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Top teachers?

Nominations for the Scottish Education Awards 2015 awards are now open. Celebrating the hard work and success in Scottish education, the awards recognise the achievements of people who dedicate their lives to children and young people.

There are 17 awards available across a range of categories covering all areas of education. New awards for this year include learning for sustainability, making languages come alive and transforming lives through partnerships.

If you know of a school or teacher that deserves to be recognised for their hard work visit the Scottish Education Awards website for more information and to submit a nomination.

Nominations must be submitted by Monday 16 February 2015.

Call for clarity on free school meals

The Scottish Government has welcomed progress being made across Scotland in preparation for the introduction of free school meals for all P1 – 3 pupils next month – but Green MSP Alison Johnstone says the policy must be supported with modern facilities.

The measure, which comes into effect on 5 January, is expected to benefit around 135,000 pupils across Scotland and will save families of every eligible child at least £330 a year.

Following agreement with COSLA, the Scottish Government is providing revenue funding of £70.5 million over two years to deliver the commitment, supported with additional capital funding for local government of £24.8 million to ensure demand is met.

The introduction of free school meals for all P1-3 pupils has been supported by campaigners against child poverty, including Child Poverty Action Group Scotland, Children in Scotland, One Parent Families Scotland, the Church of Scotland and trade unions.

Last week Learning Minister Dr Alasdair Allan welcomed the hard work that has been ongoing across Scotland to prepare for the increased demand in schools. He said: “School lunches are hugely important in supporting a pupil’s ability to learn and January 5, 2015 marks the beginning of a new era in Scottish education.

“This Government is proud to be implementing free school meals for all P1-3 pupils. Delivering a saving of at least £330 a year for eligible families is just one aspect of this Government’s work to tackle the scourge of child poverty in Scotland.

“Free school meals will also play an important role in improving attainment in schools, through offering children healthy and nutritious lunches that will help them achieve their best in class.

“It’s never too early for children to start learning about the benefits of healthy eating and free school meals, in addition to learning through Curriculum for Excellence, will play a big role in helping to deliver that message.

“The implementation of free school meals for P1-3 comes in addition to a range of legislation and policies that have been developed by the Scottish Government over the past decade to ensure that our children and young people are offered balanced and nutritious meals at all stages of their school life. Most recently, the Better Eating, Better Learning guidance sets the agenda for the coming decade to drive further improvements to both school food and food education.

“I have been impressed with the work that local authorities are doing to prepare. I encourage everyone with an interest to make sure they are up to date with the new arrangements.

“The Scottish Government has worked very closely with COSLA and local authorities throughout this process and I look forward to January 5, when we will see this very positive measure coming into effect.”

Positive progress indeed, but Green MSP Alison Johnstone is calling for more details of how the policy will work in practice.

Earlier this year Freedom of Information requests by Ms Johnstone, the Scottish Greens’ education spokesperson and MSP for Lothian, revealed that many local authorities had no school kitchens and dining facilities already at capacity.

She said: “Free school meals is a sound policy but it must be matched with modern facilities. We know that many local authorities are struggling to cope as it is, so I want to hear in detail how well they have been supported in preparing for this welcome initiative.

“We have a great opportunity to improve our supply chains and invest in the skills of the catering workforce. The Scottish Government should be ready to find the funds necessary to make the most of this opportunity.”

Gearing up for winter weather

Did you see some snow on Sunday? Preparations are well under way as Scotland gets braced for winter’s icy blast …

With the cold temperatures experienced at the weekend expected to continue into this week, Transport Minister Derek Mackay visited a salt depot near Glasgow to see the preparations that are being made for the wintry weather.

Gritters have already been out on trunk roads across the country in recent days in response to the winter conditions and Mr Mackay saw salt being loaded onto some of the state of the art spreaders used by the Scotland Transerv team at Polmadie.

He also took part in discussions with the Met Office, Police Scotland, Traffic Scotland and the Trunk Road Operating Companies, to ensure that the response to the current yellow weather warning for snow is as co-ordinated and effective as possible.

On a wider basis, agencies and organisations are working together to put their response plans into gear to keep any disruption as a result of difficult conditions to a minimum.

The Scottish Government’s Ready for Winter campaign draws all of these efforts together to offer information and advice on the simple steps that people, businesses and communities can take to prepare for and reduce the risks of winter weather.

Transport Minister, Derek Mackay said: “While this weather is not unusual in Scotland at this time of year, some areas are seeing their first snowfall of the season.

“A wide range of agencies and organisations are working together to implement their response plans with the aim of keeping disruption in difficult conditions to a minimum.

“The efforts being made by the team here at Scotland Transerv are being replicated by the Trunk Road Operating Companies across the country and the focused response to weather events will continue throughout the winter.

“We have more salt in stock today than we used across the whole of last year and our winter control rooms are monitoring conditions 24/7 ensure the winter fleet are treating and patrolling where and when they are needed.

“Motorists can see details of where and when the gritters will be in operation through the interactive winter treatments map on the Traffic Scotland website and the latest live information on conditions is available on the Traffic Scotland Twitter feed, smartphone App, internet radio and website.

“The Scottish Government’s annual preparedness campaign, Ready for Winter, is a good reminder of the simple actions we can all take to be prepared. It urges motorists to check conditions before they travel, leave some extra time for their journeys and make sure their vehicle is well maintained with an emergency kit.

“So far this year, the campaign has visited 31 communities across the country, giving advice to 36,000 members of the public. Its posts on Twitter have reached 360,000 people and the Readyscotland app has been downloaded more than 2,000 times. Lots of useful information on how we can all take an hour to prepare for winter is available at Readyscotland.org.” (see below)

Take an hour to get ready for winter and all kinds of severe weather

Severe weather can strike at any time so taking action now will serve you well in winter, and all year round.

In the last few years, we’ve seen it all – snow, floods and strong winds. And it doesn’t take much for it to impact on our daily lives. Like getting stuck indoors for a few days, or losing your phone communication, power or water supply.

Severe weather can cause a range of problems – but you can be ready for them. By doing a few small things now, you can save yourself a lot of trouble later on.

You can also do your bit to help out in your community.

In this section, you will find information and useful tips on how to prepare:

• In your home

• On the move

• In your community

• In your workplace

For more information on the opinion of the Scottish general public on preparing for emergencies, please refer to the latest edition of the Emergency Preparedness Survey.

WIG call public meeting to debate council budget crisis

Local campaigners the Womens Internation Group (WIG) are to hold a public meeting to discuss the city council’s budget crisis. The event will take place in Royston Wardieburn Community Centre tomorrow (Tuesday 9 December) at 6.30pm. All welcome.

Council Cancels Christmas flyers 4

Full details of the event will follow when we have them, but here’s some background to where we are and why the local meeting has been called:

Last week public spending watchdog the Accounts Commission expressed concern over Edinburgh’s budget control – the city council must find savings of of £138m by 2017.

The Accounts Commission said Edinburgh needs to develop a comprehensive strategy for managing its staff – and on Friday it was revealed that city councillors are to discuss radical new proposals for service provision at Thursday’s full council meeting.

The council’s last major internal reorganisation in the 2000s saw the creation of ‘super departments’ – Education and Social Work were merged to become Children and Families, while roads and pavements, environmental services, housing, refuse collection and trading standards all became part of the remit of a huge new Services for Communities department.

As well as delivering a ‘joined-up’ approach, those new structures were introduced to devolve more power and decision-making to front-line staff to address new community planning arrangements.

Now, following a comprehensive review and facing severe budget pressure, Chief Executive Sue Bruce has produced a new blueprint to restructure the Council’s operations and it’s thought that hundreds of middle manager posts could be under threat as part of the proposed reorganisation.

Councillors will debate the proposals on Thursday before they go out to consultation with unions – the council currently operates a policy of no compulsory redundancies.

Council Leader Councillor Andrew Burns said: “It’s essential that we transform how we deliver council services to an ever growing number of residents, focusing more on their priorities while addressing the significant financial challenges we face.

“A further report from the Chief Executive makes the case for delivering services through four ‘localities’, or neighbourhoods, giving front-line staff the ability to make decisions more suited to the local community and their particular needs. It also outlines a proposal for creating a ‘Business and Customer Services’ corporate centre which would provide the necessary guidance and support.

“Councillors will be asked to select one from three models outlined in the report, following which consultation with staff, Trades Unions and relevant partners will begin.”

Councillor Burns also urged citizens to have their say on Edinburgh’s budget. He said: “Over the past two months, we’ve been inviting views on how we invest and save money. The consultation has attracted significant attention, with over 1,400 people completing our budget planner online, and a further 300 submitting comments by post and email. This is already more than four times the number of responses we received last year.

“Last week, attention turned to our Question Time event, giving members of the public the opportunity to quiz our panel of senior councillors on the budget proposals that mattered to them. It was a lively debate with the Chair, Evening News editor Frank O’Donnell, taking contributions from the floor and from those watching at home. Archive footage of the event is available to view on our website.

“Please take the time to have your say on the proposals, if you haven’t already. The consultation period runs until 19 December, and we will consider all feedback prior to setting the final 2015/16 Budget in February.”

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Police seek three men following cycle path robbery

Police have appealed for witnesses after a teenager was assaulted and robbed on Blackhall cycle path on Wednesday evening.

The 16 year old youth was walking home and joined the cycle path at Wester Coates Terrace when he saw three males standing at the bridge area. He was approached by the trio who then grabbed and punched him to the head and face before stealing his mobile phone and rucksack.

Officers are urging anyone who can assist with their enquiries to come forward.

The first suspect is described as white, late teens, 5ft 10ins tall with a skinny build, gaunt face and a short dark hair. He was wearing a read and white ‘snood’, dark cotton tracksuit, black gloves and spoke with a local accent.

The second and third suspects are both described as white, in their late teens, around 5ft 11ins tall with slim builds and wearing dark cotton tracksuits.

All three wore their hoods up during the robbery.

Detective Constable Chris Harding said: “The young victim was not seriously injured as a result of this incident but is understandably upset at the theft of his belongings. Anyone who remembers seeing any suspicious activity on the cycle path on Wednesday evening is asked to contact police immediately.

“I would also ask that anyone who can help us identify the suspects or who has any other information relevant to our enquiry also gets in touch. Those with information can contact Police Scotland on 101 or call the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

Councillors to consider trams to Leith

Councillors asked to support new £400,000 trams report

Councillors are to consider whether Edinburgh’s tram line should be extended into Leith. The line currently stops at York Place, but transport leader Cllr Lesley Hinds argues that Edinburgh must look forward to compete with successful capital cities.

Councillors are being asked to support the commissioning of a £400,000 report to examine the implications of extending the line. If councillors do give the go-ahead, it’s expected they will consider the report’s findings early next year.

Some will question the wisdom of spending hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money on yet another tram report – particularly given Edinburgh’s current budget difficulties – but Transport and Environment convener Lesley Hinds says the city must move forward.

“If you look at any capital city that’s successful in Europe and throughout the world, we need to invest in our local transport and we need to encourage people to walk and to cycle,” she said. “We are going to have an increased population and more visitors so we need to ensure we have investment in a public transport system and that means looking forward.”

Tram lines to Leith and Granton’s new waterfront were key elements of Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE’s) original plans for a tram network – the first construction work started in Leith in 2007 – but the ambitious project was beset with difficulty and controversy almost from the outset.

When it began running in May, Edinburgh’s tram service was a single line from York Place to the airport, not a network – and even this was years late and over £400 million over budget.

The Scottish government announced a public inquiry into the trams project in June, and last month the inquiry was upgraded from a non-statutory to a statutory inquiry when chairman Lord Hardie complained that some key witnesses had failed to co-operate with is investigations. The change in status means that these individuals must now give evidence – and face possible imprisonment if they fail to do so.

The terms of reference of the Edinburgh Trams inquiry are:

To inquire into the delivery of the Edinburgh Trams project (‘the project’), from proposals for the project emerging to its completion, including the procurement and contract preparation, its governance, project management and delivery structures, and oversight of the relevant contracts, in order to establish why the project incurred delays, cost considerably more than originally budgeted for and delivered significantly less than was projected through reductions in scope.

To examine the consequences of the failure to deliver the project in the time, within the budget and to the extent projected.

To otherwise review the circumstances surrounding the project as necessary, in order to report to the Scottish Ministers making recommendations as to how major tram and light rail infrastructure projects of a similar nature might avoid such failures in future.

St Paul's fire: 14 year old charged

A 14-year-old boy has been arrested and charged in connection with a fire at the St Paul’s RC church in Muirhouse Avenue on Sunday evening.

He will now be reported to the Children’s Reporter.

Enquiries are ongoing to trace others believed to be involved in this incident and anyone with information that can assist officers with their investigation is asked to come forward.

Blooming good reason to celebrate success

The Lord Provost unveiled a plaque last night to mark Edinburgh’s success in the Entente Florale environmental competition earlier this year.

Following Edinburgh’s success in Britain in Bloom, Edinburgh was invited to represent the UK at the prestigious Entente Florale, Europe’s largest environmental competition – over 22,000 cities, towns and villages entered Entente Florale across Europe this year.

The winners were announced on 26 September: Edinburgh was awarded gold for excellence in landscape and horticulture, environment and tourism and involvement while The Grassmarket Community Project also won the special Lucija Cikes Prize for integration of disabled people in to society through green skills.

A host of city organisations contributed to Edinburgh’s success – these were:

City of Edinburgh Council, Historic Scotland, Edinburgh World Heritage Trust, Edinburgh and Lothian Greenspace Trust, Cockburn Association, Water of Leith Conservation Trust, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Friends of Parks groups, Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, Greenspace Scotland, Marketing Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh, Essential Edinburgh, Hilton Double Tree, Duddingston Field Group, Garvald Group and Grassmarket Community Project.

It's a Fayre frenzy!

Lots of festive fayres and events in the neighbourhood this weekend

First off, we have all the fun of the fair at Forthview Primary School this lunchtime and #StrongerNorth’s Christmas Market at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre this afternoon.

On Saturday there are festive frolics at Pilton Youth & Children’s Project’s Greenhouse, St Ninian’s church in Comely Bank,Waterfront Nursery has a Fun Day from 10am – midday and there’s a FACE fundraiser at the Western General Hospital too.

And if that’s not enough seasonal spirit there’s also the big Christmas charity event at Inverleith Park on Saturday AND Sunday!

No doubt there are more – let us know and we’ll share the information

It is indeed the season to be jolly – ho! ho! ho!

Lower drink drive limit now in place

“If you are going out for a drink then leave the car at home.”

Scotland is leading the way across the UK, bringing in a new lower drink drive limit to save lives on our roads. On the day the reduced limit comes into effect drivers are being urged to plan their journey ahead or to take the safest approach – DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE.

On 18 November the Scottish Parliament unanimously voted in favour of a new law to lower the limit from 80mg in every 100ml of blood to 50mg in every 100ml of blood.

Last week the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) published research showing that more than two-thirds (68 per cent) of people would like the Scottish drink-drive limit introduced across England and Wales.

An average of 20 people die on Scotland’s roads every year in accidents involving drivers over the legal limit.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said: “Scotland is leading the way across the UK. The new limit has backing from experts, road safety campaigners and the majority of the public north and south of the border.

“We are following the advice of the independent North Review, commissioned by the previous UK Government, which concluded that a lower limit would save lives. Every year around 20 people die on our roads due to people getting behind the wheel while over the legal limit.

“This change will bring Scotland into line with most of Europe. It’s not about criminalising drivers, it’s about making our roads safer and sending a clear message that even one alcoholic drink will affect the ability to drive. All the evidence from the Republic of Ireland shows reducing the limit means less convictions and lower blood alcohol counts.

“Today we are sending a clear message to drivers who continue to ignore the warnings that there is never an excuse to drink and drive.”

Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Higgins said: “Our message is don’t risk it, don’t drink and drive. Far too many people die or are injured each year on Scotland’s roads as a result of drink driving and the irresponsible disregard shown by drink drivers for not only their own safety but that of other road users and pedestrians.

“Evidence from across Europe, where the lower limit already applies, suggests we will see reductions in drink driving and a corresponding increase in lives saved.

“Remember if you do drink and drive, it can have long term repercussions for you, your family and your community. It could cost you your job, your reputation or potentially your life not to mention the effect your actions have on innocent parties.’

“There is no safe amount of alcohol in the body if you drive. Even at the new limit, you are three times more likely to die in a crash than if you had taken no alcohol. It is clear when it comes to drinking and driving, that the simple ‘the best advice is none’ message is the right one.

“If you are going out for a drink then leave the car at home.”

Sir Peter North CBE QC said: “I am delighted to see Scotland leading the way in implementing the findings of my report. The power to set the drink drive level in Scotland was devolved to the Scottish Parliament under the Scotland Act 2012. Those who responded to the consultation on a proposed reduction from 80mg in every 100ml of blood to 50mg in every 100ml of blood supported the measure three to one.

“The Scottish Parliament has now implemented this move to a new limit. This means that, as from today, Scottish roads should be that much safer. Given this important further step to reduce deaths and injuries on Scottish roads, Scotland is now a great example to the rest of the United Kingdom.”

PIC: Edinburgh Police Division

Princes Street Gardens was transformed into a racetrack yesterday as Formula 1 stars visited the city to take part in a driving event to promote responsible drinking and raise awareness of the dangers of drink driving.

Former World Champion Mika Hakkinen was joined by 2014 McLaren Mercedes F1 drivers Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen to take part in the Join The Pact event, a global JOHNNIE WALKER initiative which encourages people to pledge to never drink and drive.

Councillor Steve Cardownie, Edinburgh’s Festivals and Events Champion, got behind the wheel. He said: “The sight and sound of three of the world’s top Formula 1 drivers circling a track in the middle of Princes Street Gardens has been spectacular and importantly, free for the public to enjoy.

“The Council is thrilled Diageo’s Join the Pact campaign has launched in Edinburgh. As the home of Hogmanay, we welcome thousands of people to celebrate in the city’s streets, and the safety of everyone who joins in is hugely important to us. We are glad to support the initiative to pledge never to drink and drive.

“People joining Edinburgh’s Hogmanay will benefit directly from the campaign too, because in return for pledges that have already been given, Johnnie Walker is providing free Lothian Bus journeys home.”

To find out more about the campaign and how to pledge never to drink drive, visit Join the Pact of follow Twitter hashtag #gethomesafely. Each pledge will provide free public transport miles for events in the UK.