(1/3) Dear Edinburgh Holiday Hub users - past, present and future, We (REPAIR) have been working hard to pull together a list of shortcomings and key questions/discussion points regarding the Holiday Hubs management and processes since the June Committee paper was approved.

How many across Scotland not just Edinburgh. There really needs to be a national investigation. The amount of families impacted by this is a national scandal. Hidden by poor or no recording of data. It’s getting worse year on year.

Thanks to @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social for letting more parents tell their families stories. @natalie-jade.bsky.social 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 how many more children and young people have to suffer like this?

A national investigation should happen. Thousands of children and young people are “ ghost children” . Failed completely by education.

Only half of Scots feel their council treats them with dignity. Just a third think councils address issues that matter in their lives. These numbers should alarm everyone- but probably not surprise anyone ... www.gov.scot/publications...

A Muslim child was racially attacked in my neighbourhood on her way home from school … What on Earth have we become as a society? My column in @heraldscotland.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/politics/vie...

❌ Local authorities have significant devolved powers over education but too often, families are left fighting for support they should receive. It's a story we've heard repeatedly and part of the reason our campaign started.

Please watch and share. How many more stories like this do we need to see?

We need new standards in politics and local government. They are supposed to problem solve based on facts, verifiable evidence. Cherry picking data for political gain shouldn’t be allowed. It’s dishonest and harmful to the entire population. It’s time for honesty and transparency or communities

It should be deeply shocking that in 2025 we’re seeing a local council admit it’s okay to wait another year before fixing dangerous walking routes for school children. news.stv.tv/west-central...

In a special blog for #ScotLDweek25, Mark Gallagher, Senior Lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University, shows how this career blends compassion, advocacy, and specialised skills. Read Mark’s blog to find out more: zurl.co/NsB5v#ScotLDweek25 #IAmHereScotland #InclusiveHealthcare

Can Scotland be brave? Incorporating UNCRC Article 12 into practice - using Talking Mats and the Lundy Model ...

Having children with ASN in Scotland has been eye opening and challenging for many reasons. Most of the challenges have been around inaccessible healthcare and education. Disjointed working and lack of multidisciplinary effective communication have made “child centred” impossible.

Drawing on 7+ years campaigning for children & parental rights, nearly 30 years of professional practice, and her PhD research, @deedeedelaney.bsky.social reflects on how we can translate children’s rights into meaningful practice and real change for children.

❌ Publishing pay gap data without action is like diagnosing a problem without treatment. It’s time to make gender pay gap action plans mandatory in Scotland’s public sector. 👉 Read our brief for more info: buff.ly/K0AVKNA

All these decisions are incredibly short sighted in terms of the economic impact they will have on wider society. 40% of children have an additional support need. Access to education is becoming increasingly difficult with so many including care experienced kids receiving one hour a week.

Spot on ⬇️

Imagine someone connected the dots here and could see what is happening in our local communities when it comes to rights and local democracy and the impacts of these policy decisions on women ... www.dailyrecord.co.uk/in-your-area...

What has it come to that we can't even seem to prioritise keeping kids safe in the face of endless cuts? www.heraldscotland.com/news/2544061...

Children thrive when parents and educators work together. Collaboration builds stronger foundations, bringing all our expertise together, to support one another to fill the gaps connect.scot/news/connect...

Consultation processes always feel like a tick box exercise and the questions loaded or over simplified to steer the data towards a forgone conclusion. The more you participate in the more you see how overtly obvious this is. Ordinary people don’t have any real influence.

How many stories, how many examples ... Cutting free transport for ASN children in Inverclyde. Again, this is not just a cost-cutting measure, it’s a rights violation. #ASN #ChildRights #Scotland #InclusionMatters www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/news/2543280...

Is there any point in parents/carers filling in this consultation? How many consultations have we actually filled in over the last few years, and what real difference have they made? consult.gov.scot/education-sc...

The gap between policy and practice is full of conflicting and oppositional views on children and young people’s rights to autonomy and decision making utilising the least restrictive means to actually “ hear” them let alone support their views.

Following some discussions yesterday after this post, here is another thread to reflect those discussions. When Scotland wrote the UNCRC into law, parents reacted differently. Some ✅ welcomed it. 🤨 were sceptical. ❌ thought it was a job for professionals. ❓had no idea what it meant.

Hi @bsky.app we are new around here, what do we need to know? We are a parent network based in Edinburgh Scotland trying to establish better parental engagement and Inclusion for ASN parents, carers and families

It’s the start of the school term and straight away, children’s rights are back at the forefront of conversations (for parents). Here we go again, a new school year, a new term, and a new battle for accountability in our local authorities. Breaches in plain sight.

Absolutely all of the above. Add the maze of complex referrals for support that change names, remit like shifting sands. So many doors closed. Add the ineffectual remit of large third party organisations who can’t/ won’t stand up for children and young people directly or challenge LAs

Add confusing and inaccurate information about rights being disseminated by those charged to uphold children and young people’s rights. Add profiteering from the desperation many parents/carers experience. Add faceless people making unrecorded decisions that ruin families lives.

Add isolation, incurred poverty and dependency. Add learned hopelessness created by the people charged with “ inclusion “. Add the hedonistic power that local authorities have in impenetrable and unaccountable institutions. Add campaigns perpetuating parental blame.

Add a class system that no one talks about honestly. Our education system favours those who can afford housing that surrounds better schools. Add gaslighting of vulnerable families creating division amongst ASN parents. Failures are rewarded and data not recorded or hidden.

Local councils hold power. They are legally responsible for meeting children’s needs in every community. Yet powerful forces would rather have parents chasing shadows believing it’s someone else’s problem.

How many stories, real life experiences and impacts are needed for theh policy and legal rhetoric to be transformed to reality for children and families ...? www.dailyrecord.co.uk/in-your-area...

Another day, another failure from our local authorities www.dailyrecord.co.uk/in-your-area...

Join us for the Carers Parliament 2025! This annual event gives unpaid carers in Scotland the opportunity to address their concerns and questions on caring directly to national and local Government decision-makers. Online places still available here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/NYHXCRV

None of these things actually exist they only ever a collection of people who happen to be MSPs or councillors. What’s evident is they aren’t “ public servants “ they interested in status quo of remaining in their jobs and positions of power. Local Government isn’t doing its job it’s self serving.

We need more of this from our elected representatives ... A letter from a regional MSP supporting the campaign to reinstate secondary school buses in North Lanarkshire, for which parents, children and families are very grateful.

Hear hear! Access to education starts with accessible and reliable transportation. Absolutely essential and disgraceful that families are just abandoned at every possible cost cutting juncture.

More stories are emerging across Scotland of councils cutting school bus provision. This isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a failure of local democracy and a failure to protect children’s right to access education, with consequences for women www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottis...

Another school term and another year of barriers, challenges and misery for some children and families and a blatant disregard for children's rights news.stv.tv/west-central...

As parents in Scotland who have been campaigning for 7 years locally & nationally, we've seen the same pattern repeat. Politicians talk. They posture. They criticise others. But when it’s time to act? Silence. Excuses. Deflection. #ScotPol #ParentVoice #Democracy

When you see these stats and this info combined with the evidence already available. Why do the powerful people appear confused around outcomes associated with attainment, behaviour and attendance? 🤔

Why Are Parents Criticising the Revised Walking Routes Policy? Parents across NLC are rightly raising serious concerns about the revised walking routes policy for school transport. Their criticism is based on the failure of the policy to reflect lived experience or reality

"a 'revised policy' has now been accepted by the council's Education, Children & Families Committee ...based on the assumption that "parents/guardians or carers have arranged for children to be accompanied as necessary by a responsible adult" @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social @heraldscotland.bsky.social

Grateful to @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social @heraldscotland.bsky.social for giving parents a platform to speak. This coverage is an opportunity to bring attention to an issue where families have been systematically excluded from local decision making processes www.heraldscotland.com/news/2516034...

1/ 🚸 North Lanarkshire Council is consulting on its 'Walked Routes to School' policy. But once again, children, families, and carers are only being asked for input after the decisions are nearly made. This is not real consultation.

Rarely do we hear from parents of autistic children who are locked out of education because local authorities fail to meet their needs. ‘Inclusion’ in mainstream schools too often means exclusion in practice. The system insists children must attend schools that can’t support them.

Please read and share, an in-depth powerful article about the impact of not enough support in mainstream education and the impact it has on children, young people with disabilities with ASN and their parent/ carers.

Imagine 3 people looking at the same scene but seeing completely different things. A child, a parent +local authority officer stand before a locked door. The child "I can’t open it. I feel trapped" The parent: "I don’t want to force them through" The authority "You need to push harder" ⬇️

Every child has the legal right to access education safely. That means safe routes to school, reliable transport, and protection from harm along the way. Public Sector Duty Bearers have these responsibilities.