CUNNINGHAME North MSP Kenneth Gibson believes open plan classrooms are 'not appropriate' for younger children.

Addressing the Scottish Parliament, the SNP politician questioned the cabinet secretary for Education, Shirley-Anne Somerville on the matter, and raised concerns that such classrooms could be having a negative impact.

He said: "Open-plan environments are perceived to benefit child social development, but they are much noisier and such an environment impacts adversely on learning.

"Studies have found that children in the noisiest open-plan classrooms had significantly lower speech perception ability and slower response times than those being taught in traditional classrooms. "Open-plan classrooms are therefore not appropriate for young or sensitive children.

"For teachers, they can mean raised blood pressure, increased stress levels, headaches and fatigue."