that is because secondary schools in Scotland are subject specialists in nature, perhaps because of the age group that we teach, perhaps because of the impending doom that afflicts secondary teachers in Scotland around April, the start of the annual examination diet. However, when I thought about my own experiences in delivering outdoor learning, I realised that outdoor learning had always been part of the education that I had delivered as a teacher. Taking pupils from Elgin High School to Grannys Helan Haim in Dornach, taking pupils on the annual sponsored walk at the Royal High School in Edinburgh, taking primary seven pupils to Dunans in Aberfoil as part of their residential week at St Columbus High School. Each of those experiences were formative to me as a teacher because they allowed me to form relationships with my pupils outwith the formalities of the classroom. In Scottish educational discourse, we often talk about the impact of actions on pupil attainment, for example. The impact of being an active member of my school community and choosing to take part in outdoor learning experiences was that it dramatically improved the type of learning and teaching that took place in my classroom. It was also hugely beneficial in confirming with pupils that I and colleagues alike did not in fact live under our desks. What about the impact of outdoor learning on pupils themselves? A report published by Plymouth University in 2016 confirmed that outdoor learning can have a positive impact on children's development. On Australian research paper published in 1999, it claimed that outdoor education has clear potential, if well designed, to foster enhancements of personal and social aspects of learning and development. We know that access to green space is crucial to improving mental health outcomes. On Monday this week, I was delighted to be joined by pupils from South Park's primary school, England Rossus, as part of their community group. Earlier in the year, I had been contacted by a number of constituents who had concerns about litter and riverside park in the town, particularly because 2018 marks the town's 70th birthday, so I reached out to the local primary school to see if they might be able to help. The pupils from the community group excelled themselves. Bags and bags of litter were collected and the pupils took their jobs as members of the community group very seriously, which was pretty impressive to see—a few aspiring politicians perhaps—among them. They were directly involved in outdoor learning that meant something, though it was contextualised. Far different from a teacher delivering a lesson in a classroom teaching them about litter in school, that learning experience was meaningful. Although I was not able to offer pupils the financial payment as one requested, I promised to facilitate a visit from the community group to Holyrood in the future. Before closing, I want to make a short mention of Thornton primary school, which is taking part in today's outdoor classroom day. The entire school is involved with a range of activities on offer, including den building for younger pupils and an outdoor tour of what is on offer for parents and carers. Primary 7 is taking part in outdoor artwork and younger pupils are taking part in an environmental print mock. Headteacher Irene Johnson said that outdoor classroom day allows the chance to help children to learn about their environment by teaching them about seasonal changes. It is also important for road safety now that it is getting darker earlier. It allows children the chance to learn about something different to a classroom environment, which is beneficial for those who get restless and, dare I say it, bored in indoor lessons. I commend Irene Johnson and the team at Thornton primary school for all their work in ensuring that outdoor classroom day is as meaningful for pupils as possible. We need hard-working teachers like Irene to make educational opportunities like outdoor classroom day work, so thank you to the teachers in my constituency who are making a difference every day. Outdoor classroom day deserves to be celebrated in Parliament, and so too do the professionals who ensure that it happens in our schools every day. Jenny Marra, followed by Rona Mackay Thank you, Presiding Officer. I thank and congratulate Ruth Maguire for bringing this important debate to the chamber today. I really want to just make a couple of observations, if I may, Presiding Officer. I am one based on some personal experience. A couple of years ago, I was picking up a couple of young brothers who I often take out during the school holidays, during the October holidays. I think that it was two years ago—it was beautiful October holidays—and, to my mind, a time of year where every child should be in the outdoors when the leaves are falling, when we are getting that crisp sunshine, and when it is not too cold to still enjoy the changing of the seasons. It was October recess that I spent the morning in my dundee office, and I went up at lunchtime to pick them up from their outdoor school club. I asked them what they had been doing. They had been sitting inside all morning watching Disney Frozen. It was not the first time that week—that beautiful week—as the sun was splitting the pavements of dundee that they had been watching Frozen. I have a real concern, and I support the motion and all that it says about outdoor classrooms and encouraging teachers to take children outdoor for their lessons. I think that there is a lot of value in that. However, I have a real concern that, during the holidays in Scotland, not enough children are outside playing. Ruth Maguire said in her excellent opening speech that there is even more evidence around outdoor play than there is around outdoor learning. I am really concerned about the quality of our care in the school holidays. I recognise that, after school clubs, there is homework to be done, and the children can be more tired, and there might be more reasons for being inside. However, to my mind, there is absolutely no excuse for outdoor school clubs during the school holidays holding the children inside to watch repeats of Disney films. I think that it is disgraceful. I have done a little bit of investigation to see, Presiding Officer, where the regulation comes of these clubs. I think that it rests with local authorities and with the care inspectorate, but I do not know if a lot of that has been done. I would be very interested in the minister responding to that at the end to see if we can get some standards across the board. I know that there are a number of providers. There are private providers, local authority providers, but how much time are those kids who their parents have got to work and they are in these clubs? How much time are they getting outside? I think that there should be a heavy presumption that they should be outside unless the weather really does not allow them to be so. I would like to touch in my remaining time, Presiding Officer, on why of all the obvious benefits, but health is a particular concern. The Scotsman reported three years ago that there are instances in Scotland of rickets. This is a disease that we thought we had seen go in the 1930s. There was reoccurrence of it in the 1960s in Dundee, and I have heard reports recently that reoccurring again. That is partly due to a lack of exposure to vitamin D that comes from the sunshine. Of course, the Government's health project—I currently have vitamin D supplements for my baby son—is given out at the book bug sessions and all the sessions that health visitors do across the country. However, the best thing that we can do is to get our children outside in the sunshine. I think that there are huge health benefits here, and there is the recorded risk now for MS as well, with a lack of exposure to sunshine. With those health benefits and the benefits that Ruth Maguire outlined for children's wellbeing, their mental health and what Liz Smith said about their robustness, I think that that is very good. We need to get them outdoors as much as possible. Rona Mackay, followed by Fulton MacGregor. I thank Ruth Maguire for bringing this important debate to the chamber. Outdoor learning is and always should have been a hugely important part of children's education. I look back to the dark ages when I was at school, and it was literally that, no daylight during class time except to play netball for a PE lesson, and only then if it was deemed sunny enough. The times are definitely changing and for the better. However, as has been mentioned, we know that for the last decade or more, children are spending well over the recommended daily time playing video games and watching television and way under the recommended time spent outdoors. I agree wholeheartedly with Jenny Marra's point about holiday and after school clubs. It is something that I had not even considered, but it is an excellent point. Spending too much time inside negatively affects not only children's health and obesity levels but also their academic performance and ability to concentrate during class. A recent survey of children from 125 schools found that, after spending time learning outdoors, 90 per cent of pupils felt happier and 92 per cent enjoyed their lessons more. Likewise, 85 per cent of teachers saw a positive impact on pupils' behaviour and 92 per cent found that their pupils were more engaged with learning. Children who spend more time learning outdoors also developed problem-solving and communicatory skills at a much faster rate than those who learn inside the classroom. Crucially, it helps children with attention deficit disorders. We need to teach children from a young age that learning is an on-going, exciting process, one that occurs not just within the confines of the school walls but everywhere and all the time. Of course, outdoor play and learning begins before school, and that is why I am delighted with the rise in the popularity of forest nurseries. I have an excellent one of my constituency of Strathkelvin and Bearsden and all the early years providers I have visited in my constituency prioritised having outside space for children to play in all weathers. Such a change from 20 years ago when my son was at nursery. It is important to remember that children do not mind rain, wind or snow. It is adults that object and this can often affect children's attitudes to going outside outdoors when they are older. The Scouts are experts in outdoor learning and I thank them for the briefing. The Scouts prepare young people with skills for life and I know that to be true because my niece and nephew are both active Scouts and are flourishing as a result of their involvement with them. Scouts Scotland is the largest coeducational youth movement in Scotland with 51,000 or so members and last year 26,000 young people took part in outdoor learning at three scout adventure centres. They believe that learning in the outdoors allows young people the chance to develop skills for life that are useful in the outdoors but also back in the classroom. Building fires and learning how to cook being part of a team are all skills that many children miss out on which would enhance their future pathways. They also believe that learning in the outdoors away from school or home can be a powerful positive impact on young people's academic achievement and I think that that has been proved from what we have been learning today. The Scouts believe that many parents or carers may feel that they do not have the confidence or the skills to participate in outdoor learning with their children. In my view, possibly time could be a factor in that too. The Scouts run parent and child camps not just for Scouts but for anyone wanting to enjoy outdoor family experiences so that the facts are clear. Less support outdoor classroom day. Outdoor learning leads to healthier, happier young people and healthier, happier adults. Fulton MacGregor, followed by Alison Harris. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I want to thank Ruth Maguire for bringing this debate to the chamber and I know that it is an issue that she has been very passionate about. It is one that I also believe in, Presiding Officer. Indeed, I had a question to the minister just a few weeks ago on the 3 October. I welcomed her response when she highlighted that play-based learning is an effective and appropriate way to deliver education and that the curriculum for excellence gives teachers the flexibility to introduce play in early primary years and beyond. In June, when she was in Scotland talking about the Norwegian outdoor kindergarten model, she said that it was very interesting. In the part of Norway where this model operates, the weather is often very cold and there are even points in the year where there is little to no hours at all of daylight and yet they have almost entirely outdoor-based system. The results are absolutely fantastic. The question that she was asking when she did a lecture here was why can't we do that here in Scotland where the weather is much better? I would encourage any members if they get the opportunity or time to check out tourism work. The case has been mailed by Ruth Maguire and other speakers about the benefits of playing outdoors on development and learning and mental health and other aspects. I want to take the rest of my time to comment on a couple of examples in my constituency. It would be fair to say that I could mention any school in my area and pick out some of the amazing examples. For now, I am focusing on just three. One school that tries to incorporate outdoor learning not just in this day but every day is Glen Manor primary in Middysburn. I have previously visited the fantastic vegetable garden that pupils have. I understand that they are currently harvesting the last of the year's veg and preparing the vegetable beds for winter whilst composting old leaves in veg. There are so many lessons to be learned from something as simple as a vegetable garden responsibility, nutrition and cooking skills, the science of how things grow, patience, how to be more environmentally friendly and how to reduce food waste, all very important issues. Another great example is from the town head primary school in Coltbridge, who are involved in a full day of activities today for the whole school. For example, they are doing numerous outside and recognising shapes in their environment, planting scrubs, flowers and a bug hunt. The children are also involved in building bug hotels and hedgehog homes. They have even taken their literacy outside and finding things around the grounds to make a poem from. Of course, like Glen Manor and the other schools, outdoor learning is already a very important part of their curriculum. They are one of the first schools to be part of the seven locks project, a two-year project, which takes place every Friday at Trampillia locks. It involves linking the community, environment and school with outdoor learning and painting school, which is a primary school for social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, to take part in the project and to dare on the scooters for outdoor learning. A final example is St Timothy's in Coltbridge, where they have been involved in outdoor learning activities all week. For example, the P1s went on a forest walk this week to learn about autumn and apply it to science. They are in a partnership with the fabulous parent action for safe play, which involves children working with their gardener in the orchard and polytunnel, which have been developed in the grounds of the school. Their nursery classes are involved in forest walks and Trampillia are also on a regular basis. There is fantastic work going across my area and, as I said, I could have mentioned many other schools that I know personally from my own sons—nursery forest walks. It is not just the schools, the BBs and the air cadets that are based in my constituency, and others do a fantastic job in promoting outdoor learning. I recently attended and presented at the first Coltbridge Boys Brigade prize-giving and heard about the camping and other outdoor works that they were doing in the prizes that were being given out to some of the members for that. I will end by saying that I do try where possible to practice this myself. Today, I am very much looking forward to the weekend to get out with my own children. As always, as others have said, regardless of the weather, because they do not care, they make use of the great spaces that my area has to offer, such as Garko's Nature reserve, Trampillia locks and Dimbeth Park, to name a few. Alison Harris, followed by Tom Arthur. I am pleased to be speaking today's members' debate on the outdoor classroom day, and I thank Ruth Maguire for bringing it to the chamber. Today, as we all know, is outdoor classroom day, and, worldwide, children are taking to the outdoors to learn. Here in Scotland, more than 600 schools are participating, giving thousands of children the opportunity to head outdoors to learn, play and develop. It is important that our children get the chance to do this, because the world of today is very different to how it was 30, 20 or even 10 years ago. Back in my day, perhaps mostly because there was a lack of other things to do, children would often go out and play with their friends as soon as the school bell rang. I think back that we did not have computers, mobile phones, etc. In 2016, there was a survey by Persil, and they found that, these days, nearly three quarters of children in the UK spend less than an hour playing outdoors each day. One notable reason for this is the fear that it is not safe to play outdoors anymore in your own area. While there is a range of factors contributing to the statistic, it is no coincidence that the fall in outdoor play has happened at the same time as a rise in computerised play, with the same survey also showing that children now spend twice as long playing on screens as they do outside. Although I believe that the huge advancements in technology have been beneficial and should be fully taken advantage of, it is also important to encourage a balance in children's lives growing up. It has been shown in studies and in actual practice that outdoor learning has many positive effects. Perhaps most obvious is that it improves children's health. Taking part in outdoor classes gives them the opportunity to get their daily hour outside. Beyond health, educational benefits have been observed, including the development of critical thinking, problem-solving, concentration and even social skills. The more I say, the more I think I will join Ruth Maguire outside afterwards for some fresh air. The benefits to education have been witnessed by teachers and early learning and childcare providers, who have said that the change in environment gives children new topics to think of and encourages both leadership and teamwork in accomplishing tasks. However, teachers and childcare providers have highlighted some barriers to outdoor learning, too. One teacher, who spoke with my office, praised the idea of outdoor learning in principle but said that, amongst teachers, there was a general feeling of a lack of understanding on what the desired learning intentions and outcomes were meant to be. Having graduated with a degree in primary teaching within the last three years, she added that she had experienced a distinct lack of training in the delivery of outdoor classes, which she said led many teachers to avoid the practice due to lack of confidence. That view is shared by other educationalists across the country. On top of that, a couple of drawbacks exist. First, extra care needs to be taken to ensure the safety of the children. That has a real cost attached to it. Secondly, being based in Scotland, we are perhaps not as well-equipped for all-year-round outdoor learning as countries such as Australia, which in many ways pioneered the outdoor learning project. Let us encourage our children outdoor, but let us also leave the decision on the level of outdoor learning to the qualified professionals—Scotland's teachers and early learning providers. They should be the ones to decide how they want to approach the delivery of outdoor learning. Today, on outdoor classroom day, I welcome the promotion of outdoor learning. I think that it is one solution to the problem of encouraging Scotland's children outdoors, and I think that it is letting them experience the joy of being outdoors. Perhaps more training could be provided to our teachers across Scotland in the delivery of outdoor learning, because, if done correctly, studies have shown that it can improve our children's attainment, their health and help-build character. I certainly think that it is important to have a balance between outdoor and indoor classroom learning. If I just leave you with the former Secretary of State for Education, Food and Rural Affairs, Liz Truss once put it this way, our children should be climbing trees, not the walls. The final two contributions in the open debate are from Tom Arthur, followed by Alison Johnstone. Thank you, Presiding Officer. It is a real pleasure to have the opportunity to take part in this debate. I thank my colleague Ruth Maguire for securing the debate and to thank all of the speakers who have preceded me for an array of thoughtful contributions, which have certainly helped to develop my understanding of the benefits of outdoor learning and outdoor play. Many of the arguments, as I said, have been very well rehearsed already, and it is potential for improving socialisation, physical and mental health and wellbeing. I think that another key area that has been touched on is its pedagogical utility. In my experience, I have always felt that there was a strong correlation between excitement about a subject and one's capacity to learn that subject. In my pre-political life, I was a piano tutor, which did not afford much opportunity for any outdoor teaching. However, a method of teaching that involved the child simply sitting at the piano and not having the opportunity to go up, to dance, to sing, to a broader degree of physicality would be quite limiting. That is an incredibly important part of the learning process for a musical instrument. It certainly applies to academic subjects as well. I have been struck by some of the comments in the debate as well. With regard to the advance of computerised play, I can perhaps divide my childhood into two separate eras before and after PlayStation. I was very fortunate to grow up in Barhead with my parents' property backing on to the Levenburn. There was nothing I loved more as a kid to go in the burn, building dams, fishing and going on adventures. Equally, just a short walk away was the foot of the Ferenese braze, but again, I and my brothers would go and play. I share this to give an example of how childhood experiences have such an impact later in life. One of the favourite holiday locations of my family growing up was Neath Caravan Park at Gair Lochhead. My younger brother Martin would regularly go down to the beach and disappear for hours collecting seals and crabs and all sorts of other beasties that he could find. He went to university to study psychology and in the end he did not enjoy it. He is now almost 30 years old back studying zoology and absolutely loving it and completely engaged. After years of perhaps not being engaged, I find it fascinating how he has returned back to that original experience that enchanted him and energised him as a child. It is absolutely vital that we make sure that our young people and our children have that exposure to the outdoors, because we know all the benefits that it brings. In particular in areas such as problem-solving, there will be skills and abilities that children will acquire with outdoor learning, which will simply be impossible to deliver in the classroom. Of course, I have another constituency connection that I wish to highlight. I very much want to commend the work of Wallace primary school in Eldersley, in my constituency of Renfrewshire South. They, at the moment, are seeking funding via the Aviva community fund. They vote for that closed very, very soon, but they have within the perimeter of their school a wooded area. They are seeking to develop that to enhance their outdoor learning offer to their children and young people. I very much want to commend Wallace primary in their endeavours. I encourage all constituents in Eldersley across Renfrewshire South to back the project. I also want to highlight the work of Eldersley community council, who, through the Aviva community fund, are seeking funding to install a play park in Eldersley, for which there is currently a lack of. Although it is important that our children have the opportunity for outdoor learning and play in school, we want to ensure that they are able to do that outwith school hours, particularly during the summer holidays, as other members have alluded to. However, in that note, I would like to conclude and, very finely, extend an invitation to the minister to come along and see the wonderful work that has gone on at Wallace primary for herself. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Tom Arthur describes his experience of play as before and after playstation. I think that it is probably fair to say mine is before and after etch a sketch, which at the time was regarded as quite high-tech. Seriously, I would like to thank Ruth Maguire for bringing this subject to the chamber today. It is really important, and I think that it deserves more attention and recognition than it gets. I, too, would like to thank those organisations like the Scouts for their briefing today, but also for their long-standing commitment to getting our young people outside and for helping them to develop an appreciation of the outdoors and its many benefits. I would also like to thank Police Scotland for its on-going work on the agenda. As Rona Mackay has pointed out, the Scouts are calling for more investment in helping parents and carers to take part in outdoor learning with their children. They are running parent and child camps that are open to those who are not involved with the Scouts, so there is good work going on in the city, too. Cram and Primary School, the Lawrence and Castle Forest Kindergarten, is part of an Edinburgh City Council pilot, and it offers 600 hours of nursery and 500 hours of forest annually. We would all benefit markedly from that. The children there are definitely experiencing a lot of benefits, and I believe that the minister is aware of that pilot. It is not an accident that the entire shortlist of the UK's best nurseries at last year's nursery world awards were made up of outdoor operators. The children of the Lawrence and Castle don't bat an eyelid if they are out in its raining, but that is not the case everywhere. In an independent survey of March this year, parents mentioned that their children used the excuse of wet weather, fears about getting muddy, tiredness and a dislike of the cold as reasons for not playing outside. One in 10 children said that they would rather stay indoors to avoid getting dirty or touching germs, and 30 per cent were just simply too engrossed in video games to go outside. So there is work to be done. There is a culture. We have to develop a habit and make sure that children understand what fun they can have outdoors. I think that outdoor classroom day is really important. It is about encouraging more time to learn outside, but also about learning through play every day. It is clear that there is more focus on this area required. As an athletics coach, I know that outdoor play is crucial for developing physical literacy. It develops self-confidence. It develops strength, balance and co-ordination. Children and play should just go together. Those words should go together, shouldn't they? Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child tells us that every child has that right to play, but for too many children in 2018, sadly they do not. We know in other parts of the globe that children as young as five are going out to work all day, every day, in situations that we here in Scotland can barely imagine—factories, mines, quarries. Children in Scotland, too, we need to do all we can to make sure that in this wealthy affluent country that we are contributing to that right to play, that we are making sure that it happens, that we are not hindering that right to play, unstructured play outdoors can be transformational. Children benefit so much from the fact that they have overcome a big challenge, that they have taken risks in failing to do something the first time they try, but eventually getting there is key to building resilience. It's absolutely key to good mental health and good physical health. I'd be grateful. I look forward to hearing the minister elaborate on how she's going to take this agenda further forward in Scotland. It's clear that there are good things going on, but it's clear that there's more that we could be doing. I'm absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to close today's timely debate on outdoor classroom day. I'd like to thank my colleague Bruce Maguire for highlighting this really important educational initiative. For all the hard work that he's done campaigning on this issue, I'm really delighted that the Parliament is celebrating this initiative. I'm also delighted to find so many passionate advocates across the chamber because it's something that I feel very passionately about, perhaps having grown up in that very West Highland territory with all the Midgees and mountains. Most of the Midgees. We know the benefits of outdoor learning and exercise and play for children are significant. Playing, learning, having fun outdoors helps to improve wellbeing and resilience and increases health through physical activity. It provides children with the opportunity to develop a lifelong appreciation of the natural world. It naturally encourages good stewardship of the environment, a growing body of research also shows a positive impact on educational attainment, which a number of you mentioned. We should therefore be very proud that Scotland is a country that recognises values and promotes outdoor learning and play. The Government is committed to continuing that tradition throughout all stages of the learner journey, and that's why we've created a policy framework in which outdoor play can be delivered as a foundation of the educational experience. It was great to hear this morning from Carly Sefton. I visited happy days nursery in Dalkeith. I had, we were shaking apples of a tree, I fell off a scooter, I had a great start to outdoor classroom today. It was great to hear from Carly Sefton, who is the CEO of learning through landscapes that Scotland is leading the UK in promoting outdoor learning. She mentioned the world, so she quite rightly recognised that academics from all over the world are coming to Scotland to learn from what we're doing. In my own portfolio, we've provided £862,000 of funding to Inspiring Scotland to support eight local authorities across Scotland to develop and increase success to the outdoors as a focus of the expansion of funded early learning and childcare. I'm determined that this expansion can provide an opportunity for us to really define outdoor learning as part of our children's early experience. Liz Smith I'm very grateful to her for doing that and entirely agree with what you're saying. I think that there's a lot of really good things happening in the early years. I think that, just to pick up the point that Jenny Marra made, it's the next stage that's vital, as children go slightly older, where many of them can drop off from these activities, that we really need to be focusing on continuing the interest in outdoor education. I think that there's a lot of issues there about staffing and about provision, would you agree with that? Mary Todd Certainly, and I'll go on to respond to the point that Jenny Marra made just very shortly. Outdoor access and play are already central in the new health and social care standards, and we're going to ensure that outdoor play is also a key component of the new national standard for early learning and childcare. Just last week, we launched a position statement in partnership with Scotland's national coalition on outdoor play-based learning. That's an important coalition of 50 organisations and national bodies who've committed to work together to embed playing and learning outdoors as an everyday activity and to celebrate it as a fundamental part of growing up in Scotland. Our commitment to early learning and play definitely does extend beyond early learning and childcare in curriculum for excellence. We have a framework through which outdoor learning and play can be used to deliver education in all curricular areas between the ages of 3 and 18. We encourage teachers to engage with motivating, exciting and diverse outdoor environments through continued support provided by Education Scotland. We've also taken the important step of embedding outdoor learning within the curricular theme of learning for sustainability. Scotland is a world-leading reputation in the field of sustainability education, and we recognise that contact with the natural world will help our young people to understand the importance of environmental sustainability. In response to Jenny Marra's point, we are currently developing a strategic framework for after-school and holiday childcare. Right now, we recognise that that is a significant part of tackling the attainment gap. Given our commitment to outdoor play and our track record so far, I have absolutely no doubt that outdoor learning will be a part of that. I thank the minister for that commitment. Will she go as far to say that, during the school holidays and out-of-school care clubs, there should be a presumption that the children should be outdoors as much as possible? Mary Todd. I'll certainly consider it. I would go further. The after-school clubs that I visited outdoor learning is an important part of the after-school component. It is really important that children have played outdoors every single day, so I would not restrict my intentions for embedding outdoor play just to the holidays. Alison Johnstone. Thank you. At the cross-party group on children and young people, we have previously had a discussion about the fact that some children do not have appropriate clothing or footwear for those wet days. We have had a discussion about the need in school cloakrooms to make that part and parcel. If school is kept, there are wellies and appropriate clothing for all children to use for those very important things. Mary Todd. Certainly, in early years, they are almost universally provided as part of the nursery equipment. Children and young people have many rich opportunities to engage in outdoor learning and play activities as part of their education. However, play and access to outdoor needs to continue beyond the school and nursery gates, and our play strategy launched in 2013 recognised that. It sought to deliver a whole range of actions that enable Scotland to be the best place in the world to grow up. We have provided funding to the go-to-play programme, recently renamed Thrive Outdoors. Thrive Outdoors are doing incredible work, including the play ranger programme. Inspiring Scotland's work as part of the active play programme has been proven to increase physical activity and is absolutely, definitely linked to emotional, social and cognitive development. I will conclude, because I have lots more to say. This is an absolute personal passion of mine, but I want to thank all the members for their thoughtful contributions this afternoon. Outdoor learning and play is absolutely vital in enriching the educational and social development of our children and young people. Outdoor classroom day is a fantastic vehicle by which those associated benefits can be delivered. I am delighted to accept Tom Arthur's invitation, and I am willing to accept any invitation from colleagues to visit outdoor learning initiatives in their constituencies. I would like to restate the Government's commitment to the agenda and our desire to ensure that outdoor learning and play is not just delivered today, but every day for the benefit of all our children and young people. Thank you. That concludes the debate, and this meeting is suspended until half past two.