Child Protection
Postgraduate certificate from NSPCC Scotland and Stirling University wants to equip practitioners for the reality of their work. (Guardian, 01/09/2014)
Religion
SCOTLAND’S denominational schools would be given constitutional protection in the event of independence, an SNP Government minister has claimed. (Herald Scotland, 15/09/2014)
Health
A hundred schools across Scotland are attempting to drive up educational attainment by adapting an approach first used by the NHS to control infections. (TESS, 19/09/2014)
Higher Education
A NEW city-wide system of recruitment and enrolment for Glasgow colleges has been proposed as students from one institution described their first week as a “shambles”. (Herald Scotland, 04/09/2014)
Applications to Scottish colleges have far outstripped the places available this year, a survey by TESS has shown. (TESS, 19/09/2014)
Local Authority News
The chairman of Scottish Borders Council’s education committee has said the switch to a four-and-a-half-day asymmetric week is going “pretty well”. (BBC News, 03/09/2014)
Two Aberdeenshire school teachers have won a special award in recognition of their work to educate pupils about the great outdoors. (The Press and Journal, 05/09/2014)
CONTROVERSIAL plans to shut two Catholic secondary schools have been scrapped amid denials of bowing to church and political pressure. (Herald Scotland, 10/09/2014)
Young People
A MENTORING programme that helps some of society’s most disadvantaged young people has received 200 volunteer registrations thanks to support from The Herald. (Herald Scotland, 08/09/2014)
Languages
We live in an age of globalisation, and UK universities have embraced this in many different ways. Yet the perception remains that the status of English as the global lingua franca makes learning other languages unnecessary, with potentially disastrous consequences for language disciplines in our universities. (Times Higher Education, 04/09/2014)
Food
Seafood Scotland’s widely acclaimed Seafood in Schools programme is visiting Mackie Academy in Stonehaven on Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd September. (Scotland of Food and Drink, 03/09/2014)
Exams
SCOTLAND’S new school exams are too tough on the sciences and risk putting students off the subject, according to teachers. (Deadline, 12/09/2014)
The architects of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) have expressed deep frustration over the continuing dominance of exams in Scottish schools and the education system’s resistance to change. (TESS, 19/09/2014)
The Curriculum for Excellence senior phase’s teething problems. (Holyrood, 30/09/2014)
Independence Referendum
Teachers say poverty is key concern in their referendum decision. (TESS, 05/09/2014)
As vote approaches, councils in Scotland ban talk of referendum. (TESS, 05/09/2014)
Some Scottish schools have not debated the issues over independence. Have pupils who will be voting missed out? (Guardian, 09/09/2014)
Whatever the end result, 16- and 17-year-olds will make history simply by taking part in next week’s Scottish independence vote. The referendum is the first time that under-18s anywhere in the UK have had the franchise on a major matter of state. Here we hear about the lives of those whose vote will influence the future of Scotland. (BBC News, 10/09/2014)
Teachers at a Glasgow referendum debate have reflected wider discontent over the No’s campaign’s latest move – a late decision to push for more powers for the Scottish Parliament, which was announced this week after a tumultuous few days in which the national Yes vote surged forward. (TESS, 12/09/2014)
Lowering the voting age has made Scotland’s youth one of the fiercest battlegrounds for independence (Scotsman, 14/09/2014)
On Thursday afternoon, BBC Scotland hosted a Big Big Debate for 16 and 17-year-olds in Glasgow’s SSE Hydro. (BBC, 11/09/2014)
Schools report surge of political interest in wake of referendum. (TESS, 26/09/2014)
Sex education
Schools should be compelled by law to teach children about issues such as contraception, abortion and sexual consent, a sex education lobbyist will tell MSPs. (STV, 29/09/2014)
Schools should be compelled by law to teach sex and relationship education, according to a youth organisation which provides sex education. (BBC News, 30/09/2014)
A SEX education lobbyist will today call for schools to be legally compelled to teach children about issues such as contraception, abortion, sexuality, abuse and sexual consent. (Scotsman, 30/09/2014)
Schools should be compelled by law to teach children about issues such as contraception, abortion, sexuality, abuse and sexual consent, a sex education lobbyist will tell MSPs. (Herald Scotland, 30/09/2014)
Teachers
Freedom of Information request unearths concerns about staffing. (TESS, 05/09/2014)
A major report on education systems around the globe found the value of pay for secondary staff in Scotland is ranked 21st out of 34 countries in the developed world, compared to 17th the previous year. (Herald Scotland, 10/09/2014)
Lessons to learn on the salary levels of teachers. (Herald Scotland, 10/09/2014)
HUNDREDS of trainee teachers from Scotland have been left without vital school placements just days before they were due to start. (Herald Scotland, 15/09/2014)
After yesterday’s historic referendum, much work will be required to establish the new relationship between Scotland and England. But the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) is already attempting to do its bit for cross-border cooperation by accrediting a teaching course outside the country for the first time. (TESS, 19/09/2014)
Government efforts have done little to reduce the “Amazonian forests” of paperwork that prevent teachers from doing their jobs and hinder the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), a survey by Scotland’s largest teaching union suggests. (TESS, 26/09/2014)
Teachers must learn the skills of hostage and suicide negotiators to give all pupils – especially the most vulnerable – the best chance of succeeding, a former police chief has said. (TESS, 26/09/2014)
Secondary teachers remain “extremely anxious” about their workloads as the latest changes to the curriculum are introduced in schools, MSPs have been told. (Herald Scotland, 30/09/2014)
SCOTLAND’S schools face “major problems” over the introduction of new higher exams this term amid concerns over a lack of funds, materials and preparation time, MSPs have been warned. (Scotsman, 30/09/2014)
Technology
Scotland is failing to exploit the potential of computer games and coding in classrooms, and risks falling behind other countries, according to the creator of a new schools project. (TESS, 26/09/2014)
Looked after children
An investigation has been launched into claims that councils are not allowing children in care their legal right to a say in decisions that affect their education. (TESS, 05/09/2014)
HUNDREDS of children are separated from their siblings every year when placed in foster care, according to new figures, with the split often leading to lifelong problems. (Herald Scotland, 08/09/2014)
Serious Crime Division officers have been ordered to review investigations into allegations of abuse at Kingspark School in Dundee. (The Courier, 04/09/2014)
We must make it illegal to split siblings when fostering. (Herald Scotland, 09/09/2014)
Money
GIVING your child pocket money can help them keep out of debt trouble in later life, a survey claims. (Herald Scotland, 08/09/2014)
Sexual exploitation
The sexual exploitation of boys is being over-looked by schools and other front-line services because of a mistaken belief that they are less vulnerable than girls, according to new research. (Sec Ed, 04/09/2014)
Addiction
A campaign has been launched to help children whose lives are affected by addiction. (STV, 09/09/2014)
Poverty
With central heating, free meals and a sense of security and stability, school can offer welcome relief for children living in poverty. But experts have claimed that many aspects of school life still make poor children feel excluded and singled out because of their backgrounds. (TESS, 12/09/2014)
Prof Aline-Wendy Dunlop MBE asks which path in the indyref offers the best chance of tackling inequalities and eradicating child poverty. (Herald Scotland, 10/09/2014)
LGBT
Glasgow University was praised in an online guide produced by campaigning group Stonewall, which shows how “gay-friendly” the UK’s 158 universities are. (Herald Scotland, 18/09/2014)
Arts & Culture
The proportion of children who know how to play a musical instrument has almost doubled in the last 15 years, but poorer youngsters are still more likely to miss out, according to a report. (Herald Scotland, 15/09/2014)
Children’s author Michael Rosen has urged primary schools to make parents come and sit on the floor for a grown-up story time. (BBC News, 26/09/2014)
School Inspections
SCHOOL inspectors may be called upon to track effectiveness of education across entire communities under radical new proposals. (Herald Scotland, 29/09/2014)
Opinion
Stop the fines and blame games: end the war on parents. (The Conversation, 15/09/2014)