I am joined today by Erica Clarkson and Simon Stockwell. We all welcome the opportunity to talk about the subject that the committee has been investigating.
The Scottish Government intends Scotland to be the best country in the world in which to grow up—a country where all our children and families have the opportunity to fulfil their potential. I know that, in evidence gathering for your inquiry, a number of clear themes have arisen for your consideration. Those issues echo the issues that arose during our wide-ranging consultations with parents and professionals across Scotland, which helped to inform our national parenting strategy.
The parenting strategy, which was launched in October 2012, supports everyone who is in a parenting role and recognises that fathers should absolutely be involved in their children’s lives. It also acknowledges fathers’ needs for professional support with issues that affect their ability to be confident, proactive and successful parents.
Through the strategy, we are working with partners to examine how to make services relevant and able to involve fathers positively in their children’s lives. We want to make the strategy fit for fathers, and what we need to do is listen effectively and respond to what dads really want.
As we move forward with implementation of the parenting strategy, we will continue to ensure that services such as health and education and those in the third sector make dads feel welcome and included. For example, we are currently working with Children in Scotland to examine ways in which our public bodies can ensure more equal treatment of dads when it comes to parenting responsibilities.
We are also working with employers to support them in creating workplaces that encourage a better work-life balance for everyone. So that we can help dads to thrive at home and at work, we have formed a new partnership with Fathers Network Scotland, the parenting across Scotland group and Working Families to try to change the way that Scotland’s parents live and work.
Through funding for organisations and initiatives such as the men in childcare project, we are acting to redress the gender imbalance and to raise awareness of the need for more men to opt for a career in our early years sector. Elsewhere, we are investing in projects and organisations such as Families Need Fathers and Fathers Network Scotland to ensure that the voices of dads are heard. Along with Fathers Network Scotland, we co-chair the fathers advisory panel, which met earlier this week to consider how fathers can contribute to policy and practice development across Government. Most recently, the panel has helped us to restyle our “play talk read” and family information service websites to ensure that they work in a way that speaks to dads.
In addition, we are working with the advisory panel and Fathers Network Scotland to develop clear, simple messages about GIRFEC and the named person. We have also sought the views of dads in developing the sexual health and relationships education resource for secondary schools. As well as that, we are working with young men and fathers as we take forward the development of the new teenage pregnancy and young parent strategy.
We will also be working with the advisory panel and Fathers Network Scotland over the next few months to map the delivery of support groups for dads across Scotland, so that we can better understand the provision and consider what needs to be done to encourage participation and widen access.
Furthermore, in partnership with Families Need Fathers, we have been gathering data from local authorities on policy and practice in schools in relation to fathers and non-resident parents. That is being used to develop a good practice guide for schools, and NHS Health Scotland has been working with a group of dads to father proof a range of resources and to inform the development of new content to be made available on the “Ready Steady Baby!” website. The overhaul will include a fathers section, usability testing with fathers and the development of a communication strategy for the launch.
I believe that we have made solid progress over recent years, but I recognise that there is still a long way to go if we are to ensure that all parents—dads included—get the support that they need, when they need it, in order to be the best that they can be for their children.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide this statement. I hope that I have given you a flavour of the work that we have been doing across Government in relation to the theme that you have been examining for the past few weeks.