A deal to harmonise staff pay at a cost of £50m a year will absorb projected savings from the reform of Scotland’s colleges, says the Auditor General. Caroline Gardner’s annual report on colleges says the sector reported a very small surplus in its underlying financial position in 2016/17, compared to the previous year’s £8m deficit. Continue reading Scotland’s colleges: improving picture but challenges remain
The winners of the First Minister’s Reading Challenge 2018 were announced at an event in Edinburgh’s Hub yesterday. Among the 17 winners to receive prizes from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was Liberton Primary School pupil, Ian Hammer, who received the award for the Pupil Reading the Most Books (upper primary). Continue reading Edinburgh pupil wins First Minister’s Reading Challenge Award
The gap between pupils from the most and least deprived areas who go on to university, college or a job after school has closed by over a fifth in one year, latest figures show. Continue reading Education: poverty gap is closing
The new Boroughmuir High School was officially opened at a special ceremony by the Minister for Higher and Further Education and Science Shirley-Anne Somerville yesterday. Ms Somerville was joined by Councillor Adam McVey, Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, Deputy Leader Councillor Cammy Day, Education Vice Convener Councillor Alison Dickie and Head Teacher David Dempster.
It’s a High Schools hat trick!
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has led the opening of a hat-trick of new high school buildings as the total number of new or refurbished buildings exceeded 750 since 2007. Continue reading Isn’t that just typical? You wait ages for a new school to come along, then three turn up at once!
The Scottish Government target for apprenticeships has been exceeded, with 27,145 people starting Modern Apprenticeshipsin 2017/2018, surpassing last year’s target of 27,000. Continue reading Scotland ‘funding more apprenticeships than ever before’
Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, will be delivering dog safety workshops to children across Lothian this week (11th- 17th June) as part of its second annual Be Dog Smart week. Continue reading Hundreds of children set to learn how to stay safe around dogs during ‘Be Dog Smart’ week
Over £21 million is to be invested in improving the financial support available to students at university and college, the First Minister has announced. Continue reading First Minister announces more financial help for students
A series of drops in events are being held for the public to find out more about the latest plans by the City of Edinburgh Council to build three new primary schools. The first of these takes place this afternoon at Victoria Primary School in Newhaven.
The three new schools – a replacement Victoria and ones in south Edinburgh and the Broomhills area – are all scheduled to open by August 2020.
Both the replacement Victoria and south Edinburgh schools are required to accommodate growth in pupil numbers whilst the one in Broomhills will be built due to planned housing developments in the area.
Work is expected to start on all three schools in Spring next year with each school being built to accommodate over 400 pupils and including new nurseries. In addition, the Broomhills school and the new Victoria will have an all-weather pitch.
Members of the Council’s project team will be at all the meetings to discuss the plans and answer any questions.
The three meetings will take place:
new Victoria Primary School – Wednesday 6 June, 4pm to 7pm, at the existing school on Newhaven Main Street
south Edinburgh – Wednesday 13 June, 4pm to 7pm, the South Morningside Primary School P1 and P2 building, Canaan Lane
Broomhills – Wednesday 20 June, 4pm to 7pm, Valley Park Community Centre, Southhouse Road
Councillor Ian Perry, Education Convener, said: “With the growing population in these areas of the city we needed to address the issues of rising rolls. Building three new primary schools shows a clear commitment from the Coalition to provide the best education possible for our children.”
Councillor Alison Dickie, Education Vice Convener, said: “These public information events are a great opportunity for parents and people living nearby to come along and find out more about the exciting plans for these new schools.”
The sites for the three schools are: new Victoria – Western Harbour, Leith; new south Edinburgh on Canaan Lane and Broomhills off Frogston Road East. Both the new south Edinburgh and Broomhills schools have yet to be named.
A new way of monitoring and recording bullying in Scottish schools will be introduced this autumn. The standardised approach will make it easier for teachers to identify trends and address the problem. Continue reading Beating the bullies: improved measures to be introduced
