THE work of the Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament for Cowdenbeath in re-assuring young people at a time of real uncertainty in schools, was praised in the Scottish Parliament.

Cowdenbeath MSP, Annabelle Ewing, took the opportunity of Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education, following his statement on the impact of COVID-19, to highlight efforts by Lochgelly High School pupil, Bailey-Lee Robb, the MSYP, for the Cowdenbeath constituency, to reassure his fellow young people in schools across Fife.

Ms Ewing asked John Swinney: "Bailey-Lee Robb, who is the member of the Scottish Youth Parliament for the Cowdenbeath constituency, on his own initiative posted a video clip seeking to reassure his fellow young people in schools across Fife. That seems to me to be an excellent initiative. What can the Cabinet Secretary do to encourage more such initiatives, so that we provide much-needed reassurance to young people across Scotland?"

Mr Swinney replied: "That is a welcome example of how young people can reassure each other at peer-group level.

"We spend a great deal of our time working with organisations, such as Young Scot, on giving reassurance in order to provide trusted and safe encouragement to young people around the country. We will certainly continue to do that.

"Some very good material on the coronavirus was broadcast the other day as a consequence of the partnership between Young Scot and the Government, which involved Professor Jason Leitch. There is a host of opportunities to do that, and I will certainly take forward Annabelle Ewing’s suggestion".

Speaking afterwards, Ms Ewing said: “I was pleased to have had the opportunity to highlight the efforts that Bailey-Lee has made to reassure his fellow young people in schools throughout Fife. He really is a fine young man who cares deeply for his fellow pupils.

“As Bailey-Lee said, you are not going to be left on your own – schools are putting in place support measures for their pupils and plenty of resources will be available online.

“I know that the cancellation of the SQA exams will be a worry to many but the Cabinet Secretary made it clear that a credible certification model can be put in place that can command confidence and that even in the absence of formal exams, we can ensure that our young people are in no way disadvantaged.”