"I enjoyed meeting new people, being heard, and helping with something so important"
Young attendee at the summit
Press play to find out what happened at the Cost of the School Day young people summit
The First Minister for Scotland, John Swinney, came along to the summit to hear what young people had to say. He gave a speech, and was interviewed by two Voice network members, Brooke and Mollie, where he promised to 'listen with care' to everything that young people told him.
The delegates pulled no punches in their questions to the First Minister:
Why do families not have enough money to live on in as a result, use food banks?
Young people want to know how you will make sure that every kid in school will have less or no money worries?
What is the Scottish Government's top priority and what actions are being done in Parliament to address poverty in schools across Scotland?
Aydan, Sophia and Maya from Dunlop Primary School tell the First Minister about their work on the school's initiative HEART - Helping Everyone At the Right Time
Click play to see a Live Illustration of the First Minister's speech and the Q&A session
Young people at the summit did a brilliant job of starting to develop the Young People's Education and Poverty Manifesto 2026-31. Many others have offered their thoughts through an online survey and in other ways. All this information has been compiled into a manifesto, setting out young people's calls for equity in education and a Scotland free of child poverty. They will share this with the First Minister at a special session in December, and all other politicians and decision makers ahead of the 2026 Scottish elections.
We will be looking for as many young people as possible to share the manifesto with their local representatives, so watch this space for how you can do this when the manifesto is published.
Voice network members at the summit, and the First Minister for Scotland
If your school hasn't already, join us to be part of a great network of school equity groups making big changes.
