Parents' perspective on a Scottish learning society

'By 2025, Scotland will be regarded as a world-leading learning nation'. The penultimate project workshop session was held last night in Scottish Parliament. This time with parents. Superb session with lots of critical and creative thinking. The workshop report will follow in the coming weeks. We now look forward to the next part of the project – building the scenarios and articulating world-views for 2025, based on all we have learned during the project!

Education Scotland Audit: Most schools ready for Nationals 4 & 5

Education Scotland’s ‘deep audit’ of readiness for the new national exams has found that almost all schools and local authorities are ready for the implementation of Nationals 4 and 5. With the exception of East Renfrewshire, not a single school, department or local authority has requested a delay in introducing the new exams. Of the 367 secondary schools in Scotland, Education Scotland found just 21 departments which were making only limited progress and would require additional support. The audit has been criticised by teaching unions who claim there was a lack of consultation with teachers. Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Michael Russell MSP, said today: “We will continue to work with teachers and all other partners to keep implementation under review and ensure we stay on track in every subject and in every school and get on with the task of implementing Curriculum for Excellence, as parents and school committees clearly want to see happen.” More details can be found at: http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6241769

1 + 2 Languages

The Scottish Government’s Languages Working Group has released a report calling for all pupils in Scotland to start learning a second language in primary 1 and to pick up a third language by primary 5. The group argues that Scotland cannot afford to not invest in language learning and suggests that an “inability to engage with foreign business in its own language… can be measured as a cost equivalent to over £500 million to the Scottish economy” (TES Magazine). The report has called for primary 1 trials to start as early as 2012/13 with the aim of policy being rolled out by 2013/14. Alasdair Allan MSP, Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland’s languages said: “Introducing two additional languages is an ambitious goal, but these recommendations give us an excellent platform to deliver it.” You can read more in TESS by clicking on the link below: http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6232918

National exam update

This has been an eventful week for the Scottish education sector. Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Michael Russell MSP, unveiled a new £3.5m support package to help ensure that teachers and schools are better prepared for the new national exams. However, plans to allow schools to delay implementation by a year were also unveiled this week. While this delay has been welcomed by some, including opposition parties, parents’ groups have called on schools to press ahead with the new curriculum because of fears that uncertainty could undermine children’s learning. You can read Mr Russell’s thoughts on curriculum for excellence and the Scottish education system in today’s Scotsman at: http://www.scotsman.com/news/mike-russell-leading-young-to-a-fulfilling-future-1-2191646

An international perspective

Mike Osborne's blog post on yesterday’s video conference workshop, leading up to next week’s international perspective event can be found on the Pascal International Observatory website. You can read this through the following link: http://bit.ly/GCKPj6

An international perspective

“By 2025 Scotland will be regarded as a world-leading learning nation” An international perspective. Geddes talked of thinking globally and acting locally. However, in today’s global village,surely we must be thinking and acting globally. If we are to properly explore the proposition that Scotland will be regarded as a world-leading learning nation by 2025, we need to be mindful of developments in other parts of the world and how Scotland can connect to those places. Very few of the problems Scotland faces are unique and we can learn much from countries where radical thinking is leading to new forms of learning, education and skills and economic benefits. The next event in the GGiS/SFF project, between 10.00am and 1.00pm on 30 March 2012 will hear about case studies from around the world – Ontario, Finland, France, Sweden and the USA via a pre-recorded video conference held with the GGiS / SFF project team. The workshop will then break into a café to discuss what lessons can be drawn for lessons for Scotland and for our project. To register for a place email events@ggis.org.uk.

New national exams debate

Today, MSPs will debate whether the implementation of the new national exams should be delayed by a year to allow teachers and schools extra time to prepare. The parties are currently divided, with Hugh Henry MSP, Scottish Labour’s spokesperson, calling on the government to delay implementation by a year. A survey carried out by EIS has found that fewer than ten per cent of teachers are prepared for the implementation of the new national qualifications and 80 per cent described the level of support from the Scottish Government as unsatisfactory. EIS are also calling for a delay in implementation or for schools to at least be given the option of delaying by a year. Cabinet Secretary, Michael Russell MSP has said that there will be an audit of schools in the coming months to ensure they are ready for the new exams.