Category: Royston/Wardieburn

League tables don’t reflect our schools’ amazing work

A school feels ‘under attack’ when put at the bottom of a narrow-focused league table, says Craigroyston headteacher Shelley McLaren

Each year the release of newspaper school league tables for Scotland is a day I dread, and the publication of the 2021 results yesterday was no different. The language of the headlines – “Which school is the best in Scotland?” and “Scotland’s schools ranked best to worst” – is both incredibly damaging and demoralising for staff, pupils, parents and school communities across the country, not to mention the reputational harm it can cause for years to come (writes SHELLEY McLAREN).

The stories will continue today in the local news, where it feels like we need to put on our armour and prepare for attack. No matter how much we’ve done in all other parts of school life throughout the year, the focus to determine our worth and whether we are a “good” school seems to rest singlehandedly on the one measure of how many young people achieve five Highers in one sitting.

As a school, we pick up the pieces from this for months to come – only for it to come around again next year. It is not, of course, that we do not focus on trying to improve by the measure of five Highers, but, because of context and, indeed, probably our own vision and values, we will always be near the “bottom”.

Our main aims are educating our young people out of poverty and instilling in them the belief that no matter where you come from or the challenges you have faced in your life, you can still achieve your dreams and be the best you can be. University, a modern apprenticeship or a job are all given equal weighting; the most important thing is that the young person has achieved the best they can – and, believe me, every day we support, challenge, motivate, nurture and push high expectations to ensure this happens.

League tables aren’t fair on schools

I congratulate those top-performing schools where up to 86 per cent of young people have achieved the “gold standard” of five Highers. It is an incredible achievement and should be celebrated – but everything is about context, and schools should and need to be measured on so much more.

I am not shirking accountability or responsibility as a headteacher – the measure of five Highers is important – but if closing the attainment gap simply meant improving this one measure, and that determined whether we were a “good” or “bad” school, we would have used our Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) and Scottish Attainment Challenge funding very differently – and probably not made that many gains.

I could concentrate on the fact that 70 per cent of our young people live in SIMD (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation) 1 and 2 or that 20 per cent of each cohort arrive at us with a reading age of 8 or below, or that nearly 40 per cent of our students are on free school meals. This would make it easy to excuse why we are one of the “worst” schools in the league table – but I won’t, because that is not what we base our views of children on.

What I will focus on is that, in 2020, nearly 95 per cent of our young people left school to go into a positive destination – above the national average of 93.3 per cent – and that last session 100 per cent of our young people in S4 achieved five or more national qualifications (nobody was “left behind”, regardless of any barrier) and that this year 23 of our young people (almost a third of the cohort) are heading off to universities across the country – the same group of young people who didn’t achieve five Highers in one sitting.

I implore you, please don’t judge our incredible young people or our amazing school, filled with dedicated, passionate staff, on this one measure of five Highers – know that we are doing everything possible to ensure that our students are given a gold-star service to prepare them to have the best life possible after school, with or without the achievement of the “gold standard”.

Are we one of the “worst” schools in the country? Of course we’re not – and I would vehemently challenge anyone who considers this to be the case.

Shelley McLaren is headteacher at Craigroyston Community High School

This article first appeared in TES

What does living in North Edinburgh mean to you?

Fresh Start, with the Edinburgh Health & Social Care Partnership, are running online events on 12th & 13th May to allow residents to discuss how our services can adapt to fit what matters to you, the people that live and work in the area!

Join the conversation on Wednesday 12th May, 1-2.30pm by registering here:

https://us02web.zoom.us/…/tZYsd…

Or Thursday 13th May, 7pm – 8.30pm, by registering here:

https://us02web.zoom.us/…/tZ0qcu…

Please share around your networks and get the conversation going!

Lib Dems announce candidate list and pledge to “Put Recovery First”

As nominations close, Scottish Liberal Democrats have announced their list of candidates for Lothian and are pledging their commitment to make recovery from the pandemic their number one priority as MSPs.

Today the Scottish Liberal Democrats submitted their nomination papers for the upcoming Scottish parliament election to be held on the 6th May.

The Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Edinburgh Northern and Leith will be Rebecca Bell (above). She is also the mental health spokesperson for the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Rebecca Bell said: “People are under huge pressure from the pandemic. There’s a lot of work to be done to recover from this crisis. It will not be easily done and we will need our complete focus on the project at hand.

“As an MSP, I want to focus on cutting mental health waits, a bounce back plan for education, creating jobs and tackling the climate emergency.

“After years of arguing about independence and Brexit, the last thing we need right now is another independence referendum.

“As the MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, I will put the recovery first.”

Willie Rennie said: “This election is about priorities. Liberal Democrats will put recovery first. After the dreadful year we have endured, people want a needle-sharp focus on jobs, mental health, our NHS, schools and the climate crisis.

“With ten years of experience as leader I have won support for areas like mental health, education and nursery education.  For me it has always been about investing in people so they can do great things.

“For the next five years the divided nationalists will put independence first, dividing the country too.

“For the next five years I will put the recovery first, cut mental health waits, help pupils bounce back, create jobs and take action on the climate. The SNP will prioritise another independence referendum.

Community projects in the running for Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce awards

Community projects and third sector organisations have been short-listed for awards at next month’s Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce Business awards.

North Edinburgh’s COVID 19 Response and Recovery Group has been nominated for the Inspiring Partnership Award, with Citadel Youth Centre and Leith Rugby Club and Cyrenians and Natwest partnerships also in the running in that category.

The North Edinburgh COVID-19 Response and Recovery Group was formed at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic. Local projects and community organisations joined together in an informal coalition and have been working together ever since to ensure that the community’s most vulnerable people are being supported and protected during the pandemic.

Cyrenians is also nominated in the Local Business Hero, Employer of the Year and and Young Leader of the Year categories.

A Chamber spokesperson explained: “Each year, the Edinburgh Chamber looks forward to hosting its much loved Business Awards ceremony to recognise the successes and achievements of our vibrant business community.

“2020 has been a tough year for all. However, despite the ongoing challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, we have watched businesses across the city come together to lead, innovate, collaborate and support those in need.

“We feel it is important to recognise the efforts and dedication shown by organisations over the past year, and so we’re delighted to announce the launch of our first ever virtual business awards.

“Our virtual awards will bring the business community together to showcase the resilience, adaptability and outstanding contribution of our local businesses and professionals, in the most challenging of years.”

Award Categories 2021:

  • Responsible Business – sponsored by City of Edinburgh Council
  • Innovation in Business – sponsored by CityFibre
  • Director of the Year – sponsored by Royal Bank of Scotland
  • Developing the Young Workforce – sponsored by Developing the Young Workforce
  • Employer of the Year – sponsored by Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP
  • Young Leader of the Year – sponsored by Thorntons Law LLP
  • Inspiring Partnership Award – sponsored by Openreach
  • Excellence in Circular Economy – sponsored by Circular Edinburgh
  • Export Business of the Year – sponsored by Forth Ports
  • Service Excellence – sponsored by Heehaw
  • Local Business Hero – sponsored by TLT LLP
  • Lifetime Achievement – sponsored by Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce 

This event will take place virtually during the week of the Edinburgh’s Business Festival .

The virtual festival, taking place from 1-5th March, offers 18 events over the 5 days, ranging from keynote speakers and panel discussions to networking events and practical workshops. The Chamber will also host its annual Business Awards, to recognise and showcase the resilience, adaptability and outstanding contribution of local businesses and professionals, in the most challenging of years.

The headline sponsor for this year’s Business Festival is St James Quarter.

Martin Perry, Director of Development for St James Quarter, said: “At St James Quarter we’re passionate about doing our part to support the local Edinburgh community – and the businesses within it.

“We’re delighted to partner with the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce and look forward to connecting with our peers and neighbours throughout the event.”

 You can download the full programme here 

Edinburgh’s Business Festival is open to all and free to attend. For more information please click here.

If you have not booked a Festival ticket, you may book this event separately via ECC’s event page.

Advice and support still available at Granton Information Centre despite latest lockdown

Following the latest coronavirus guidelines announced on Monday, Granton Information Centre staff are working from home and our office on West Granton Road will remain closed for the foreseeable future – BUT PLEASE BE ASSURED THAT WE ARE STILL OPERATING!

You can contact us by email at info@gic.org.uk or by calling 0131 551 2459 or 0131 552 0458.

Any messages left on our answering machine will be dealt with as soon as possible – please ensure you clearly leave your full name and telephone number when leaving a message.

Let’s all play our part in keeping each other safe, stopping this terrible virus and getting life back to normal!