A £5 million package of emergency financial support is being put in place to help students facing hardship as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Extra cash will be available to any university and college students now struggling as a result of COVID-19, including those attending private institutions.
The £5 million includes an additional £2.2 million for Scotland’s Higher Education (HE) Discretionary Fund specifically to address COVID-19-related hardships, which will be available to colleges and universities immediately.
University and college students will be able to apply for any emergency discretionary payments directly to their own institutions.
Further and Higher Education Minister Richard Lochhead said: “We are ensuring students studying in Scotland should have access to emergency support should they be facing financial hardship as a result of COVID-19 or the social distancing and isolation measures that have been introduced.
“All bursaries, grants and loans are continuing to be paid as planned but the current unprecedented situation has resulted in increased hardship. That is why we are making extra funding immediately available for students most in need, to help alleviate concerns around accommodation costs, mental health issues, general living costs and wellbeing.
“Institutions will be provided with specific guidance on the discretionary funding related to COVID-19, to explain all relevant details while students can access the latest information on COVID-19 on the Student Information Scotland website.”
An additional £2.2 million will be available immediately through the Higher Education Discretionary Fund, and will supplement £569,000 already issued. The remaining £2 million emergency student funding has been forward by the Scottish Funding Council from Further Education student support budgets for immediate use.
Other details of the emergency package include:
• £100,000 available to support around 1,000 students studying with private providers, administered by Student Awards Agency Scotland and paid directly to affected students.
a three-month suspension by SAAS of all new debt recovery actions in respect to grants and bursaries, for students whose circumstances have changed and therefore may have to return overpayments – expected to benefit around 600 individuals. Where a student is experiencing difficulties SAAS will work with them to agree the best options, with suspension potentially one of the solutions. Some individuals may still wish to continue recovery with a reduced payment plan.• an extension of the Care-Experienced Accommodation Grant from early April allowing eligible students to access support of a non-repayable grant of up to £105 per week – this is eight weeks earlier than usual benefiting around 200 students worth an estimated £200,000.
Cats Protection comes to the rescue of parents struggling to make home schooling fun, with the Moggy Modules; five pawsome new free learning tools to keep kids happy and engaged.
Each of the online resource packs includes cat-themed worksheets, quizzes, creative writing exercises, feline facts, recipes and other fun learning activities linked to one of the five cat welfare needs; a place to live, behaviour, the right diet, good healthcare and space.
The packs have been created by Cats Protection’s educational experts to help young learners discover more about our feline friends and their welfare needs, with age-appropriate learning tools for children aged five-seven and seven-11.
On completing #TheMoggyModules, children can download and print a colour certificate to celebrate their knowledge of the five cat welfare needs.
The Moggy Modules support Cats Protection’s call for animal welfare to be included as a mainstream topic in the National Curriculum to give children a basic understanding of how to respect and care for animals.
Shelley Brown, Cats Protection’s Education Team Manager, said: “Children learn best and stay focused longer if they enjoy what they are doing. Home schooling can be fun for families.
“Our Moggy Modules are designed to give parents a helping hand, while teaching children about better animal welfare and encouraging them to be better stewards of our environment for years to come.”
A social media campaign will encourage parents to share their stories, photos and videos on Facebook, Instagramand Twitterusing the #TheMoggyModules hashtag.
Increase of over 97,000 in the number of pupils with ASN since 2012
Decline in number of specialist ASN teachers by 376 since 2012
Decline of almost £1000 spend per ASN pupil since 2012/13
An alliance of leading independent and third sector organisations, the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), has called for greater resourcing to support children and young people with additional support needs (ASN), both during and after the Covid-19 crisis.
The call comes as new figures from the annual Scottish Government pupil census reveal that while the number of specialist teachers supporting those with ASN has dropped the number of those with ASN has escalated dramatically.
Between 2012 1 and 2019 2 the number of specialist teachers supporting those with ASN (publically funded primary, secondary, special and centrally employed) has decreased from 3,840 to 3,464, a decline of 376.
This fall is against the background of an overall increase by 82.9 per cent since 2012 in the number of pupils identified with ASN, from 118,034 3 to 215,897 in 2019 4,representing just under a third of all pupils (30.9 per cent).
Recently revealed figures also indicate that average spend per pupil on additional support for learning by local authority (primary, secondary and special education) has fallen from £4,276 in 2012/13 5 to £3,286 in 2018/19.
Against a background of a per pupil cut in spending and in specialist support, the SCSC has called for greater resourcing from both the Scottish Government and local authorities to ensure that those with ASN in Scotland’s schools, who disproportionately come from lower income families and areas of deprivation, are getting the care and support that they need.
It has also raised concerns about the effectiveness of a presumption of mainstreaming, meaning that all pupils are educated in a mainstream educational environment unless exceptional circumstances apply.
The fall in the number of specialist teachers is set against a background of dramatic increases in the reasons pupils being identified with ASN, such as autism, dyslexia and mental health problems, in Scotland’s schools.
A spokesperson for the SCSC commented: ““It is vital that those with ASN get the care and support they need, especially during and as we come out of the current Covid-19 crisis.
“This is also key if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap as we know that those with ASN disproportionately come from lower income families and areas of deprivation. Such a situation is clearly challenging in an environment of austerity and evidence of cuts in spending per pupil with ASN and in the number of specialist teachers supporting this group.
“While we also support the presumption of mainstreaming, which means that all children and young people are educated in a mainstream educational environment unless exceptional circumstances apply, it is clearly difficult to see how this is functioning properly for all those with ASN given this fall in specialist support and increase in the number of those identified with conditions such as autism and mental health problems.
“The Scottish Government and local authorities need to work together to provide the necessary resourcing to address the needs of those children and young people with ASN, who represent some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society.”
The UK’s independent higher education quality body has commended Edinburgh Napier University for a range of good practice, including its ‘strategic approach to widening participation and direct entry’ and its ‘support for developing students’ skills in employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship’.
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) appointed a team of five independent experts to review the University in October and December last year.
In particular, the team commended the University in seven areas:
Its strategic approach to widening participation
Its support for developing students’ skills in employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship;
Its approach to monitoring postgraduate student academic progress
The systematic enhancement of leadership in learning, teaching and research;
Its clear partnership working between academic and professional services staff;
The effective development available for academic and support services staff; and
The developing institutional approach to the use of data.
Professor Alyson Tobin, Vice Principal of Learning and Teaching, Edinburgh Napier University, said:“I am delighted that Edinburgh Napier University has been commended for our approach to widening access and for the support we give to our students to develop their employability skills.
“The report also highlights the opportunities our students have to engage in entrepreneurial and professional development opportunities to enable them to be successful in their future careers.”
QAA’s report also makes a number of recommendations, asking Edinburgh Napier University to:
Ensure there are clear student representative structures in place at all levels and make sure there are effective arrangements in place for the recruitment, training and support for student representatives;
Continue to develop mechanisms to enhance student engagement and respond to the student voice;
Continue to develop support mechanisms for online learners, graduate apprentices, transnational education students and other groups studying off campus;
Consider introducing a structured and longitudinal institution-wide induction for postgraduate research students;
Ensure that all postgraduates who teach complete the mandatory course prior to commencing teaching;
Progress implementation of revisions to the institution-led review process;
Make external examiners’ reports accessible to all students; and
Review the English language entry criteria and the proficiency of students on all transnational education programmes.
Schools will close today for all children and staff. The Council are working on the emergency arrangements that will be put in place from Monday, 30th March 2020.
We hope to be back in school by the end of June but this will be under the direction of the Scottish Government.
Should this not be the case, we will organise an event to bring our school and community together again. The current P7 children will be invited and at that event we will celebrate their time at Ferryhill.
This will include the opportunity for the signing of the sweatshirt as well as other celebrations to give them a proper send off from Ferryhill. It may take place in an evening. We will ask parents across the school for help with this.
This situation will make us, it will not break us !
Teaching, learning and support can continue with local flexibility.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney has updated Parliament on the decision to close schools and confirmed that:
the exam diet will not go ahead this year. The Scottish Qualifications Authority will put in place a certification model using coursework, teacher assessment of estimated grades and prior attainment
local authorities are taking measures to protect vulnerable children who rely on schools for hot meals or a safe and supportive environment
children of key workers will have continuing access to learning or childcare
Mr Swinney said: “My priorities are to ensure the health and wellbeing of our children, young people and staff, and to maintain teaching and learning wherever this is possible, guided by the advice of the Chief Medical Officer and public health experts.
“Teaching, learning and support will continue – albeit in different ways for different groups of children. For the majority, this will be through distance learning and online learning, with different forms of on-going contact with teachers rather than in-school, face-to-face. Teachers and other staff who are well will continue to be working.
“For vulnerable children and those who have parents or carers employed as key workers, local authorities are developing approaches to support them. We will not cut adrift vulnerable young people who often rely on school life for hot meals or for a safe, nurturing and supportive environment.
“Parents are not expected to be a teacher or to recreate the school day – your school will be giving you some resources and suggestions as your first port of call.
“It is a measure of the gravity of the challenge we now face that the exams will not go ahead this year. With the support of the wider education system, a credible certification model can be put in place in the that can command confidence in the absence of the exam diet – to ensure that young people in our schools and colleges who through no fault of their own are unable to sit exams, are not disadvantaged.”
Council leader Adam McVey said: “Obviously the health and safety of young people and all the staff working in our schools is paramount and we fully support the Scottish Government’s decision.
“Our dedicated school staff have been planning in depth for such a scenario and a huge amount of work has gone into preparing online resources so pupils’ learning and teaching can continue.
“There will be a particular focus of pupils sitting exams in the coming months and we make sure we liaise closely with the Scottish Qualifications Authority and follow their guidelines.
“We realise that this will cause inconvenience but hope parents, carers and our young people will understand the reasons for taking these steps and fully support this decision.
“I’ve been so proud of the amazing resilience shown by everyone working in our schools – teachers, support assistants, cleaners and catering staff – they have demonstrated tremendous dedication in keeping our schools open during these recent challenging weeks.
“As a Council, we’re determined to do everything we can to protect our communities especially the most vulnerable in our society. We’ve been working on plans to continue to support our young people who currently get Free School Meals during school closures and more details will be announced later in the week.”
Yesterday, teaching union The EIS has welcomed the announcement by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that Scotland’s schools and nurseries will close from Friday of this week.
The EIS has been engaged in discussions with the Scottish government, local authorities and other relevant bodies in recent weeks, as concern over the spread of coronavirus / COVID19 has increased.
EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said, “The EIS had a series of constructive discussions with the Scottish Government about the need to make a decision to close schools.
“The escalation of the situation, and the change to government advice earlier this week, led the EIS to the view that school closures were now an absolute necessity. Subsequently, the First Minister has announced, this afternoon, that all schools and nurseries will close by the end of the day this Friday.
“This decision will be welcomed by our members, who have expressed growing concern in recent days over potential increased risk to the health of pupils, staff, their families and the wider community.”
“As the First Minister highlighted, there is a clear need for arrangements to be put in place to deal with a range of important issues: including providing alternative arrangements for pupils in receipt of free school meals; appropriate provision and support for pupils taking SQA exams; and suitable arrangement for pupils of parents who are critical workers, such as those employed in the NHS or the emergency services.
“On the issue of supporting home learning during this period, a number of Councils are looking at online learning solutions which may offer some provision, although they most certainly should not be seen as a panacea – ensuring equitable access for students is just one challenge.”
“We have written, also, to Education Scotland to suggest that rather than every Council or school reinventing the wheel in terms of providing learning activities while schools are closed, some national provision would be helpful, perhaps even utilising broadcast channels to engage as many young people as possible.”
Mr Flanagan added: “The EIS welcomes the First Minister’s announcement and will now seek to engage both nationally and locally about appropriate working arrangements for teachers, in order that young people and their families can receive as much educational support as practicable during this challenging period.”
There are just ten days left to enter the Tes Schools Awards 2020.
From your wellbeing initiatives to your environmental endeavours, or the innovative ways you’ve improved results in core subjects, the awards are your school’s opportunity to shout about your triumphs and celebrate the teachers, staff and teams that are making a real difference to the lives of your students.
We know that it can be hard to find the time to complete your entries all at once, so you can start your submissions, save what you’ve done, and return to complete them by Friday 27 March.
Entry is free and open to state schools throughout the UK.
Classroom support assistant of the year
English teacher or team of the year
Maths teacher or team of the year
Science, technology and engineering teacher or team of the year
New teacher of the year
Headteacher of the year
Best use of technology
Wellbeing and mental health award
Community and collaboration award
Environment champion of the year
School business leader of the year
Creative school of the year
Early years setting of the year
Primary school of the year
Secondary school of the year
Alternative provision school of the year
Lifetime achievement
Overall school of the year
For full details of this year’s awards and to enter, visit tesawards.co.uk
Schools and nurseries will close to pupils from the end of this week, the First Minister announced yesterday.
The Scottish Government is working closely with local authorities to mitigate the impact on three groups as a priority:
Vulnerable pupils and those receiving free school meals
Pupils undertaking coursework and preparing for exams
Key workers including doctors, nurses and emergency service workers who have children
Later today Education Secretary John Swinney will address Parliament to explain the measures being put in place and to address key questions that parents and pupils have.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “This has been one of the hardest decisions we have faced so far as we tackle the coronavirus. SAGE – our expert scientific advisers – are examining new advice that is very likely to tell us to close schools.
“We also know more and more schools are approaching a point where they have lost too many staff to continue as normal. At this stage I cannot promise schools and nurseries will reopen after the Easter break.
“There will require to be a lot of local flexibility and we are working closely with local authorities to put those arrangements in place.
“Teachers, school staff and those in the nursery sector will have a vital role in the weeks ahead and we will work with you to minimise the impact on all our young peoples’ education, and in particular the most vulnerable groups.”
This poses a number of challenges and questions for the government:
Up to 250,000 children in Scotland live in poverty and currently receive free school meals. How will these children receive their meals?
What can parents and carers do to educated their children at home?
More parents will have to take time off work to look after their children, further affecting the economy
Students’ exam results are important in determining their future. If exams are cancelled, how will student grades be asessed and university places allocated?
Councillor Stephen McCabe, COSLA Children and Young People Spokesperson, said: “We have been working closely with the Scottish Government and our local authority partners to consider the implications of the closure of schools and nurseries.
“It is vital that we support staff, parents and children and young people in these exceptional circumstances.
“We will continue this partnership work to ensure that local authorities get the right support and have the flexibility to make the decisions based on local circumstances. This will include support to the most vulnerable, our young people involved in exams and those who provide critical public services.”
Edinburgh College has issued the following statement:
Due to the rapidly changing situation regarding coronavirus and to best protect the health and safety of all of our students, Edinburgh College has taken the decision to suspend all face-to-face classes from 4pm today (Monday 16 March) until Monday 20 April.
Starting from Monday 23 March, additional provision will be in place to enable students to continue studying from home. This week, all students will be issued with guidance on how to continue their studies during this time and individual class information will be made available on Moodle.
We understand that students will be concerned about the impact that this may have on studies and progression. We’d like to emphasise that this situation is national and reassure students that we are speaking with external agencies to limit the longer term impact on everybody.
This week, students will be issued with guidance via online channels on how to continue their studies during this time. Individual class information will be made available on Moodle.
It is important that students continue to keep up-to-date with information regarding the College and their studies via our online channels – email, Moodle, social media and website.
Libraries will remain open across all campuses until further notice for students who don’t have access to Moodle at home
The College is committed to limiting the negative impact this has on students’ studies. During this period, all bursaries will continue to be paid and we are confident we have a plan in place to ensure students can progress to the next stage of their studies.
As the situation develops, we will notify students of any updates on a daily basis via our online channels including this webpage and via email. Please continue to check our channels for the latest information.
It is important that you continue to follow the advice provided by the Government and public health agencies during this time to keep yourself and others protected.
This includes:
Anyone who has symptoms of coronavirus, however mild, should stay at home and not leave their house for 7 days from when the symptoms started – regardless of whether you have travelled to affected areas or been in contact with someone who has the virus.
NHS Scotland recommends using good hand, respiratory and personal hygiene. Coughing and sneezing should be into tissues that are promptly disposed down the toilet. Hands should be washed more regularly than usual with soap and water or using an alcohol hand rub even if hands are visibly clean
Edinburgh’s major festivals have revealed the extent of their year-round school engagement programmes, which have reached almost every school in the city over the period January 2018 – May 2019.
The new report finds that Edinburgh’s festivals have reached more than 90% of schools across the city through wide ranging activity which takes place both during and out with live festival time.
Through mapping of activity across the 18 months period, the study shows that festivals have engaged with every secondary school in Edinburgh, and almost all the city’s primary and special schools.
The engagement has had a big impact locally.
In West Pilton, Forthview Primary School has a particularly strong relationship with the festivals, being involved in 8 programmes and with over 1,400 pupil engagements since 2018.
The school regularly attend performances at the Children’s Festival, and the Book Festival’s Bailie Gifford programme. It is also part of the Fringe’s Children and Young People scheme, which offers free Fringe vouchers and bus tickets, to help overcome some of the barriers for pupils and their families to see shows.
Forthview is one of six Edinburgh primary schools participating in the Children’s Festival’s Immerse project, an ambitious 3-year initiative which embeds creative learning in the classroom.
The project started in autumn 2019 with each school hosting the ground-breaking immersive theatre production ‘The Lost Lending Library’, which uses drama to support attainment in literacy.
In Leith, Leith Academy have a long standing relationship with many festivals, regularly participating in programmes such as the Book Festival’s Bailie Gifford programme, the Science Festival’s Career Hive and the Film Festival’s Media Days workshops.
The Edinburgh International Festival has partnered with Leith Academy for a three-year residency, opening up a series of unique cultural opportunities for pupils. Three artists in residence are working in the school, with creative workshops linked to festival performances, and a culture club which offering social trips to experience theatre, music, visual art and dance in the city throughout the year.
The residency also looks to develop personal and vocational skills, with pupils being supported to work towards Personal Development Awards qualifications, and mentoring for senior students by festival staff to help build confidence and prepare for their next steps.
There have been over 58,000 pupil engagements – the number of times pupils have been involved in festival activities – with many benefiting from multiple opportunities.
From Gilmerton to Granton, Corstorphine to Craigmillar, the festivals are working with children and teachers across the whole city to bring young people enriching experiences and opportunities for creative learning.
These cover regular longstanding education programmes as well as new projects, through which festivals have supported learning in areas including music, drama, visual arts, science, technology, film and many more.
In addition to their spread throughout Edinburgh, there is a clear focus to the festivals’ engagement. It is within areas of the city with the lowest attendance at festivals that there is the highest participation in school programmes: a great step toward an Edinburgh where everyone regardless of background has the opportunity to make the most of the festivals.
Two thirds of residents attend shows and events at the festivals each year, but it is also hugely important to enable young people to engage with culture and develop the next generation of festival-goers.
There are several examples of programmes working over a long-term period, involving deeper engagement to create truly collaborative projects that will be of lasting benefit.
As well as directly working with pupils, the festivals also work with teachers on continuing professional development opportunities. These encourage and enable teachers to see the wider creative learning possibilities of engaging with festivals and help teachers bring creativity into the classroom.
A few examples of projects that the festivals have been working on, alongside some comments from teachers who are involved, include:
Teachers’ Theatre Club
A new collaboration between Edinburgh International Children’s Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society that aims to encourage Edinburgh’s teachers to see more live performance, become more confident in discussing this with their students and enhance students’ learning experiences.
Serena Jagpal, Pentlands Primary School, said: “When applying to be a part of the Teachers’ Theatre Club, I saw it as interesting CPD. I never thought for a second that it would give me so much more.
“Over the course of the project I have engaged in discussions with a wide range of professionals in the arts, experienced theatre that I would never have thought to go see myself and discussed how I would use these shows with my pupils ….what has taken me by surprise is the camaraderie I have experienced. I hope this project runs for many years to come and I urge as many teachers as possible to experience this.”
Leith Academy residency
A three-year Edinburgh International Festival residency with Leith Academy, involving new cultural opportunities as well as developing pupils’ personal and vocational skills.
The residency includes a series of projects, from pupils working with artists in residence to learning about marketing and branding with the festival’s own teams. In addition, students are supported to gain a Personal Development Award at SQA level 6, with workplace experience with staff at the festival.
Mike Irving, Head Teacher, Leith Academy said: “In 2019/20 there is an ever greater need to look creatively and collaboratively at our curriculum. Our work with the Edinburgh International Festival helps us harness the skills of creativity, teamwork, problem solving and communication daily.
“This particular branding event allowed our young people to not only see how branding ‘comes alive’, but to actually be part of creating it from start to finish with skilled professionals …
“In a world where the jobs young people will do is a dynamic and fluid one, we are very grateful to the wonderful opportunities the young people of Leith are being offered through the residency in order to open their horizons of what their ‘next steps’ may be.”
Edinburgh Science Festival
Every year, Generation Science offers a programme of interactive shows and hands-on workshops for primary schools, delivered in the classroom.
The Careers Hive, which gets underway this year from 25 February, is an interactive showcase for careers in science and technology, targeted at secondary school pupils and designed to highlight opportunities from studying STEM subjects. Through Generation Science and Careers Hive, Edinburgh Science reach 81 schools across Edinburgh and more than 12,500 pupils.
With over 90% of the city’s schools already getting involved, the ambition of Edinburgh’s Festivals is to use the collective picture of schools’ engagement to inform the targeting of future projects and initiatives and enhance the lives of many more young people for years to come.
