January 2022 – Page 27 – The NEN

Big ambitions for Wee Forests … and West Pilton leads the way

Communities and schools are set to benefit from a new network of “Wee Forests” in towns and cities across Scotland, backed by £500,000 Scottish Government funding.

Led by NatureScot, the programme aims to give people the opportunity to help tackle the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss by creating and caring for their own forest in their own neighbourhood.

To create each forest, around 600 native trees will be planted by “Wee Foresters” in an area the size of a tennis court. Volunteer keeper teams will look after the forests over the long term and schools will use the forests for outdoor learning.

Supported by Earthwatch Europe, people will also take part in citizen science activities to raise awareness of climate change and the value of urban trees. This will include monitoring the butterflies that use the forests and measuring how much carbon is captured by the trees as they grow.

Planting has already begun – the first demonstration Wee Forest was planted at West Pilton Park last October, and further wee forests followed in the capital’s East Pilton Park and Mount Vernon.

NatureScot is working with local authorities and a number of Scottish environmental organisations to help roll-out the programme this year.

Wee Forests will be planted in Glasgow, East Ayrshire, Edinburgh (above), Aberdeen, Dundee and West Lothian.

Environment Minister Mairi McAllan said: “The horrors of the Covid pandemic have changed how many of us view and value nature, and we know people want to spend more time outdoors for the benefits it brings to their mental and physical health.

“We want to improve access to green spaces and provide equal opportunities for everyone to connect with nature. Wee Forests are an ideal way of achieving this, whether as a place for children to play or a quiet spot to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.

“This new network of Wee Forests is a great example of partnership working between the public, private and voluntary sector and is an important legacy of COP26 when the eyes of world were on Glasgow and the future of our planet.

“As we now look forward to COP15 on biodiversity, innovative projects like this will showcase to the rest of the world how Scotland is leading the way in our action to tackle the twin crises of climate change and nature loss.”

Earthwatch Europe CEO Steve Andrews said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with NatureScot to expand the Wee Forest movement across Scotland.

“Getting communities involved in planting and ongoing citizen science at their local Wee Forest is an exciting opportunity to connect people with nature, whilst providing vital data on forest growth and environmental benefits.”

NatureScot Chief Executive Francesca Osowska said: “Wee Forests are a fantastic way for people to connect with nature close to home.

“We’re delighted to see our demonstration project being extended to create many more pockets of nature-positive green space across our towns and cities, as a living legacy of COP26.

“And as we look towards COP15 and the huge challenge of halting and reversing nature loss, it’s projects like this that are giving communities the chance to help restore nature and tackle climate change by contributing to Scotland’s tree planting targets.”

Johnson: Record Covid numbers, but it’s Carry On Regardless

Prime Minister reissues call for public to get boosted and announces new critical workforce testing measures

The Prime Minister last night updated the public on the government’s ongoing actions to tackle COVID-19 and prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed, including implementing Plan B measures, standing up local Nightingales to create extra capacity, buying more antivirals per person than anywhere else in Europe, significantly increasing testing capacity and rolling out the vital booster programme.

The Prime Minister thanked vaccinators for their enormous dedication over the festive period as well as everyone who came forward for a jab.

He welcomed the success of the Get Boosted Now campaign in delivering 10 million extra boosters across the UK and doubling the rate of vaccination from 450,000 doses a day to a peak of more than 900,000.

Outlining the significant protection offered by the booster jab, the Prime Minister reiterated his call for every eligible person to get their booster – with 2 million appointments available this week alone.

In his statement the Prime Minister also acknowledged the disruption to the workforce caused by the spread of Omicron and set out further measures the government is taking to address this.

He announced the Government will provide 100,000 critical workers in England with free lateral flow tests to help keep essential services and supply chains running.

Critical workers will be able to take a test on every working day and the provision of precautionary testing will be for an initial five weeks.

This will help to isolate asymptomatic cases and limit the risk of outbreaks in workplaces, reducing transmission while covid cases remain high. These critical workers are those who work in essential services, cannot work from home and are at risk of infecting each other – for example, due to working together in an enclosed space.

People covered by the scheme will include those who work in critical national infrastructure, national security, transport, and food distribution and processing. This includes vital roles in Border Force, Police and Fire and Rescue Services control rooms, electricity generation, test kit warehouses and test surge labs.

The full range of critical workers have been identified by the relevant departments and Government will contact these organisations directly on the logistics of the scheme this week.

Roll out will start from Monday 10th January. Tests will be separate from public sectors who already have a testing allocation with UKHSA, such as adult social care or education, and separate to those delivered to pharmacies and homes, so those channels will not be impacted by the new scheme.

The UK Government are now distributing around 600,000 packs of 7 tests on gov.uk directly to homes every day (more than 50% higher than last week).

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will update MSPs on the latest Coronavirus situation in Scotland in a virtual Holyrood session this afternoon at 2pm.

Concern over missing Portbello woman Alice Byrne: can you help?

Police in Edinburgh are appealing for the assistance of the public in tracing a 28-year-old Alathea Byrne – known as Alice – who is missing from her home in Portobello.

Alice was last seen by her family at her home around 2am on Saturday, 1 January. She met friends in Marlborough Street and left a flat there around 10am on Saturday.

She is described as white, around 5ft 6ins in height and of medium build with short black hair. When she was last seen she was wearing an orange jacket, black top, black jeans and white trainers. She was carrying a black rucksack.

Inspector Keith Scott said: “It is out of character for Alice not to keep in contact with her family and friends. We are becoming increasingly concerned for her wellbeing and we are working to trace her as soon as possible to ensure that she is safe and well.

“Searches and enquiries have been ongoing since she was reported missing, and we are now asking the public for any assistance they can provide.

“I would urge anyone who has seen Alice since Saturday morning, or anyone with information on her whereabouts to contact us as soon as possible.

“I would appeal to Alice herself to contact us if she sees this appeal. Contact 101 quoting reference 0647 of 2 January.”

Extra £16 million committed to tackle homelessness in Scotland

Scotland’s Councils are being given an extra £16 million to help tackle homelessness by moving people swiftly from temporary accommodation into settled homes.

The funding, to be awarded over the next two financial years, takes the total investment in rapid rehousing to £53.5 million. Rapid rehousing aims to ensure people spend the shortest amount of time possible in temporary accommodation, giving them a settled place to live as soon as appropriate.

The package includes an investment of £6.5 million in the Housing First pathfinder to support people with multiple and complex needs.

Housing Secretary Shona Robison said: “Tackling homelessness is about much more than just providing a bed for the night. Temporary accommodation is an important safety net, but most people need a settled place to stay where they can rebuild their lives.

“Rapid rehousing is based around the idea that most people need a settled home, and this new funding will help councils progress their Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans to move people as quickly as possible into appropriate, settled accommodation.

“The best way to reduce the number of households in temporary accommodation is to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place, and today’s announcement follows the recent publication of our consultation on plans for new legal duties on public bodies, highlighting the shared public responsibility to prevent homelessness in Scotland.”

Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans cover an initial period of five years from 2019. The new funding comprises £8 million in 2022/23 and £8 million in 2023/24.

Consultation on prevention of homelessness duties: Closing date 31 March 2022.

Police Scotland to hold online recruitment event for women

Police Scotland would like to encourage more women to consider becoming a Police Officer in Scotland.

We are hosting an online recruitment event aimed at women on Monday 10/01/22 from 6.30pm – 8pm via MS Teams.

Email to sign up: recruitmentpositiveactionteam@scotland.pnn.police.uk

BBC centenary launched with new digital collections, cultural and academic partnerships

BBC History has launched three new online collections looking at the broadcaster’s most iconic objects, people and contributors over the last century

The work sits on a BBC 100 website which also features an interactive year-by-year timeline covering key moments in the BBC’s first 100 years.

BBC History will also be working with a range of cultural and academic partners to mark the centenary throughout the year.

The new collections – 100 Objects, 100 Faces and 100 Voices – will evolve and be added to throughout the centenary year of 2022:

100 Objects features some of the BBC’s most iconic items, including technology, props, documents, artwork and buildings – such as the classic BBC microphone; Mr Darcy’s shirt from Pride & Prejudice; the mirror globe used as an early TV ident; and Roy Plomley’s proposal letter for Desert Island Discs – which help tell the quintessential story of the BBC. The objects are curated in partnership with a selected museums, including the Science Museum Group
100 Faces is a new collection of 100 iconic photos from the BBC photographic archive. From correspondents in the field, actors on set, or monarchs speaking to the nation, this is a collection of well-loved BBC personalities and contributors that unpacks the magic and mystery of broadcasting through the years. It is devised with the Radio Times
The 100 Voices oral history collection reveals stories of the men and women who worked at the BBC and created its unique culture. It covers News and Elections; The Birth of TV; Radio Reinvented; People, Nation, Empire; Pioneering Women; Entertaining the Nation; and Planning the Future. This collection is curated in partnership with the University of Sussex, under Professor David Hendy

Robert Seatter, BBC’s Head of History, says: “The BBC has an amazing history which belongs to us all. As we mark 100 years of our BBC, these new digital resources, partner exhibitions, research and publications give a unique insight into the history of the Corporation and provide something to intrigue audiences of all ages.”

In addition to the BBC 100 website, BBC History has worked with a range of cultural and academic partners around the BBC’s centenary. These include various projects with the BFI, one of which, ‘BFI’s 100 BBC Gamechangers’, will chronologically list the 100 BBC TV programmes that changed the landscape of British TV. The list, which will be announced in Spring 2022, is compiled by the television curators and historians at the BFI and led by Lisa Kerrigan, the BFI’s Senior Curator of Television.

Meanwhile, the Science Museum Group, will digitise 1,000 BBC objects for the first time and launch a major exhibition and events programme across the UK. Other regional museum partners will also mark the centenary through collections and displays.

Sir Ian Blatchford, Director and Chief Executive of the Science Museum Group says: “We are delighted to be part of 2022’s BBC 100 celebrations and to be telling the story of a century of broadcasting, as well as looking at the exciting possibilities of broadcast technologies in the future through our Broadcast 100 programme across the Science Museum Group and specifically in our Switched On exhibition at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford.”

BBC History has also worked with the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, to create a series of new research opportunities and a new BBC Engagement Fellowship. BBC History will also be an active partner in the Being Human Festival, run by the Council in collaboration with the British Academy, in November 2022.

This year also sees the publication of The BBC: A People’s History by Professor David Hendy, the only BBC authorised centenary history book. It traces the BBC from its beginnings through war, the creation of television, changing public tastes, and massive cultural change. It is based on unique access to the BBC’s rich and comprehensive archives and will be published on 27 January 2022.

First anniversary of UK deploying Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

A year ago today, the UK became the first country in the world to administer the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine
Vaccination programme has been a phenomenal success, saving countless lives and reducing pressure on NHS

One year ago today [Tuesday 4 January 2021] the UK became the first country in the world to administer the Oxford University/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

Brian Pinker, 82, (above) was the first person to receive the life-saving vaccine outside of clinical trials at Oxford University Hospital at 7.30am.

Since then, around 50 million AstraZeneca vaccines have been administered in the UK, saving countless lives, keeping people out of hospital and reducing the pressure on the NHS.

To mark the anniversary, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid, will visit a vaccination centre in London to thank hard-working NHS staff and volunteers delivering jabs.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “Backed by government funding, the UK-made Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has played an absolutely crucial role in our fight against COVID-19, saving countless lives in the UK and around the world.

“I’m extremely proud of our world-leading researchers and scientists who are responsible for developing some of the most effective vaccines and treatments during the pandemic and the NHS for the incredible roll out.

“The UK’s vaccination and booster programme is world leading but with the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, it is more important than ever that people come forward for their vaccines and booster to top up your immunity this winter and protect the progress we have made.”

The government invested early in Oxford University’s team, supporting their vaccine technology since 2016 and their COVID-19 jabs since March 2020 with more than £88 million to help research, develop and manufacture the vaccine.

The National Institute for Health Research’s (NIHR) helped recruit thousands of volunteers from across the UK for the phase 3 clinical trials and supported the researchers, which paved the way for approval by the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Around 2.5 billion doses have been distributed at-cost to more than 170 countries. Almost two-thirds of these have gone to low and lower-middle-income countries, including more than 30 million doses donated by the UK through COVAX or bilaterally.

The UK will donate a further 20 million AstraZeneca doses to countries in need this year as part of the government’s commitment to donate 100 million doses overall.

Vaccines Minister Maggie Throup said: “The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is a UK success story and demonstrates what can be achieved when researchers, scientists and the government work together.

“The at-cost vaccine has given billions of people around the world a way to fight back against this virus. Please get your vaccines and booster to protect yourself and your families this winter.”

The COVID-19 vaccination programme is the largest in British history and was established at unprecedented speed, with thousands of vaccine centres set up rapidly in England, meaning around 98% of people live within 10 miles of a vaccination clinic.

The government’s Vaccine Taskforce secured early access to almost 340 million doses of the most promising vaccine candidates in advance for the entire UK, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories, enabling a rapid deployment once approved by the medicines regulator.

NHS National Medical Director Professor Stephen Powis said: “Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of scientists and doctors, the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine was developed in just a matter of months instead of years, with NHS staff working tirelessly to roll the jabs out to millions across the country.

“The Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine has played a crucial role in the biggest and most successful immunisation programme in NHS history, and I’d like to take this opportunity to remind people again that there are still hundreds of thousands of appointments available for first, second and booster jabs so please come forward and get jabbed.”

The UK led the world on vaccine research, providing results for three of the successful vaccine candidates through huge phase 3 trials for Oxford AstraZeneca, Janssen and Novavax vaccines. The Novavax trial is the largest ever double blind placebo controlled trial in the UK, recruiting 15,000 participants from 35 research sites in just over two months.

More than 133 million COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered in the UK in just over a year, including around 34 million boosters and third doses, securing vital protection against Omicron.

Scotland’s teachers report soaring workload in new EIS survey

Scotland’s teachers have faced soaring levels of workload throughout the pandemic, and at a time when they are being offered a significant real-terms cut in their level of pay by COSLA and the Scottish Government.

The EIS conducted an online survey in November, and more than 16,000 teachers across Scotland took part. Amongst the key workload-related findings in the EIS survey are:

88% of teachers indicated that their workload burden has increased during the pandemic.
61% of teachers report that workload levels have increased “significantly” during this period.
80% of Secondary teachers reported significantly increased workload related to SQA qualifications.
The vast majority of teachers (93%) work above their contracted hours each week.
45% of full-time teachers work more than 8 extra hours every week – equivalent to over one extra full day of work each week, over and above contractual commitments.

EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said, “Teachers have continued to face a rising tide of workload throughout the pandemic, for a wide range of reasons. Clearly, changes brought about in response to the pandemic have had an impact on teacher workload with additional tasks requiring to be undertaken on a daily basis to help keep classrooms safe.

“The increased emphasis on digital learning – be that in the classroom or remotely from home – has created challenges for teachers, often associated with a lack of suitable equipment and resources. Teachers are also reporting a significant amount of time dealing with pupil behaviour as many young people continue the struggle to overcome the negative impact of the pandemic on their lives.”

Mr Flanagan continued: “The survey also identifies a substantial increase in the workload associated with supporting pupils with Additional Support Needs. 61% of all teachers identified meeting the Additional Support Needs, including the mental health support needs, of pupils as a significant driver of workload increases over the past year – with the figure even higher (66%) within the primary sector.

“This is a vital area of work, but the level of demand is increasing and this is clearly placing additional strain on already hard-worked teachers.”

Mr Flanagan added, “In addition to the challenges of keeping up to date with government Covid safety protocols, which affect all teachers, teachers in Secondary schools face additional difficulties with SQA-related workload.

“The challenges brought about by short-notice changes to the qualifications system have been a major driver in additional workload over the past two years for Secondary teachers. Meaningful reform of the examinations system is now required to ease the workload burden of teachers and students alike.”

£65 million to help ease impact of pandemic for culture and events

Details of a financial package worth £65 million for culture and major events have been confirmed by the Culture Secretary Angus Robertson.

The split of the funding is as follows:

for cultural businesses, organisations, venues and independent cinema support and grassroots venues – £31.5 million
National Performing Companies (for Christmas losses and touring fund re-purposing) – £2 million
Freelancers – £10 million
Events sector – £19.8 million
Museums, galleries and heritage – £1.7 million

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said: “The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is once again causing disruption and uncertainty in the culture and events sector, who have already been hit so hard by its impact.

“We have been engaging with the sector about the impact of the Omicron variant and we are fully committed to supporting culture and events while they recover from the impact of the COVID – and we are aware of just how important they are to Scotland, and indeed the wider recovery from this pandemic.

“These additional funds will help protect the livelihoods of the people working in the sector – and allow us to give further support to freelancers, culture organisations, venues and our national performing companies.”

Creative Scotland’s Cancellation Fund for Creative Freelancers opens for applications this Thursday at 2pm.

Creative Scotland’s Chief Executive Iain Munro said: “We are very grateful for this significant increase in emergency funding from the Scottish Government which reflects the severity of the challenges being faced by Scotland’s culture sector.

“Our Cancellation Fund for Creative Freelancers is live, with applications open from 6 January, and more information on support for organisations and venues will follow as soon as possible.”

VisitScotland Director of Events Paul Bush said: “The Scottish Government’s commitment of £19.8 million for Scotland’s events sector is welcome news as the industry continues to deal with the latest challenges presented by the pandemic and the Omicron variant.

“EventScotland is currently working with the Scottish Government and the Event Industry Advisory Group (EIAG) to determine the best way of distributing the funding to ensure we get support to those in need across the sector, and details on this will be shared shortly.”

Funds worth £27 million for culture and £17 million for events were announced by the First Minister on 29 December.

This was additional to the £20 million of business support funding for culture and events that First Minister announced on 14 December.

NASUWT: Action needed to protect UK schools from Omicron

Teaching union the NASUWT is calling on governments across the UK to take urgent measures to protect schools from the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

In England the Union has released a joint statement with the five other trade unions representing the majority of education staff prior to the return of schools and colleges for the spring term.

And in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the NASUWT has called for urgent action from the Scottsh Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to protect schools now.

Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary said: “Teachers have been on the frontline throughout the pandemic to support pupils and students and provide them with the best education possible.

“However, the rising number of cases of the Omicron variant could cause significant disruption in the next academic term with many teachers being forced to self-isolate.

“We must see immediate action to ensure that schools can continue to operate safely and provide high quality education.”

The statement below is from NASUWT, ASCL, GMB, NAHT, NEU and UNISON:

“There has been much speculation about the possibility of more disruption to education over the next academic term as a result of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

“As trade unions representing the vast majority of education staff, we wish to emphasise that teachers, leaders and support staff desperately want to be able to conduct face-to-face teaching for all children and young people on a consistent basis and without further interruption caused by the pandemic.

“Education staff have moved heaven and earth to support pupils and students throughout the course of the crisis and they remain committed to providing the best possible support for all children and young people.

“They are acutely conscious that this is essential particularly in supporting disadvantaged and vulnerable children and young people who have often been most badly affected by the pandemic both educationally and in terms of their wellbeing.

“But last term education staff were more likely than other workers to test positive and therefore to have to self-isolate, inevitably leading to disruption of education.

“Schools and colleges cannot on their own reduce the threat posed by the virus and they need from the Westminster government more than rhetoric about the importance of education.

“We need the minimum amount of educational disruption this term in order to avoid a third successive year where GCSEs, A-levels and other exams have to be cancelled, and thereby removing the uncertainty and additional workload for students and teachers.

“It is essential therefore that the government takes immediate and urgent steps to mitigate the risk of Covid transmission and that it provides more support to minimise disruption in schools and colleges by such steps as:

Providing government-funded air cleaning units to every school and college classroom that needs these devices. While we welcome the provision of a small number of these units to special educational needs and alternative provision settings, the government’s decision to signpost all other schools and colleges to purchase this equipment from an ‘online marketplace’ is simply not good enough. We also question why the Westminster government takes such a different line on face coverings in secondary schools to Scotland and Wales when they use the same evidence.

Committing to providing schools with more resources in the event that on-site Covid testing is again required. Secondary schools have once again been left in the lurch at the beginning of the spring term by being asked to set up and staff testing stations with little support from the government.

Providing improved financial support to schools and colleges for the costs of supply staff to cover for Covid-related absence. The current government scheme contains so many complex conditions that it is inaccessible in many circumstances.

Making it clear that all schools or colleges due for an Ofsted inspection this term can request that the inspection is deferred, and that their request will be automatically granted. This will enable teachers and leaders to focus on the immediate and urgent task in hand – that of supporting their pupils and students – and remove the unnecessary pressure and distraction of unhelpful inspections at this time.

“As a new year begins, we urge the government to work more collaboratively and constructively with education workforce representatives to keep schools and colleges open. By working side by side, we can remove unnecessary burdens and find solutions with government in the interests of all children and young people.”