Tag: education

Maths to the masses!

Creative projects and activities planned for biggest ever ‘Maths Week Scotland’.

More than 100 different activities – from weather forecasting to codebreaking – are part of the biggest Maths Week Scotland ever which kicks off today.

Supported by a £70,000 small grants fund, the events are designed to spark the interests of young and old across schools, science centres, adult education centres and nurseries.

The week-long festival of all-things-numbers will be launched by Education Secretary John Swinney at a ‘Mathletics’ event held at the home of Scottish Rugby BT Murrayfield Stadium. Teams from more than 30 secondary schools across the Lothians will scrum down in a series of maths-themed challenges at the final of ‘Enterprising Maths’.

Mr Swinney will be tweeting maths challenges – produced with the help of the Scottish Mathematical Council – during the week, with the best solutions then being illustrated in videos featuring maths teacher Chris Smith and his pupils from Grange Academy in Kilmarnock.

National Museums Scotland is running events at its sites throughout the week.

Former BBC weather forecaster, meteorologist and maths advocate Heather Reid is also adding her celebrity experience to proceedings, helping pupils at Sprouston Primary School in Kelso to interpret and bring to life data collected by their own weather station throughout the week.

John Swinney said: “We started Maths Week Scotland in 2017 to give everyone the chance to engage with maths in a creative and engaging way.

“The enthusiasm, commitment and passion of teachers, learners and maths champions has helped Maths Week Scotland grow every year since. It is fantastic to see events for people of all ages and all backgrounds to come together and appreciate the maths all around us.”

Heather Reid, affectionately dubbed ‘Heather the Weather’ for her breezy forecasts on BBC Scotland, said: “This year’s action-packed Maths Week Scotland explores the importance, usefulness and beauty of maths at events in schools and learning environments across the country. Good maths skills open up a wide range of excellent job opportunities, and help us to lead more successful lives.

“Maths lies at the heart of modern-day weather forecasts and climate change science. I can’t wait to visit Kelso and discuss the maths of weather with some young forecasters.”

Katie Oldfield, Maths Week Scotland Coordinator at National Museums Scotland, said: “We all use maths in our everyday lives whether we realise it or not. Activities taking place throughout Maths Week give children and adults the chance to experience the fun and creative side of maths and improve their maths skills.

“From codebreaking and enigma machines, discovering the maths behind the creation of Edinburgh Castle or exploring the universe through maths – there really is something for everyone.”

Information on activities taking place throughout Maths Week Scotland can be found at www.mathsweek.scot. 

 

First class: New schools and campuses for Scotland

New schools will be built from Aberdeenshire to Ayrshire in the first phase of a nationwide £1 billion investment programme.

The Scottish Government will contribute funding of between £220 million and £275 million in partnership with local authorities across the country to replace 26 schools, with a further phase of investment to be announced within 12 months.

A new Currie Community High School is included in the first phase. Continue reading First class: New schools and campuses for Scotland

Additional support for learning: £15 million to recruit frontline staff

Approximately 1,000 extra pupil support assistants will be recruited this year to work with children with additional support needs. 

This week the First Minister announced £15 million for councils to expand on the 13,636 pupil support assistants already working in Scotland’s classrooms – but the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition say greater investment yet is still required.

Visiting West End Campus in Dundee, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Every child should have the support they need to reach their full learning potential.

Through listening to the experiences of children and young people with additional support needs, their families and those who support them, we recognise we need to do more to enhance their experience at school.

“Working in partnership with local authorities we will invest an extra £15 million in the coming year to increase frontline staff to support learners with additional support needs.

“This will make an significant impact in our classrooms and will help to ensure our young people and their families get the right help at the right time.”

COSLA Spokesperson Councillor Stephen McCabe said: “Additional resource for Local Government is always welcomed and this funding will make a positive difference to children and young people in classrooms across Scotland, helping those with additional support needs to reach their full potential on their school journey. 

“Core Local Government services like education are vital to all of Scotland’s communities and COSLA will work hard in the coming months to ensure that Councils across Scotland continue to have the resources they need to support every child, young person, citizen and community.”

Responding to the Scottish Government announcement, a spokesperson for the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition commented: “This increase in investment to expand the number of pupil support assistants working in Scotland’s schools is to be greatly welcomed.

“However, what is also vital is boost in the number of ASN teachers, who have seen their numbers slashed over the last few years, as well as specialist support staff.

“Between 2012 and 2018 the number of specialist teachers supporting those with ASN has decreased from 3,840 to 3,437, a decline of 403, representing a new low. 

“There has also been  a fall in the number of specialist support staff in key categories such as behaviour support staff, where the number has dropped by 58 from 2012 (from 180 to 122) and by 43 in the number of educational psychologists (from 411 to 368).

“This fall is against the background of an overall increase by 68.7 per cent since 2012 in the number of pupils identified with ASN, from 118,034 to 199,065 in 2018, representing just over a quarter of all pupils (28.7 per cent). 

“Figures reveal that per pupil spend on those with ASN has slumped from £4,276 in 2012/13 to £3,387 in 2017/18. This amounts to a cut of £889 per pupil, representing a 26.1 per cent drop in real terms (20.8 per cent in cash terms).

“It is vital that those with ASN get the care and support they need, which is also key if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap. Any increase in support, which this Scottish Government announcement does, is to be welcomed, but this is clearly challenging in an environment of austerity and evidence of cuts in sspending per pupil with ASN.”

 

 

NSPCC Scotland’s School Service delivered to all schools in Edinburgh

NSPCC Scotland’s ‘Speak Out Stay Safe’ (SOSS) service which helps children to learn how to recognise abuse, has now been delivered in all mainstream primary schools in Edinburgh. Continue reading NSPCC Scotland’s School Service delivered to all schools in Edinburgh

Tory councillor schooled on climate breakdown

Edinburgh Tory councillor Cameron Rose told school student climate strikers yesterday that he was “sceptical” about the science of climate emergency.

This is despite overwhelming and compelling scientific evidence recognised by almost all environmental scientists and the United Nations. Continue reading Tory councillor schooled on climate breakdown

First Minister launches new app for teen readers

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon joined Portobello High School students from S1-S3 yesterday to launch a new app, Bookzilla, at Portobello Library.

Developed by Scottish Book Trust, the national charity transforming lives through reading and writing, and digital agency Dubit, Bookzilla is aimed at early secondary school students in Scotland. The app encourages pupils to read for pleasure, whether they are already regular readers or just embarking on their reading journey. Continue reading First Minister launches new app for teen readers

Game Over! Future jobs don’t have parents’ approval

75% of Parents value traditional subjects over creativity

OUT OF TOUCH parents are trying to steer their children away from pursuing lucrative 21st century careers, because they don’t understand the opportunities, a study shows.

Three quarters of mums and dads believe that conventional academic subjects such as Maths and English taught at school and beyond, are more valuable than creative and new technology subjects.

New research has revealed that despite the creative industries being one of the fastest growing sectors, with an estimated 2 million jobs available, there is still a sentiment from parents that they wouldn’t be happy if their child chose to pursue a creative career.

Parents appear to have overlooked the opportunities available within expanding fields such as game development, visual effects, art, music and social media, according to a poll of 1,000 parents of under 18 year olds, commissioned by Escape Studios.

When asked which degrees would be most valuable from a lifelong career perspective – parents identified as their top three choices – Computing (13%), Medicine (12%) and Engineering (11%). The arts ranked last at 2%.  These findings showcase the importance of educating parents in the growth of the creative sector, as the future workforce will help to build our  growing creative industries, which as of 2018 contributes £101.5 billion to the economy[2].

Due to parents’ lack of understanding of the career options available within the creative industries, almost half said they would try to influence the degree their teenager chooses to study at university. Dads (49%) are more likely to influence this than mums (39%).

Parents stated that they would be happier if their children opted for career paths such as training to become an Engineer (29%), a Doctor (37%) or a Scientist (23%), while the most disliked future career paths were identified as Social Media Influencer (35%), Bloggers (31%) and Gamers (27%).

Only 8% of parents wanted their child to pursue being a Visual Effects Artist or Animator, even though the creative industries can offer many lucrative job opportunities. Forecasts predict the UK could create up to 1 million new jobs in the sector by 2030[3].

Parents believe that the most important subjects for their children to study in school are Maths (67%), English (62%) and Computing (54%). Crafts, Music, Art and Design each received less than 20%.

Parents need more support when it comes to understanding the opportunities available within the creative industries. The classical boundaries between industries are also rapidly becoming blurred, due to advancements in technology; as a result, there is a need for digital skills in more conventional roles too. Indeed, recruiters within the creative industries are sourcing talent from varied backgrounds, such as science, art and engineering.

The parents participating in the poll acknowledged that allowing their children to play video games offered some benefits, including the development of theirproblem-solving skills (53%), logic skills (51%) and communication skills (25%).

Commenting on these abilities, Director of Escape Studios Dr. Ian Palmer, said: “Skills such as problem-solving, decision making, risk-taking, and communication can all be used in jobs across the creative industries. Alongside storytelling and imagination. 

“Children that adopt to technology at an early age learn skills that offer them a better chance of getting a job in the digital sectors. We know there is a wealth of opportunity in terms of roles that are also future-proof. It’s predicted that 87% of creative jobs are resistant to automation, creating a very resilient creative workforce.”

Despite this, nearly half of parents (47%) think that smartphones shouldn’t be allowed in school, as a tool for learning. However, 71% admit that allowing their children to use technology from an early age, is beneficial for their development.

The top 5 jobs that parents would ideally like their children to pursue, are:

  1. Engineer (29%)

  2. Doctor (27%)

  3. Scientist (23%)

  4. Lawyer (18%)

  5. Architect (16%)

The top 5 jobs that parents ideally don’t want their children to pursue, are:

  1. Social media influencer (35%)

  • Blogger (31%)

  • Gamer (27%)

  • Stockbroker (15%)

  • Banker (13%)

    • Dr. Ian Palmer, Director of Escape Studios added: “The creative industries continue to grow at a substantial rate; despite this, not enough parents are aware of the opportunities available to their children within this sector. 

    “At Escape Studios, we offer courses in Game Art, Animation, Visual Effects, and Motion Graphics. We have a wealth of alumni who have gone on to have successful careers working on everything from Avengers: Infinity War, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,Guardians of The Galaxy: Vol 2, and the Oscar winning film, The Jungle Book. This is a rapidly growing industry that’s ready to welcome talent from all backgrounds and with a wealth of skill sets.”