Police are working with the Scottish Ambulance Service and Save a Life Scotland to provide virtual training sessions on CPR.
As part of a Save a Life Scotland, Restart a Heart Live initiative, the sessions will be live streamed via the Save a Life Scotland Youtube channel on Thursday, 10 October, 2024. They will hourly from 9am.
The initiative aims to equip as many people as possible with the technique, allowing them to help if someone nearby goes into cardiac arrest.
The sessions will cover what to do in the event someone goes into cardiac arrest, how to administer CPR, and how to use a defibrillator. Participants will also be able to ask questions throughout the sessions.
Detective Constable Liam Myers said: “Working alongside partner agencies, we hope to demonstrate that anyone is capable of learning and performing CPR. It is a highly valuable skill that can ultimately save a life.
“I hope participants will come away with the confidence to assist if they see someone in cardiac arrest.”
Further information can be found on the Save a Life Scotland website.
The balance of assessment used for senior phase pupils in Scotland will change, with greater use of internal and continuous assessment to award final grades.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth announced the shift as part of the Scottish Government’s response to an independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment (IRQA), which was led by Professor Louise Hayward and published in June 2023.
In a statement to Parliament, Ms Gilruth confirmed that exams will remain part of the overall approach to assessment, including at National 5, while some more practical courses may not have written exams in future.
The Education Secretary committed to ensuring that qualifications reform is done in full partnership with teachers, pupils and other professional bodies, with a secondary Headteacher to be seconded to the Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA), and its replacement Qualifications Scotland (QS), to oversee that.
Ms Gilruth also confirmed that she will set out a renewed national approach to improvement later this year, setting out short, medium and longer term improvements for Scottish education.
The way senior phase pupils are assessed in Scotland is to change, Education Secretary @JennyGilruth has told MSPs.
The balance of assessment will rely less on “high stakes” final exams and greater use of continuous and internal assessment.
Ms Gilruth said: “While exams will remain part of our approach, I have accepted the independent review’s recommendation that the balance of assessment methods in the senior phase should change so there is less reliance on high stakes final exams and internal and continuous assessment contributing to a greater percentage of a final grade.
“The actions on qualifications reform I am setting out seek to achieve a balance between ambition and pragmatic action. Any change needs to be focussed and deliverable given the resources available to national and local government and to schools themselves. This will build directly on the hard work, success and creativity already evident in Scotland’s schools.
“This pragmatic approach to evolving qualifications and assessment will deliver a fair and credible system to enhance learning and teaching and support better outcomes for young people.”
Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) General Secretary, Seamus Searson, said: “The SSTA welcomes the Cabinet Secretary’s statement on the Government’s response to the Hayward Review. The statement maps a way forward in making the cultural changes required in secondary schools in regard national qualifications and a teacher led continuous assessment.
“Many SSTA members will be pleased to hear there will be an element of external assessment at Nat 5 in the short-term and that any future developments will be trialled and piloted before implementation.
“The SSTA equally welcomes the importance placed by the Cabinet Secretary on schoolteachers at the centre and leading the changes necessary for creating an education system for the future.”
The SQA is consulting on whether written external examinations should remain part of course assessment in more practical subjects, such as National 5 Practical Woodworking and Fashion and Textile Technology, with a view to any changes being brought in for 2025/26.
