We’ve been overwhelmed by the incredible response to this year’s Baillie Gifford Schools Programme: our packed programme of FREE book events for schools.
Thank you to everyone who has signed up for in-person tickets so far, we can’t wait to welcome you and your pupils to the Edinburgh College of Art for some inspiring author events this August.
We have limitied availability remaining but if you would still like to attend in-person please get in touch with our Schools Booking Coordinator directly asap to check availability by emailing schools@edbookfest.co.uk.
And don’t forget, if your class is unable to make it along in-person, selected events will also be livestreamed for schools to watch in the classroom live, or on-demand. Events will be visable on edbookfest.co.ukfrom Wednesday 14 June and you can book your place any time from then until just before the event starts.
Two Edinburgh based charities – along with a third good cause group in Fife – have been shortlisted to receive a share of a £25,000 funding pot, thanks to Scotmid’s Community Connect award scheme.
The awards will be announced this October, following a vote by Scotmid Members.
Edinburgh Young Carers is a voluntary organisation that provides respite and support to young people between the ages of five and 25 who care for somebody at home. It aims to improve the lives and wellbeing of young carers by raising awareness of the challenges they face and by offering emotional and practical support.
The Junction works with young people aged 12-21 across Leith and the North East of Edinburgh, offering access to a wide range of health-related services, education and information by providing a safe and welcoming environment. The charity encourages social and economic inclusion and promotes long term health and wellbeing.
Margaret Murphy, Chief Executive at Edinburgh Young Carers, said: “We are thrilled to be shortlisted for a Scotmid Community Connect Award.
“Young carers in Edinburgh face several challenges looking after loved ones and this funding will offer new opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise. We are pleased to provide young carers in Edinburgh with a much-needed break from their caring responsibilities as well as a chance to build their confidence and learn new skills.”
The other good cause shortlisted in the East of Scotland is Fairway Fife.
Keen to support local good causes? Pop into your local Scotmid and pay £1 to become a member.
Amazon offers new term-time contracts, providing its operations employees in Dunfermline and across the UK guaranteed time off during Summer, Easter and Christmas holidays, enabling more time with their children
The innovative contract is part of a wider flexibility boost which also includes a part-time pick-your-shift option
Amazon has launched an innovative new contract that offers parents, grandparents and guardians of school-age children the choice to work term-time only.
The new contracts, available at the Dunfermline fulfilment centre, guarantee time off for the six-week Summer break, as well as the two-week Easter and Christmas holiday periods, without affecting the comprehensive range of benefits they receive, including private medical insurance and life assurance.
The contracts, aimed at better supporting family needs, were successfully trialed at three sites following employee feedback, and are now being phased in for employees in Dunfermline and across all Amazon’s fulfilment centres – the places where Amazon store, pick and pack items for sale. They will be rolled out to sort centres and delivery stations across the UK later this year.
Amazon also announced a new flexible part-time contract for a minimum of 80 hours a month which lets employees pick and mix the shifts which suit their needs; part-day or full-day, day or night, weekday or weekend. The contract will support people who are unable to find work due to family or other commitments that require flexibility, return to the workplace.
As with all roles at Amazon, a current employee could refer a friend or family member to this option, which could also provide similar, required flexibility to a partner at home. The part-time contract, piloted at five fulfilment centres and now being expanded to a further seven sites, was also introduced as a result of employee feedback.
Jamie Strain, General Manager at Amazon in Dunfermline, said:“We’ve listened to our employees’ views on flexible working and I’m really proud that we’ve introduced new and innovative options based on their feedback.
“Both of these contracts put a really important emphasis on work-life balance and I’m certain they’re going to make a positive difference for many of our people.”
John Boumphrey, Amazon’s UK Country Manager, said: “At Amazon, we’re always innovating for our employees and our customers. I’m delighted to announce these new flexible working initiatives that provide even more choice for current and future employees, enabling them to better manage their home and work commitments.
“Amazon already provides a four-day working week for our fulfilment centre employees in the UK, and term-time contracts are another great example of how we are using feedback from our people to support them with their childcare needs, giving families more time together.”
He added: “Providing a flexible part-time contract where people can pick the shifts that best suit their needs will support our employees’ partners and other job-seekers with family caring commitments a route back to the workplace, helping to boost household income.”
Amazon already offers multiple types of contract. A standard working week is 40 hours, with shift-swaps and part-time options.
Term-time contracts are now available to thousands of Amazon’s fulfilment centre employees. The part-time pick-your-shift option has been rolled out to seven fulfilment centres following a successful trial, with more sites soon to follow.
GRoW (Get Ready for Work) supports women back into the workplace. Director Liz Sewell is particularly interested in term-time contracts: “Term-time working has the potential to give a lot of people the support they need, so it’s an interesting and progressive change at Amazon.
“We know that many women want to work flexible hours and for those with younger children term-time working makes so much sense. We believe it’s a great way to support a widening of the workforce as well as providing valuable flexibility for parents.”
Cut of £1,870 per pupil since 2012/13 on spending for those identified with ASN
Postcode lottery of spending between local authorities on ASN
Near doubling in the number of pupils with ASN from 2012
Cut in the number of ASN teachers by more than 500
An alliance of leading providers of specialist children’s services, the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), has called for greater resourcing to support children and young people with additional support needs (ASN), such as autism, dyslexia and mental health problems.
The call comes as new figures contained in a parliamentary answer to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, Jenny Gilruth MSP. This reveals that spending supporting those pupils with ASN has slumped by over a third.It comes against a backdrop of the number of pupils with ASN increasing dramatically and the number of specialist teachers supporting them dropping to a new low.
While the SCSC supports a presumption of mainstreamingfor pupils with ASN, meaning that they are educated in a mainstream school unless exceptional circumstances, without adequate resourcing there is an obvious impact on those with ASN, fellow pupils and teachers.
The SCSC is calling on the Scottish Government to increase funding to support the needs of vulnerable children and young people, including greater provision of specialist ASN teachers, educational psychologists and classroom assistants.
The figures highlight that average spending per pupil on additional support for learning by councils in Scotland (primary, secondary and special education) has fallen from £5,381 in the 2012/13 financial year to £3,511 in 2021/22 (in real terms). This amounts to an overall cut in spending of £1,870 per pupil, representing a 34.8 per cent drop.
This fall is against the backdrop of a 97.2 per cent increase between 2012 and 2021 in the number of pupils identified with ASN, from 118,011 to 232,753, amounting to 114,742 individuals. Those with ASNcurrently represent around a third of all pupils (33.0 per cent).
Between 2012 and 2021 the number of full-time equivalent ASN teachers (publicly funded primary, secondary, special and centrally employed) has fallen from 3,389 to an all-time low of 2,886, a decrease of 503 teachers, representing a cut in numbers of 14.8 per cent.
Against the background of Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis, with its disproportionate impact on those with ASN, the SCSC has called for greater resourcing from both the Scottish Government and councils to ensure that those with ASN receive the care and support they need, provided in an equitable manner across Scotland.
A spokesperson for the SCSC commented: “It is vital that those with ASN get the care and support they need, when they need it, especially given the impacts of the Covid-19 and cost-of-living crisis.
“This is also key if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap, as we know that those with ASN are disproportionately drawn from poorer neighbourhoods.
“We are in a mental health emergency and have also witnessed dramatic increases in classroom disruption, impacting on pupils and teachers alike. This is in part due to increased levels of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties post-lockdown.
“Given this, it is disappointing to note cuts in spending supporting those with ASN and we would urge the Scottish Government to adequately resource the provision of the likes of specialist teachers, educational psychologists and classroom assistants.
“Councils and the Scottish Government must work together to provide an adequately resourced and equitable system of support across Scotland for those children and young people with ASN, representing some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society. “
Culture Secretary Angus Robertson has confirmed £9.5 million funding for Scotland’s flagship Youth Music Initiative (YMI) this year. This includes £500,000 which has been ringfenced to deliver on the commitment to expand the YMI model into other art forms.
YMI funding enables schools and other organisations to provide quality music-making activities for children and young people, which range from after-school drum bands to courses in sound production.
More than 362,000 children and young people took part in YMI-funded projects under the 2021-22 programme, the majority of those in high-deprivation areas. The funding also supported 1,182 music education posts across all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities.
Mr Robertson marked the funding award with a visit to Murrayburn Primary School in Sighthill, Edinburgh, where he met pupils who have benefitted from the programme, which is administered by Creative Scotland.
The Culture Secretary said: “Music plays a vitally important role in young people’s lives, and beyond developing their wider skills and learning we know these kinds of activities also have a huge positive impact on their confidence and wellbeing.
“We are committed to ensuring every school pupil in Scotland can access a year of free music tuition by the time they leave primary school through the YMI, no matter their background. YMI is focused on creating opportunities for groups of children and young people who may not otherwise have the chance to participate in cultural activity.
“This year’s funding takes our investment in this programme to more than £150 million since 2007, to enable free music tuition for hundreds of thousands of young people, and support thousands of music sector jobs across the country.”
Morag Macdonald, YMI Manager said: “With ongoing support from the Scottish Government, the YMI allows local authorities to deliver programmes like this across Scotland ensuring that children and young people with additional support needs have opportunities to experience the joy and excitement that comes with making music.”
Tax-Free Childcare has saved 38,495 families in Scotland on their childcare costs during the 2022 to 2023 tax year, an increase of more than 9,300 from the previous year according to the latest statistics released by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) today (24 May 2023).
With thousands more families benefitting from the UK Government top up year on year, HMRC is reminding eligible working families of the financial support available to pay for approved childcare including holiday clubs, breakfast and after school clubs, child minders and nurseries. Last year, £533 million in government cash was shared by families across the UK who saved money on their childcare bills.
Working families, with children up to the age of 11, or 16 if their child has a disability, can save up to £2,000 a year per child or £4,000 a year if their child is disabled.
For every £8 paid into a Tax-Free Childcare account, families automatically receive an additional government top up of £2. Families can save up to £500 every 3 months for each child or £1,000 if their child is disabled.
This is one of many ways the UK Government is easing cost of living for people across the country, whilst taking action to halve inflation this year which is currently adding pressure to household budgets.
Victoria Atkins, The Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said: “While thousands more working families are benefitting from Tax-Free Childcare, which is making a real difference to their childcare bills, many more are missing out on the help they’re entitled to.
“Parents should check their eligibility and apply online, the top-up could make a big difference to working families at a time they need it most.”
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said:
“Tax-Free Childcare is a flexible benefit for families, allowing them to save towards the cost of childcare throughout the year and use when they need it. It can be a real boost to the household budget of working families. Search ‘Tax-Free Childcare’ on GOV.UK and sign up today.”
More than one million families could be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare. Families who haven’t signed up should check their eligibility and sign up to start saving today.
Opening a Tax-Free Childcare account is straightforward and can be done online in about 20 minutes. Money can be deposited at any time at any time of the year to be used straight away, or whenever it is needed. Unused money in the account can be withdrawn at any time.
Building brighter futures through confidence with numbers. That was the message today for children and young people from across the Capital as they celebrated National Numeracy Day.
The national scheme, run by charity National Numeracy, aims to promote confidence through numbers and how we use them in our everyday lives.
Here in Edinburgh at Piershill Library, Great British Bake-Off Winner, and National Numeracy Ambassador Peter Sawkins, led a reading group for local children.
A singing session then took place, led by library colleagues, before finishing with refreshments.
The aim of the event was to show local children the variety of situations where maths and numeracy were important.
Also in attendance were Depute Lord Provost, Councillor Lezley Marion-Cameron and Culture and Communities Convener Val Walker, alongside library colleagues, representatives from National Numeracy, Education Scotland, and the Scottish Book Trust.
Culture and Communities Convener Councillor Val Walker said: “I was delighted to attend the event today at Piershill Library to celebrate National Numeracy Day. It was fantastic to hear from National Numeracy Ambassador Peter Sawkins and all the children who attended enjoyed it tremendously.
“I am proud that our libraries can host such diverse and fun events for our residents to enjoy.”
New offence for encouraging serious self-harm with perpetrators facing 5 years behind bars
offence to apply regardless of whether target goes on to cause serious self-harm
move will protect vulnerable while not criminalising those who share their recovery journey
Vile trolls who hide behind the anonymity of the internet to encourage others to cause themselves serious harm will face prosecution as part of an overhaul of online safety laws announced today (18 May 2023).
Additions to the Online Safety Bill will make it a crime to encourage someone to cause serious self-harm, regardless of whether or not victims go on to injure themselves and those convicted face up to 5 years in prison. The new offence will add to existing laws which make it illegal to encourage or assist someone to take their own life.
Police or prosecutors will only have to prove communication was intended to encourage or assist serious self-harm amounting to grievous bodily harm (GBH) – this could include serious injuries such as broken bones or permanent physical scarring.
The offence will apply even where the perpetrator does not know the person they are targeting – putting an end to abhorrent trolling that risks serious self-harm or life-changing injuries.
Encouraging someone to starve themselves or not take prescribed medication will also be covered.
Research from the Mental Health Foundation shows that more than a quarter of women between 16-24 have reported self-harm at some point in their life and since 1993 the levels of self-harm among women have tripled. Today’s announcement is the latest step in our work to provide greater protections for women and girls who are more likely to self-harm.
Research also shows more than two-thirds of UK adults are concerned about seeing content that promotes or advocates self-harm while online.
Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Alex Chalk KC, said: “There is no place in our society for those who set out to deliberately encourage the serious self-harm of others. Our new law will send a clear message to these cowardly trolls that their behaviour is not acceptable.
“Building on the existing measures in the Online Safety Bill our changes will make it easier to convict these vile individuals and make the internet a better and safer place for everyone.”
The new offence will be created following a recommendation from the Law Commission in 2021 and balances the need to protect vulnerable people while not criminalising those who document their own self-harm as part of their recovery journey.
Justice Minister, Edward Argar MP, said: “No parent should ever worry about their children seeing content online or elsewhere encouraging them to hurt themselves.Our reforms will punish those who use encourage vulnerable people to inflict serious injuries on themselves and make sure they face the prospect of time behind bars.“
This new offence builds on measures already in the Online Safety Bill, which will better regulate social media and ensure that social media companies like Tiktok, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and others are held legally responsible for the content on their sites.
