Earlier this evening, as school ended across Scotland’s largest city, the First Minister and the Scottish Greens’ candidate and sitting MSP for Glasgow, /u/IceCreamSandwich401 in speaking to parents outside of various Primary Schools in the East End of the City.

The short tour included suburbs such as Parkhead and Calton, which are among some of the most deprived anywhere across the country, highlighting the government’s determination to ensure that all communities are represented in a modern democracy.

The first stop was Quarry Brae Primary School where the First Minister spoke with a couple of parents:

Angela: I really appreciate you spending time here, it’s not the kind of place politicians normally head to. My major concern is with thee bairns I’ve been unable to get back into work as a single mother, my oldest only just starting P1 this year.

The FM: Totally, totally understandable. It’s one of the biggest problems this country faces not only for the economy but in the name of women’s equality and this has 100% been at the heart of our thoughts this term. That’s why we extended the childcare provision for those under the school starting age to 25 hours per week and why if re-elected the Scottish Greens will push to add a further five hours on top of that.

John: My kids are a little bit older than that and have almost just missed the offer of free school meals for all in the lower years, which if I’m correct is starting when the schools come back after Hogmanay. With my youngest going into P5 next summer I’m incredibly worried about how I’m going to make ends meet.

The FM: Making sure that Scotland’s children eat a healthy, balanced meal every day is something that I am passionate about myself and in a dream scenario I would love to have the French model of school meals applying here. Nevertheless we are where we are and the government. If I’m still First Minister, will certainly look at widening the criteria for Free School Meals in the upper Primary and Secondary years. We might even be able to extend the universal free coverage further, thanks to the National Wealth Fund.

Next the pair moved on over to St Michael’s Primary School, just a stone's throw away, where the Glasgow candidate took the lead.

Amanda: Your party has represented our city in Holyrood for a while term now, but I haven’t seen class sizes reduce, the teachers only seem to be spending less and less time with each pupil, surely you have a plan to address this?

ICS: It’s always a privilege to serve the Dear Green Place in Parliament and yes at the national levels nothing has been done to regulate class sizes further. This is because the regulations leading to smaller class sizes in the infant years from the start of this decade are still in effect. We have increased school funding through Education Scotland in an attempt to allow personalised teaching to flourish but ultimately the City Council are best placed to deal with any issues of overcrowding.

Amanda: Unless I am mistaken you are the Government, isn’t there anything that you could do in order to improve the situation.

ICS: If the issue is endemic and the City Council are refusing to act then certainly we will step in with further regulations. However a one size fits all policy regarding education does not work in a country such as ours. A city here in inner city Glasgow will have different size challenges to one on Barra or Tiree, this is an issue which receives much better attention and achieves much better results at the local authority level. I’ll help you find the details of the next local surgery of your Scottish Green councillor, however and I promise to lobby the city council on your behalf.

Amanda: That really puts my mind at rest, thanks so much.