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.

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.

Pilton group walks off with award!

PILTON COMMUNITY HEALTH PROJECT VOLUNTEERS ‘WALK’ AWAY WITH AN AWARD!

We are delighted to announce that the Pilton Community Health Project walking volunteers have won an award from the Scottish charity Paths for All.

The award for ‘Health Walk Volunteer group of the Year’ will be presented by Shona Robison MSP at the charity’s annual celebration ceremony ‘Celebrating Scotland’s Walking Champions’ tomorrow (Tuesday 4 Novomber) at the Scottish Parliament.

The ceremony recognises the achievements of volunteers from across the country and their contribution to making Scotland more active.

The Pilton Community Health Project walking volunteers have won the award for their dedication and team spirit; this has been key to the success and expansion of the walking programme.

The team consists of eleven highly motivated volunteers who are all passionate about walking and how it can address health inequalities. Without them, the project wouldn’t be able to offer an increasingly wide range of opportunities for local people.

Together they effectively manage the walking groups and help others take steps toward improving their health and wellbeing.

Congratulations to all!

Sharp focus: clean sweep for photography students

Edinburgh College photography students named UK’s best

Edinburgh College has scooped all the top prizes at the British Institute of Professional Photography’s (BIPP) UK Student Awards, beating off competition from the country’s universities and colleges. Two current students and a recent graduate were named the country’s best student photographers, taking first place in the three categories.

BA Professional Photography student Kinga Kocimska won the BIPP National Student of the Year Award, recent BA graduate Jamie Mellor won the Student Open Award for students who are not BIPP members and fellow BA student Sandra Vijandi won the BIPP College Award.

Sandra was also the runner up for the Student of the Year Award and another student, Antonio Castro, came second in the Student Open. Three others were also highly commended in the categories.

Edinburgh College curriculum manager for broadcast media and photography Marjory Crooks said: “We’re delighted that the emerging photography students from Edinburgh College are winning such prestigious awards in the industry. Their future commissions and careers will be greatly enhanced by this as they’re already building fantastic profiles while they’re studying with us.”

Kinga’s winning entry in this year’s UK-wide competition consisted of five images from her second-year portfolio, ‘Deceptive Mind’, which showcased her surreal, witty approach to her photography as well as her technical skill (above).

Sandra took her win and runner-up position for her portfolios ‘Unexpected Journeys’ and ‘Glass Houses’, which demonstrated her flair for fashion photography, featuring stylised, heavily art-directed images (below).

Jamie won for his portfolio ‘Remnants’, featuring shots of eerie hinterland locations (below).

Each winner received a prize of £500.

Kinga said: “I did not expect such an amazing distinction and I’m very pleased that the time and effort I have invested in learning new skills have already started yielding such good results. I’m really grateful for the tuition and development opportunities I have received at Edinburgh College. This award has motivated me even more to continue improving my skills and working hard to gain more experience as a photographer. After all, the biggest challenge of making my way into the photographic industry is still ahead of me.”

These awards continue a winning streak for the college’s photography students that includes five years of multiple successes at the BIPP Scottish Region Image Awards, culminating in 30 awards this year including Student Photographer of the Year and Professional Photographer of the Year. Former student Lee Howell was also runner up in last year’s BIPP Student of the Year Award.

Photography lecturer Jon Lee added: “We’ve been overwhelmed in recent years with the talent of our students and I’m extremely pleased they’re continuing to do so well in these awards. The achievement is down to the hard work of our students and also our staff, who come from a range of commercial photography backgrounds. Many of our part-time staff also still work in the industry, which means our students gain that essential insight into developments in the professional word and ensures they’re prepared when they enter it.”

The college’s BA Professional Photography course currently has 24 students, the HND Professional Photography 1 has 38 and the HND Professional Photography 2 has 34.

Edinburgh College shortlisted for national awards

Edinburgh College has been nominated in three categories in the Scottish further education sector’s flagship national awards. The College Development Network’s Annual Awards recognise the achievements of staff and students at the country’s colleges.

The college is nominated in the following categories:

The Changing Colleges Award, for the college’s groundbreaking partnership working agreement with Edinburgh College Students’ Association (ECSA), the first of its kind for one of the country’s newly merged colleges. The agreement formalises how the college and ECSA work together, giving the students’ association a strong voice to influence decision making at all levels of the organisation. This award category recognises leadership and innovation in the development of regional colleges.

The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award, for ECSA’s commitment to reaching, representing and supporting some of the most under-represented and hardest-to-reach groups in the local community. In close partnership with the college, ECSA has developed a range of events and initiatives to ensure that all students are treated fairly and with dignity, and that their rights are respected.

The Sustainability Award, for the continuing development of the college’s solar meadow project at its Midlothian Campus, which includes an increase in student involvement. The £1.2m, 2,560-panel solar meadow launched in 2013 in partnership with energy firm SSE and generates the equivalent energy for the campus to meet its electricity needs and reduce its carbon emissions by 300,000kg per year. Engineering students have been using data generated from the solar meadow in their studies to learn about renewable energies. This year, the use of the facility as a teaching tool will be expanded and more students from other subject areas will have the chance to use it.

Edinburgh College principal Mandy Exley said: “Receiving three nominations shows the range, quality and creativity of the work our students and staff are doing, and it’s great to receive this recognition from the college community.

“I’m particularly pleased that our close partnership with our students’ association has been commended as we pride ourselves on how students are involved in all aspects of strategic decision making across the college, and how we work closely to make sure they have the best education experience possible. ECSA’s nomination for the equality award is also a great testament to their initiative, energy and dedication to representing all our students effectively.

“The solar meadow nomination reflects the college’s commitment to innovative sustainability projects. Already, it has brought benefits to the college, our students, industry partners and the wider community, and we’re delighted that more students from across the curriculum will have the opportunity to learn from it.”

Last year, Edinburgh College won the College Development Network Awards’ Health and Wellbeing category for its Milton Road Campus Community Garden. The college was highly commended in the Sustainability category for its electric vehicle research project. And it was commended in the Learning and Teaching category for the HND Visual Communication: Graphic Design course’s innovative student induction programme.

This year’s winners will be announced at the College Development Network Annual Awards dinner on 27 November 2014 at The George Hotel in Edinburgh.

Get Up and Go award for PEP

Pilton Equalities Project win Get Up and Go award

PEP manager Helen Tait said: “PEP were delighted to be selected as this years’ winner of the ‘Get Up & Go Award’ for Product and/or Service “That Makes a Difference”. Councillor Lewis, Convener of Sport and Leisure congratulated the project for its work and in reaching its 25 year milestone. Thank you to everyone who supported us for this award!”

Helen was joined by PEP’s weekend resource support worker Moira Stone at the awards ceremony earlier this week (pictured below).

Saltire Society awards for prominent Scots

Professor Sue Black, Sir Chris Hoy and Dr Ann Matheson honoured for their contribution to Scottish culture

Leading international scientist Professor Sue Black, Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy and celebrated Academic Dr Ann Matheson have been named as this year’s winners of the Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun Award.

Established in 1988, the award forms part of the Saltire Society’s annual awards programme, which recognises and celebrates Scottish culture and heritage. It celebrates the legacy of Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, often remembered as one of Scotland’s true patriots, by recognising significant contributions made to Scottish culture.

Previous recipients include Tom Fleming, Donald Dewar, George Davie, Dolinna MacLennan, Robin Jenkins, George Mackay Brown and in 2013, William McIlvanney.

Nominations for the award are made by the Saltire Society Council who this year decided to broaden the scope to now include three different categories and thus three awards so as to recognise a wider range of achievements and to engage wider public interest. These categories are: Arts and Humanities, Public Life and Science.

The categories for the 2014 Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun Award are:

Arts And Humanities – awarded to Dr Ann Matheson, member of the Board of the Scottish Poetry Library, for her lengthy and continued championing of Scotland’s literary and linguistic culture;

Public Life – awarded to Great Britain’s most successful Olympian and most successful Olympic cyclist of all time, Sir Chris Hoy;

Science – awarded to Professor Sue Black, Director of Dundee University’s Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification.

The ceremony took place at a reception at Edinburgh’s City Chambers on Saturday afternoon where winners were presented with a bespoke award by Convenor of the Saltire Society, David Ward.

Commenting on the Saltire Society Council’s selection Mr Ward said: “As a Council, we are thrilled to have been able to award one of our most prestigious accolades to three undisputable Ambassadors of Scottish culture.

“This year in particular Scotland finds itself in a spotlight on the world’s stage and we felt it appropriate that we should honour as wide a range of achievements as possible in order to truly be able to reflect the rich and varied cultural heritage that Scotland has to offer and that we support.

“2014’s Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun Award recipients do that and more with their remarkable achievements highlighting some modern day examples of Scottish achievement.”

2014 award recipient Professor Sue Black of Dundee University said: “It is both an honour and a privilege to be selected as a recipient for this award, particularly when I see the calibre of fellow recipients past and present. “I would like to pass on my sincere thanks to the Saltire Society Council for electing to bestow this honour on me.”

Commenting on her award, Dr Ann Matheson said: “I am deeply honoured to receive the Fletcher of Saltoun Award from the Saltire Society. It has been a privilege to have had the opportunity to be associated with Scotland’s literary culture, past and present, and with all those who work so steadfastly on its behalf, during an inspiring period in the nation’s history.”

For more information about The Saltire Society go to:

http://www.saltiresociety.org.uk/

North Edinburgh shines at Achievement Awards

North Edinburgh projects have been highly praised at the 2014 Children & Families Achievement Awards, with local organisations Stepping Stones, Forthview Primary and Circle Scotland among the prize winners.

Winner of the Working Effectively with Others category was the PrePare Fathers’ Group, comprising PrePare, Stepping Stones, South West Children and Families Team and Circle PrePare

Fathers were consulted on what additional support they would like and group work was identified. The aim is to increase paternal involvement in their child’s plan. A collaboration was established between Circle, Stepping Stones, PrePare and SW C&F Team. Together a group work programme was established within the framework and goals set out by the Early Years Collaboration.

Fathers learned about child development and the impact of parental substance use; attachment and resilience; stress and containment and gained a clearer understanding of where they can access support.

Morag Wilson, depute manger at Stepping Stones, said: “A massive congratulations to our Parenting Outreach worker, Anna Chrystal, who alongside her colleagues from PrePare, Circle Scotland and South West Children and Families team won the 2014 Children and Families Achievement Award in partnership working. The judge commented that ‘this innovative project is making a real difference to fathers, and their families.’ They have now been encouraged to put themselves forward for the Pride in our People awards 2014.”

Read all about it: Forthview to the Fore!

West Pilton’s Forthview Primary School won the Improving Literacy Outcomes category for their ‘West Pilton Reads: Developing a Community Reading Culture’ initiative.

The Forthview submission read: ‘Research shows that we only get better at reading by reading, and that we will only read if we want to read. After looking at this research and considering best practice, we investigated ways in which we could create a reading culture around Forthview Primary.

‘The teaching of reading has been unchanged for decades, with no significant improvement in achievement, especially in areas of disadvantage. We decided that it was time for a radical change of approach to fostering the enjoyment of reading.’

Judges were clearly impressed with the Forthview approach, and commented: ‘This innovative project provides help for the whole household, not just for children. An educational support for whole families, it benefits everyone.’

The Director’s Award for Outstanding Achievment went to the Active Schools Team and the Speak Up Speak Out campaign picked up the Convener’s Award.

Children and Families Director Gillian Tee said: “This is our 15th annual achievement awards and, yet again, I have been impressed by the high standard of applications. This year we have had an exceptionally high number of nominations reflecting the huge amount of work that is going on across a wide variety of services. The professionalism and commitment shown in providing the highest level of service for every child and family across Edinburgh was clearly evident.”

A full list of winners and nominees can be found below:

Achievement_Awards_Brochure

Read all about it: Edinburgh trio shortlisted for children’s book awards

Scottish Book Trust is delighted to announce today that Edinburgh-based authors Alexander McCall Smith, Gill Arbuthnot and William Sutcliffe have been shortlisted for this year’s Scottish Children’s Book Awards, celebrating the most popular children’s and young adult books by Scottish authors or illustrators.

Run by Scottish Book Trust with support from Creative Scotland, these are Scotland’s largest book awards, split into three age categories, with a total prize fund of £12,000.

Shortlisted authors and illustrators receive £500 per book, and the three winning books receive £3,000 each. Over the next five months, children across Scotland will be reading the three shortlisted books in their age category and voting for their favourite. The three winning books will be announced at a special award ceremony on 4 March 2015.

Internationally renowned best-selling novelist Alexander McCall Smith (pictured above) is shortlisted in the Younger Readers (8-11 yrs) category for Precious and the Mystery of the Missing Lion. Published by Birlinn, this is a delightful tale exploring how the young Precious Ramotswe became the loveable private investigator of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series.

McCall Smith, one of the world’s most popular authors, lives in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. After the success of No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency he wrote four more series including 44 Scotland Street novels and his most recent Corduroy Mansions series.

In total he has published 74 stories as well as a number of academic texts. Over 40 million copies of his books have been sold and he continues to produce an average of 4 – 5 books every year. He has received numerous awards for his writing, including the British Book Awards Author of the Year Award in 2004 and CBE for services to literature in 2007.

Commenting on his nomination, Alexander McCall Smith said: “I am delighted that this book has been shortlisted for this award. I very much admire what Scottish Book Trust does to promote reading among children – that is where a lifetime’s involvement with books can start.”

Gill Arbuthnot (above) is shortlisted in the Older Readers (12-16 yrs) category for her novel Dark Spell. Published by Kelpies and set in St Andrews, the book follows the adventures of teen witch Callie as she tries to come to terms with her powers and battles an unknown force.

Edinburgh born and bred, Gill Arbuthnot attended James Gillespie’s High School before leaving the city for St Andrews University. Here she studied Zoology and then completed teacher training. Despite having a career in science Arbuthnott never gave up her intention of writing, and when she witnessed the millennium clock in the museum of Scotland she was inspired to write The Chaos Clock for children. Now with a large back catalogue of published work including, Beneath, The Keepers Daughter and most recently Winterbringers, she lives in Edinburgh again, working as a writer and teacher.

Commenting on her nomination, Gill said: “I am thrilled to be shortlisted for the Scottish Children’s Book Awards. It’s a particular pleasure to be in the running for an award which is going to be decided by the children and young people at whom the books are aimed, and a great honour to have made it onto the shortlist, especially looking at the range of tremendous books which have won in previous years.”

William Sutcliffe is shortlisted in the Older Readers (12-16 yrs) for his novel The Wall. Published by Bloomsbury, it powerfully depicts the realities of life on the West Bank through the emotive coming-of-age story of thirteen-year-old Joshua.

London-born William Sutcliffe attended private boy’s school Haberdashers’ Aske’s in Hertfordshire. After leaving school he went on to study at Emmanuel College, Cambridge where he met his wife, novelist Maggie O’Farrell. He currently lives in Edinburgh.

William has published five novels prior to The Wall, including Are You Experienced?, New Boy, The Love Hexagon, Bad Influence and Whatever Makes You Happy. The Wall is his first children’s novel and has already received high acclaim, being longlisted for the Guardian Fiction Prize and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. William’s work has been translated into 20 different languages.

Commenting on his nomination, William said: “I am delighted to be shortlisted for the Scottish Children’s Book Awards. It is an exciting prospect to know that my book will be read widely in schools across Scotland, and discussed, and voted on. It is vital that children read, and talk to each other about what they read. It’s fantastic to have your work embraced into that process.”

THE SCOTTISH CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARDS SHORTLIST:

Bookbug Readers (3-7 years)

Princess Penelope and the Runaway Kitten by Alison Murray (Nosy Crow)
Robot Rumpus by Sean Taylor, illustrated by Ross Collins (Andersen Press)
Lost for Words by Natalie Russell (Macmillan)

Younger Readers (8-11 years)

Precious and the Mystery of the Missing Lion by Alexander McCall Smith (Birlinn)
Attack of the Giant Robot Chickens by Alex McCall (Kelpies)
Pyrate’s Boy by E.B. Colin (Kelpies)

Older Readers (12-16 years)

Dark Spell by Gill Arbuthnott (Kelpies)
The Wall by William Sutcliffe (Bloomsbury)
Mosi’s War by Cathy MacPhail (Bloomsbury)

Jasmine Fassl, Head of Schools at Scottish Book Trust said: “The Scottish Children’s Book Awards are much more than a celebration of Scottish literature – they are about expanding children’s horizons far beyond their physical boundaries and barriers.

“By simply reading just one of the shortlisted novels in their category, a 5 year old can imagine what it’s like to have rampaging robots as babysitters, a 10 year old can hop aboard a pirate ship, and a 15 year old can be transported into the mind of a teenager in a war zone.

“We hope that children, teachers, parents and librarians across Scotland will take this journey with us and get lost in these nine wonderful stories.”

Jenny Niven, Portfolio Manager for Literature at Creative Scotland, commented: “Literacy, and access to books for Scotland’s children and families is absolutely critical for our capacity to learn, to develop and to imagine. The work of Scottish Book Trust is fundamental in this.

“The next step beyond access is to provide the means for children and young people to develop an independent love of books and reading, and the Scottish Children’s Book Awards play an enormous role in making this possible.

“By voting for their own reading choices they are taking steps in their journeys as independent readers – steps which will have an impact on their education, their wellbeing and their imaginations far into the future. Creative Scotland is delighted to support this work, and is encouraged to see such a strong shortlist of Scottish books for our voters to choose from.”

The Scottish Children’s Book Awards also encourage budding authors or journalists to put pen to paper: the popular Book Review Competition offers pupils the chance to win book tokens for themselves and an author visit for their school.

Budding film makers can enter the book trailer competition to entice their peers to read the books too and win book tokens for their school. Scottish Book Trust provides extensive learning resources for teachers on how to create book trailers.

The Bookbug Primary 1 Family Pack is part of Bookbug, Scotland’s national book gifting programme, funded by the Scottish Government and run by Scottish Book Trust.

CALL Scotland has again worked with Scottish Book Trust and the authors and publishers to create accessible digital versions of the nine shortlisted books for children and young people with physical, visual and reading or dyslexic difficulties, who can’t read the paper books. The accessible digital versions of the shortlisted books are available free of charge from CALL Scotland. You can request books by going to http://www.callscotland.org.uk/Home/.

Pictures: Rob McDougall