Image source, Scottish Parliament

That's all from Holyrood Live on 11 January 2017.

Have a lovely night.

Image source, Dyslexia Scotland

Ms Sommerville says for children with dyslexia, local authorities have a duty to review provision for all.

In conclusion the minister points to the Addressing Dyslexia Tool Kit, external.

Ms Somerville says The Daily Mile has been mentioned and this programme is going down well with children in schools. 

Tory MSP Liz Smith intervenes to ask if the government will commit today to listen to the feedback from teachers and local authorities on the STEP programme.

Ms Somerville says the minister is due to meet Kenny Logan and others from STEP on the 25 January and she would not like to pre-empt the outcome. 

Image source, Science Photo Library

Science Minister Shirley-Anne Somerville says the government is clear the very early years are crucial.

Ms Somerville says it is vitally important children are active before they reach school age.

The minister says 98% of schools provide their pupils with two hours of physical education a week.

She says there is much more that needs to be done.

Science Minister Shirley-Anne Somerville says it has been interesting to hear of the experiences of Oliver Mundell and Daniel Johnson at school and how their personal circumstances have been dealt with.

Ms Somerville says programmes such as STEP can help children reach their full potential.

Image source, bbc

Labour MSP Elaine Smith says she is the mother of a rugby playing dyslexic son and as such she says she is delighted to welcome Kenny Logan and his team to the gallery.

Ms Smith says the STEP programme is worthy of all MSPs attention and it would have helped her own son who is happily at university now.

The Labour MSP says the government must increase education funding and consider centrally funding the STEP programme. 

Tory MSP Oliver Mundell says he suffers from dyspraxia and dyslexia therefore he knows too well the challenges some face.

Mr Mundell commends Kenny Logan for his work in the area and says it is important to have a strong role model.

The Tory MSP says he was lucky to receive support from those at Moffat Academy and he would not be making this speech without them.

He says STEP is so important because it brings together a range of exercises which are tailored to an individual child's needs.

Image source, STEP

According to the STEP Programme website, external:

"Kids enter the classroom with a range of aptitudes, attitudes and levels of achievement. The STEP Programme is proven to provide benefit across the breadth of capabilities.

"STEP is a 2 year, school based Physical Literacy Programme of daily exercises specifically designed to stimulate the part of the brain that enables us to develop and automate skills… the cerebellum.

"The STEP Programme is not exclusively an intervention but it does provide a significant impact to children in the bottom 25% of the classroom who may or may not have a diagnosis of learning disability."

Image source, bbc

Labour MSP Daniel Johnson says he understands what Kenny Logan went through, because at the age of 35 years old he was diagnosed with having ADHD.

Mr Johnson says the STEP programme would have helped him with some of the frustrations he faced.

He says the importance of physical literacy is all too clear.

Tory MSP Brian Whittle says in primary school he played football every day in the playground.

He says he and other pupils also played British Bull Dogs and the health and safety officers were almost "passing out". 

The Tory MSP says sports days were a big deal and pupils had good coordination as a result of this.

He says nowadays pupils are banned from running around in case they get hurt and somehow we are losing physical activity in schools.

He says the STEP programme should at least be trialled to give children the opportunity to become more active. 

Image source, bbc

SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor says children should do the Royal Mile but quickly changes it to the much lauded Daily Mile.

Mr MacGregor says the Daily Mile, external is free and that can be important in areas of deprivation.

It was a primary school in Stirling has pioneered a scheme to ensure all its pupils walk or run a mile every day.

Children at St Ninian's take the daily exercise on a specially-built circuit outside the school's playground.

Image source, bbc

The 'daily mile' scheme is credited with improving the health of pupils, and a number of other schools are now looking at copying it.

Mr MacGregor says the STEP programme sounds very impressive and he thinks these initiatives should not be in competition with each other.

Tory MSP Liz Smith says the first minister has stated that education is her top priority.

Ms Smith says narrowing the attainment gap is something which we all agree on.

The Tory MSP says the recent PISA figures made for uncomfortable reading and STEP could help with numeracy and literacy figures.

She says a commitment to the STEP programme would be a significant move forward.

Image source, STEP

Pupils can start on the STEP Programme , externalat any stage during the school year and it takes a maximum of 2 academic years to complete depending on the child. 

We recommend beginning the Programme close to the start of a term or immediately after half-term.  

Image source, bbc

Ms Smith says the STEP programme focuses on balance, eye tracking and co-ordination.

The Tory MSP says the huge advantage is the programme is highly personalised.

She says the exercises are tailored to individual pupils.

Former Scottish International rugby player Kenny Logan spoke to BBC's radio 5 Live about how he left school with "zero qualifications" because of his dyslexia.  

Scottish Conservative MSP Liz Smith welcomes former Scottish Rugby star and campaigner Kenny Logan and his team to the gallery.

Ms Smith says Mr Logan has very bravely told of his experience of dyslexia. 

Image source, STEP

STEP is a programme of exercises performed twice a day for 10 minutes to achieve positive outcomes in three core areas:  

• academic performance
• physical skills
• qualitative improvement

Visit the STEP website here., external

Scottish Conservative MSP Liz Smith says the STEP Physical Literacy Programme helps children:

• learn more efficiently
• socialise more easily
• participate more positively both inside and outside the classroom

Image source, Thinkstock

Ms Smith says local authorities and schools throughout Scotland are showing an interest in the programme.

The Tory MSP says the Scottish Government, local authorities, teachers and parents should consider the merits of the programme for primary school children to help close the attainment gap.

Image source, Scottish Parliament

Here is Tory MSP Liz Smith's motion.

The government motion as amended is agreed to unanimously.

Image source, Scottish Parliament