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Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at 3:36 pm on 20 June 2007.

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Photo of Bill Kidd Bill Kidd Scottish National Party 3:36, 20 June 2007

I am certain that Glasgow City Council is addressing the mistakes that were made in 2005 by the previous Labour administration.

The development of a flexible, dedicated early years development teaching degree will progress the first vital step in lifelong education and ensure that additional support funding is directed towards improving services for children with conditions such as dyslexia and autism. That will be warmly welcomed by parents in Glasgow and throughout Scotland.

During the recent election campaign, when the previous Executive was in power, I frequently met newly qualified primary school teachers. They were nearing the end of their one-year probationary placements but were unable to find continuing work in schools because they were to be replaced by the following year's probationers. I was told by them often that they would be happy to take a further course that would lead to work with children with learning difficulties or in nursery schools but that the opportunities to do so were not available. I am certain that those newly qualified teachers will welcome the cabinet secretary's announcement of additional teachers as a considerable improvement on what has gone before.

The cabinet secretary made an announcement about the reduction of class sizes in primaries 1, 2 and 3. I attended primary school at a time when it was typical to have 40 in a class. Although there were many dedicated and accomplished teachers, a large number of classmates, many of whom were demonstrably intelligent, fell through the academic net. Others, who required specialist education that would have been identified in a smaller class, were simply left aside because they were too difficult or too wilful to spend extra time on. It is self-evident that having smaller classes in the early stages of schooling is vital to allow for the identification of children with problems, but it is also important in enabling all those children who are among the majority to gain an appreciation of learning that will benefit them later in life.

As a Glaswegian and a Glasgow MSP, I commend the previous Executive on the beginnings of joint-campus education as a progressive and positive step towards the eradication of sectarian attitudes in the west of Scotland. I would be pleased to see the new Scottish Government considering a similar approach and hope that the cabinet secretary will take that on board.

Once again, I thank the cabinet secretary for her welcome announcements and commend her for her strong commitment to deliver.