People’s Assembly Scotland Conference this Saturday
The People’s Assembly Scotland is organising an industrial and political conference on Saturday 17 September in the Renfield St Stephens Centre, 260 Bath St, Glasgow G2 4JP starting at 10.30am where leading trade unionists from UNITE, UNISON, RMT, FBU and others will address activists to discuss and organise building unity in the fight against austerity in a post-EU Scotland. Continue reading Building unity after EU Referendum
Friday 16 September 3 – 5pm
The Amphitheatre, Muirhouse Avenue
We are having a party to launch the new amphitheatre, built on Muirhouse Avenue. There will be a BBQ and music workshops with Tinderbox Frontiers.
Spaces for the music workshops are FREE but must be booked in advance on 0131 315 2151 or inside North Edinburgh Arts.
The event is FREE.
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Do your bit during Recycle Week
The City of Edinburgh Council is encouraging residents to get involved in Recycle Week, which started yesterday. The week, which is co-ordinated by Zero Waste Scotland, aims to get everyone in Scotland recycling more by raising awareness of its benefits and promoting easy ways to do more. Continue reading Don’t let a good thing to to waste
FRIDAY 7 OCTOBER 7 – 9.30pm
St Stephen’s Stockbridge
FRIDAY 7 OCTOBER 11am – 1pm
at THE PRENTICE CENTRE
The Scottish Government is pushing ahead with its work to improve the transparency of land ownership. Ministers are seeking views on proposals for a register of controlling interests in land owners and tenants. Continue reading Our land: who owns what?
Percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie and playwright and artist John Bryne are among a group of four Scots to have been honoured for their outstanding contribution to Scotland’s culture and society. Continue reading Fletcher Awards for prominent Scots
The city council has set up a Waste Compliance Team to tackle the illegal disposal of trade waste by businesses, particularly around communal bins. The six person squad – a team leader and five wardens – started their inspections last week. Continue reading Talking rubbish: council crackdown on trade waste abuse
Decentralisation drives improvement plan
“Decision-making must rest with schools” – John Swinney
Empowering schools to take the decisions necessary to improve children’s attainment will be at the heart of reforms being consulted on in the Scottish Government’s governance review, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said today.
Mr Swinney will formally launch the review on Tuesday, setting out the goal of making schools the key decision makers on children’s education and consulting on how to make that a reality. The review will consider how to best decentralise management to schools and how best to support teachers and headteachers in exercising their new responsibilities.
The Deputy First Minister said: “Our relentless focus will be on how we can build on the many strengths in Scottish education to close the attainment gap and deliver excellence and equity in our schools. We believe that the key to achieving this for all children depends on the quality of teaching and the relationship between teachers and children. That is why we are taking forward our commitment to make schools, their teachers and parents, the key decision makers in a child’s education.
“We have already initiated a range of targeted actions to close the equity gap and reduce classroom workload, but we want to go further. We want to ensure that the whole education system in Scotland is focused on supporting teachers do what they do best – teaching our young people.
“Our starting point is schools must have the flexibility to take the decisions that matter for children’s education. The governance review I will publish this week will begin with the presumption that decision-making must rest with schools. This approach poses the question of how the rest of the system can support teachers, headteachers and parents in that extended role.
“It will also consider how we can involve parents and the wider community better in the life of schools, because we know that there is strong global evidence that greater parental and community involvement promotes children’s attainment and achievement.”
