'AT this time of year, I’d usually be preparing for the end of the school term. In Holyrood it’s much the same as in the classroom – the Presiding Officer tries to keep order and the politicians see how far they can push it.

And much like Scottish Politics at the moment, Scottish Education faces challenges. Nonetheless, we should not let those challenges over-shadow the fantastic work that our teachers, support staff, school jannies and secretaries carry out every single day.

When I stood for election last May I made education a priority - I promised to visit every school in my Constituency. I have four more schools to meet before my homework is complete! Meeting with Headteachers and pupils is always rewarding; and it’s a really enjoyable part of the job. From Question & Answer sessions with P7 pupils, to meeting Nursery aged children playing in sandpits, to political discussions with Modern Studies students – that’s the part of my job that I love and in honesty is probably the part I miss the most now that I’m not teaching.

Many of my friends are teachers. If I ask them to tell me about their work, they laugh and tell me stories about class trips, school shows and about those ‘lightbulb’ moments when they’re teaching.Whatever your politics, it’s really important to remember that without our teachers none of us would be where we are today. Your teachers are the people who can shape how you think, how you communicate and later in life what you’ll go on to do.

The Pupil Equity Fund has delivered £120m of additional funding directly into the hands of Headteachers across Scotland, empowering them to spend the money on the individual needs of each of their own schools. Warout and Thornton Primary have each been given around £100,000 of additional funding, with Kinglassie and Newcastle Primary Schools also benefitting amongst others.

Last week, the Scottish Government published its Education Governance Review, outlining a series of significant reforms for Scottish education. The Government’s ‘Teaching Makes people’ campaign launched in February and has seen thousands more people consider a career in teaching - more than 40% of people who saw the campaign video are now seeking career advice in teaching.

We need to attract those teachers to Fife. I know that Fife Council are looking at how they can do that better. Our Councils, after all, employ our teachers and therefore have a pivotal role to play in ensuring we attract the most talented professionals – the people that will make a difference by raising ambition and aspiration in the next generation. I wish every teacher in Fife – and every pupil – an enjoyable summer'.