• No support offered to 6th year students for work experience; would like additional information about workshops and new jobs; would like job shadowing opportunities; would like an opportunity talk to people in careers.

• Sanctions for employment benefits were too severe; they would like to see more communication relating to jobs through social media.

• Students wanted a better relationship with Career Advisors; they felt that the information they wanted was not always available; they would like an opportunity to speak to university students regarding courses. M Gilligan advised he would feedback the points raised in relation to Career Advisors. He indicated that he would ensure that the Career Management Service was promoted through the school and was keen to hear suggestions from the students at any time.

• Students wanted basic understanding of skills required for employment ie. working on tills or filling out tax forms would be a great benefit.

• Students felt too much pressure was being put on them to do well at school by staff and parents which led to unnecessary stress and had a negative impact on their performance; teachers and other people in authority did not understand how they felt and there was not enough information on how to deal with the situation; all the exams came at the one time and this caused them to feel overwhelmed. They asked for exams to be timetabled better and the workload spread out more evenly. F MacKay advised that a new counselling service would be developed as part of the Tackling Poverty Commission action plan and that this could be something the pupils could help to develop.

• Drugs were often considered socially acceptable within certain social groups; were easily accessible and low prices attracted young people; and not enough was being done by law enforcement to counter drug use in young people.  Discussion took place with DCI Henderson relating to the stigma of talking to the Police.  She advised that if any pupil had any concerns they could report incidents anonymously.

• Exam stress meant that students did not have any time to exercise; there was not enough emphasis to do exercise by parents and teachers; leisure facilities and clubs were too expensive and not accessible enough for certain people; and the cost of transport to get to these locations was too expensive as child fares stopped at 16 and they had to pay full fare.  A Conboy advised that the Council was committed to making physical activity accessible to all young people and had lowered the cost of access to leisure facilties. J Binning intimated that deregulation of buses meant that local bus companies were responsible for their own fare prices however he advised that the Young Scot Card meant that the pupils could save on the cost of transport.

After questions and further discussion both Councillor Henry and Peter MacLeod thanked the students for their presentation and intimated that they would look at the points raised and develop an action plan for improvement.

• Students felt that they were not listened to and this led them to be discouraged; students asked for a Board Member to come to the school to update them and feedback their views, comments and suggestions; and students intimated that they would be keen to engage with the younger pupils in the school and to cascade information to them.

After questions and discussion both Councillor Henry and Peter MacLeod thanked the students for their presentation and intimated that they would look at the points raised and develop an action plan for the items discussed.

DECIDED:

(a) That the presentation be noted; and

(b) That the Board examine the points raised and develop an action plan to deliver improvements. 

• Lack of communication skills due to increased use of technology; lack of good shops, cafes and facilities for young people which led to a lack of opportunity to socialise safely causing anxiety/lack of confidence and had a negative emotional impact.

• If Paisley's facilities were to improve it would raise the issue of transport prices and frequency/lack of bus routes in more rural villages; teenagers over the age of 16 had to pay full fare even while they were still at school and the price difference was significant.

• Single parents did not receive enough support from the Council for grants (clothing, food etc) which led to single parents feeling stressed and anxious and it affected family life.  Discussion took place on the cost of school uniforms (especially blazers); the price of branded items and peer pressure to wear these items; and the cost of school trips.