South Ayrshire members of the Scottish Government Children’s Parliament have visited Edinburgh to see the Scottish Parliament in action.

The children toured the new building and were given access to offices occupied by Members of the Scottish Parliament, and had the chance to sit in the ‘think pod’ windows.

Observing Ministers question time gave the young visitors an opportunity to see debating take place within the main chamber.

The Council encourages active citizenship within their schools, and the Children’s Parliament is an example of young people learning about and becoming involved in local government, and their local communities.

Nowadays due to communications channels such as television and the Internet, children are very well informed on current issues and care about their peers, local, national, and international issues, and this project is giving them a voice amongst adults.

The Scottish Government is funding the Scottish Children’s Parliament and invited South Ayrshire Council to take part in the pilot project that is aimed at children who are 8 to 14 years of age. A group of 22 children were selected predominantly from P6 classes across South Ayrshire, so that they can progress through the three year schedule of the project and provide continuity to any assessment of it. The children act as ‘ambassadors’ for the Children’s Parliament, disseminating information to their peers, and are supported Council staff.

The young people form a representative group that reflects the diversity of socioeconomic background, ethnicity, faith, and additional support needs of Scotland’s children.

The group meet once a month to debate issues, work on agreed themes, make collective decisions, and then make representation to people who are in positions within organisations to bring about the changes that the children would like to see.

April 2005