Suspension of Scottish Parliament sessions
In light of the current situation, our programme of education visits has been
suspended for the moment.
We will not be opening bookings for academic
year 2020/21 until further notice.
Please check back here, follow our Twitter and/or our newsletter where
revised dates will be posted in due course. You can sign up to the newsletter here
In the meantime, please use our online resources - browse around our site to see what you can use in terms of PDFs and online games.
[email protected] is a free education service that is suitable for Primary schools and all subjects in Secondary. We provide extensive resources to support learning and teaching. Sessions can be provided in English or in Gaelic.
Find out more about our [email protected] programme in Education Visits Programme 2019-2020
What happens if you take part in [email protected] ?
Pre-Session teaching
Class teachers are requested to carry out a small amount of pre-teaching as a starting point for the session with Parliamentary staff: matters devolved to Scotland; political parties in Scotland and knowing who your eight MSPs are. All the relevant information is in the resource pack which is sent to you after your booking is confirmed.
Session 1
Parliamentary education staff facilitate this interactive session, building on the pre session teaching. It includes a presentation, extending Parliamentary knowledge, with the opportunity to learn through a range of activities.
Session 2
You have three options for how to follow up your session:
Please note that you can book only one follow-up session through us – either MSPs in Schools or a Your Parliament visit.
Your MSPs are invited to come to school and to work with the students: you may choose to invite them directly or we can arrange the session for you at a suitable time for the class and the MSPs. For some past examples of participation in MSPs in Schools, please see our Guidance on running an [email protected] session (73KB pdf) and School Case Studies (402KB pdf)
Option 2 - @YourParliament tour
You can book free tours, to enable pupils to visit Holyrood to see where the Parliament works. Please note these are the Public Tours that run all day on Mondays and Fridays, so we cannot guarantee availability. Booking well in advance is recommended.
If you are bringing a group to the Scottish Parliament and have to fill in a risk assessment, please see our Risk Assessment (23KB pdf) for further details which may help you.
Option 3 - Arranging your own engagement follow-up
Classes who wish to have more flexibility in their follow up activities may choose not to book either of the above follow-up sessions. We will still be able to offer the resources and Outreach Education session with Parliamentary education staff. The class can then choose their follow up activities relating to the Scottish Parliament.
For suggestions, please see Alternatives to Running an MSP session (14KB pdf)