Tag: learning

Student writings show what life is really like living in poverty

A new, powerful collection of writing has highlighted the lived experiences of people living with, and tackling, poverty in their communities.

Disturbing yet timely, this collection of writing from students of the Health Issues in the Community course (HIIC) reveals the corrosive effect that poverty and inequality are having on a day-to-day basis in modern Scotland.

As a society that believes in compassion and justice, the writings act as a call to action to address inequalities and the increasing number of people being swept up in the wake of crushing poverty. 

Public health specialists have drawn attention to the serious impact inequalities have – made even worse by the global health crisis brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Amidst the grim picture that is so minutely described, the writings are also witness to the power of community, of kindness, of the sense of ‘the commonweal’ that is alive in our communities. 

Broadcaster and journalist Lesley Riddoch, who provided the publication’s foreword, said: “From all the grimness of lockdown and the staleness of news comes this wee gem of a collection – words from folk who live at the sharp end of life in Scotland.

“I’ve no doubt that the folk involved in this HIIC course will use the insights and comradeship they’ve gained to start moving mountains – while taking care of one another.”

Health Issues in the Community is an SQA-accredited course for adults and young people that helps students understand what affects their health and the health of their communities.

Running for more than 20 years, HIIC brings a community development approach to tackling health inequalities and reaches more than 300 participants each year.

HIIC is managed by the Community Health Exchange (CHEX) and funded by Public Health Scotland. You can learn more about HIIC here. 

While the HIIC course encourages participants to widen and deepen awareness of health issues in their communities and their involvement, we cannot solve this issue alone. Political action is required by governments to ensure Scotland is no longer defined by poverty and inequality in the 21st century.

These writings provide the voices of lived experience to help make that a reality.

Fiona Garven, Director of the Scottish Community Development Centre, said: “These students’ writings are a stark reminder of the impact of poverty in communities across Scotland – and the power of people coming together to take action on the things that are important to them.

“With a firm foundation in community development practice, HIIC has been tackling health and social issues for more than 20 years. These writings act as further evidence for community-led responses to health inequalities, enabling students to explore and take action to address their own health issues and the health of their communities.”

Bill Gray, Organisational Lead, Public Health Scotland said: “Public Health Scotland is proud to have supported the development of the HIIC course and recognises the need to listen to voices from our communities has never been more important.

“Our Strategic Plan sets out a clear ambition to embed engagement with communities across all of our programmes of work and the experiences of HIIC participants, set out in this powerful new publication is an invaluable resource for anyone working to address health inequalities in Scotland.”

WritingAboutHealthIssuesVol4Download

Edinburgh College Class of 2020 celebrates with a Virtual Graduation ceremony

Edinburgh College’s Class of 2020 celebrated the enormous achievement of graduating from their courses with a virtual ceremony held last week, Friday 5 March.

Over 600 graduates from across the College’s Creative Industries, Engineering and Built Environment, Health Wellbeing and Social Science and Tourism, Hospitality and Business faculties joined virtual ceremonies hosted on YouTube.

The Class of 2020 were due to cross the stage at the city’s McEwan Hall last September, however the event had to be moved online due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Nonetheless, graduates celebrated in style and watched their ceremonies from their homes – taking in speeches from Edinburgh College Principal Audrey Cumberford, Deputy First Minister John Swinney MSP, and Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh Frank Ross, as well as seeing and hearing lots of excited and emotional well wishes from their lecturers.

Graduates and staff shared photos of their individual celebrations across social media, showing off their gowns, mortarboards and certificates while enjoying their moment with their loved ones.

Edinburgh College Principal Audrey Cumberford said: “Firstly, a huge congratulations to our Class of 2020. This day may have felt like a long time coming but each graduate has made it and, for that, they should be extremely proud of themselves.

“To graduate from any course in any year is no mean feat, but in the times in which we have been living, the achievements of our Class of 2020 are nothing short of extraordinary – my hat goes off to them.

“I would like to thank every graduate for their commitment to their studies and their determination to keep going, and for working hard with our dedicated lecturing and support teams to successfully achieve their awards.

“We’re very proud of all our graduates and wish them every success in their future – whether they go on to further study or straight into the world of work, we look forward to hearing about their achievements yet to come.”

Online school launches package of support to help young people recover lost learning

An online school, established by Wey Education more than 16 years ago, has launched an ‘essential’ programme of English, Maths and Science support, delivered live by expert teachers, to help students across the UK recover the learning they have missed due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

These efforts align with the Government’s recovery support package which includes tutoring programmes, summer provision and recovery premiums for state schools, so that children and young people can catch up on missed learning and development opportunities.

The “InterHigh Essentials” package was developed as a way to alleviate the “pain” of families who were struggling with home schooling and remote learning. It offers young people in the local area the opportunity to enrol on its online platform and access lessons for three core subjects English, maths and science, plus tutorial, in an interactive and effective, yet easy-to-use format. The virtual lessons will be delivered live by experienced teachers who are qualified to teach online.

Developed by a team with over 16 years of experience with online teaching, students will be given opportunities to fully engage with their learning, in a virtual environment that is characteristic of how we will learn, work, and interact in the future.

For the equivalent of £12 a day, families can benefit from supplementary learning in a virtual environment while their child continues to be enrolled in their current school.  

Emma Beer, an InterHigh parent who enrolled her son during Covid-19, said: “He’s more settled into a routine and is far more engaged in learning at home. During the first two weeks of schools closing, it was difficult to home educate my son and I struggled to find material online which engaged him, meaning I had to constantly sit next to him to keep an eye on what he was doing.

“The crisis has unveiled an amazing opportunity for my son to try a different approach to education.”

The programme is open to students in Key Stage 2, 3, and 4, and registration can be done individually by students, or by schools on their behalf. The team at InterHigh believe in transformative education which provides a community for students to learn wherever they feel most comfortable, supported, and engaged.

Jacqueline Danielle, CEO of Wey Education, said: “Our aim is to provide all young people with the opportunity to access an education that will inspire a lifelong love of learning – both pure and applied, and I believe we have achieved something truly remarkable over the past 17 years at Wey Education.

“Events this year have opened the eyes of many to the power and possibilities of online learning. We are excited to provide more families with the opportunity to study with us and experience our innovative and pioneering approach to teaching and learning in a virtual environment.”

Dr Sara de Freitas, Executive Director of Education at Wey Education, said: “During the pandemic, many students have missed out on parts of their education which can have long term negative impacts upon employment and mental health.

“Our new programme is designed to plug these gaps in young people’s education and provide the important learning they may have missed during the pandemic.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer this package to students as a supplementary offer and recommend it for all students that have been affected by school closures during this year and last year.”

For more information, including how to enrol, please visit: 

http://www.interhigh.co.uk/apply

Automatic Vending Association members prioritise Legislation, Lobbying and Learning

The Automatic Vending Association (AVA) has released the results from its annual member satisfaction survey this month, highlighting widespread industry support for continued remote collaboration to deliver positive change.

The survey, which gained 68 company responses from the AVA’s 180-strong member base, also showcased an influx in internal sentiment, in that the trade body has seen a 36% increase over four years for those who would recommend AVA membership – just over 90% of respondents.

AVA members also used the annual survey to highlight the services they value most in their membership, with 57.5% of members surveyed stating ongoing lobbying on key legislation is crucial in the industry’s post-pandemic recovery.

In response to this feedback, the AVA has bolstered its external communication and lobbying activity by enlisting reputation management agency, Definition. 

The topics and issues covered include the ongoing lobbying for support from the government’s Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG), Additional Restriction Grants (ARGs), an extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for hospitality businesses.

AVA members also utilised this survey to highlight the need for ongoing technical advice and knowledge updates, both during the end of lockdown and when restrictions ease.

The AVA has seen a 50% increase in technical and knowledge advice since the pandemic began and has pledged to continue this with a busy webinar and internal committee schedule into 2021 and beyond.

David Llewellyn, chief executive of the AVA said: “The Automatic Vending Association is dedicated to upholding the needs of our members in what is still an immensely difficult time for their respective businesses.

“However, members should also be encouraged to join the effort to lobby for support, as we are more likely to be successful in our fight if more members show enthusiasm across the United Kingdom.

“Ways of doing this range from sharing the AVA’s social content and sharing content of your own online, all the way to reaching out to your local MP with our press releases to engage support on a local and national level.

“With the support of our members, local members of parliament and communications team, we can look to rebuild from the damage the pandemic has done to business in the wider foodservice industry, including AVA members.”

To keep up to date with the Automatic Vending Association’s lobbying activity, visit: https://www.the-ava.com/news.

For further information on the Automatic Vending Association visit: https://www.the-ava.com/

Free training courses for community councillors

The Improvement Service and the Open University (OU) in Scotland are working together to offer all community council volunteers the opportunity to upskill and reskill using OU courses.

Throughout the pandemic the Improvement Service’s Community Councils (CCs) project supported by Scottish Government has been trying to find ways to support CCs as they adapt to new ways of working and the OU was one of the organisations we reached out to and asked how they could help.

We asked Scotland’s CCs what skills they would find helpful to have or improve on and we are delighted to present these free online courses which the OU have tailored to suit the needs of Scottish CCs.

Many CCs have fully embraced the digital journey during the pandemic and there are courses here to help you continue that journey such as using Microsoft Teams and succeeding in a digital world. In addition to digital skills there are also courses on a range of other topics that community councillors have suggested including finance, fundraising, community and business skills.

These courses are totally free – all community councillors have to do is register for a free account and then you can begin your learning journey with the OU.

The OU has many courses to choose from but if you would like to suggest additional topics for training not covered that would benefit CCs in Scotland please let us know by e-mail: scottishccs@improvementservice.org.uk

So what are you waiting for? Brush up on your skills or learn some brand new ones with the OU, just click on the link below to begin your journey:

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/skills-supportOU-CC

Focus on ‘catching up’ on lost learning places unnecessary psychological pressure on children and young people

The British Psychological Society is today urging the government to reconsider its emphasis on the idea that children and young people need to ‘catch up’ on their education, and that supporting the wellbeing and educational needs of all children should be a priority.

Psychologists are concerned that focusing on lost learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic misses the mark, particularly for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.

With extended school days and potential summer schools being floated as potential solutions to address the perceived educational attainment gap created by the pandemic, educational psychologists from the British Psychological Society’s Division of Educational and Child Psychology are instead advocating for a phased return to regular schooling, combined with a quality-over-quantity approach to key learning.

Where additional school time is a strategy, it should focus on supporting children through socialisation and play.

Psychologists are also highlighting the importance of focusing on what children have learnt and achieved over the past year – thanks to the home-schooling efforts of parents and caregivers and remote-learning provision delivered by teachers and other educational professionals throughout the pandemic.

Dr Dan O’Hare, co-chair of the British Psychological Society’s Division of Educational and Child Psychology said: “It’s absolutely understandable that parents and caregivers are concerned that children have been missing out on many aspects of their formal education over the past year.

“However, the notion that children need to catch up or are ‘behind’ at school due to the pandemic reinforces the idea that children have ‘one shot’ at their education and puts them under even more pressure to perform academically after what has been a challenging and unprecedented time for everyone.

“It’s important to celebrate the progress, learning and development children have made in the last year and ensure that they feel proud of what they’ve achieved so that they can build upon their strengths and continue their key learning moving forward.

”Together, parents, caregivers and teachers have done an amazing job of continuing children’s education outside the school environment, and its vital that this work isn’t diminished.”

The impact of the lockdowns on children’s wellbeing and mental health must be considered as part of the decision-making around the return to school plan.     

“Some children will have had positive lockdown experiences, but we also mustn’t lose sight of the fact that the pandemic has had a huge impact on all children’s everyday lives,” continued Dr O’Hare.

“Many children may have seen their families struggling with sudden unemployment, loss of earnings or grieving the death of a loved one. Vulnerable children and families from disadvantaged communities may have spent the lockdowns wondering where their next meal is going to come from, or how they’re going to keep a roof over their heads.

“Whatever a child or young person’s circumstances, we can’t assume that the right thing to support their recovery and wellbeing is for them is to be in lessons for longer each day. The voice of children and young people has been noticeably missing from this debate and it’s essential that they are consulted and their thoughts and feelings considered as part of the decision-making process about the return to school.”

Research from the Education Endowment Foundation looking at the effect of extending the school day and summer schools on educational attainment, has found that these measures have a low impact but moderate associated costs, suggesting that it is not an effective way to address gaps in children’s learning created by the pandemic.

Evidence also indicates that these interventions aren’t effective in meeting the needs of the vulnerable children who need support the most.

Dr O’Hare, said: “What really makes a difference in children’s attainment is high-quality instruction and high-quality feedback, delivered by teachers, who are best placed to assess children and young people’s gaps in knowledge.

“It’s important that children know that education and learning is a lifelong skill, not a sprint and it’s vital for their psychological wellbeing that the rhetoric around ‘catch up’ doesn’t detract from their achievements and progress during lockdowns.

“It’s also essential that this conversation doesn’t detract from the many real issues facing the most disadvantaged children that more urgently need to be addressed by the government, such as food poverty, access to green spaces, use of digital learning equipment and access to high-speed broadband.

“The government mustn’t lose sight of where they can make a high-impact and tangible difference to children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, and subsequently their education.”

Fairtrade Fortnight

Food for Thought: 22 February – 7 March

This annual event is a great opportunity for children to learn about and celebrate the people who grow so much of our food. This year, the focus is on the climate emergency and how it impacts on producers in the developing world.

Former primary school teacher Laura Steele of education resource experts PlanBee has devised some games to make it lots of fun:

What is fair trade?

This is when companies in developed countries pay a fair price for products that have been made by producers in developing countries. A ‘fair price’ means that the producers are paid enough to be able to afford essentials like food, education and healthcare.

What is the fair trade movement? 

Started in 1992, fair trade is a global movement made up of producers, companies, consumers and organisations, whose aim is to support farmers and workers in the developing world by giving them a voice, and helping them to stand up for their rights.  Some 1.7 million farmers and workers are in fair trade-certified producer organisations across 73 countries.

How can you tell if a product is fair trade?

If a product is fair trade, you will see this label.

A Fairtrade label on a bunch of bananas
The blue sky symbolises optimism, and the figure’s raised arm represents empowerment. Green is used to symbolise growth.

In the UK, there are over 4,500 fair trade certified products available for sale, from food and drink to homeware and fashion. Among the best-known fair trade-certified brands are: AMT Coffee, Clipper Tea, Arena Flowers, Co-operative wine, and Divine Chocolate. Divine is the is 100% Fairtrade and owned by cocoa farmers.

What is Fairtrade Fortnight?

The first Fairtrade Fortnight was held in Edinburgh in 1997 to increase awareness of fair trade principles and products. It is now celebrated in many countries around the world, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and schools everywhere are encouraged to get involved too. 

Why should children learn about fair trade?

It is so important for children to be aware of what is happening in the wider world, and what life is like for people in different countries. Fairtrade Fortnight is a great opportunity to teach children about where some of the food on their plate comes from (not just the supermarket shelf) and the people and processes involved in making that happen.

Learning and talking about the fair trade Movement, and why it is needed, can lead to a better understanding of the wider world around them, and help to develop their empathetic skills.

If you are looking for a child-friendly introduction to the topic of fair trade, check out our Fair Trade Facts for Kids blog.

Fair trade games 

Providing fun and engaging activities to help children learn about fair trade will make the important lesson memorable. Here are two easy fair trade games you can play with children. 

A tall story!

Explain to children they will be paid in building blocks for completing a task. Set them a simple task – for example, to draw a picture or jump five times.

When the task is completed pay some children lots of blocks and the rest only a few blocks. Now ask the children to build a tower with their blocks and tell them the best tower will be the tallest tower.

Is this fair? Why? How did the activity make them feel?

You could repeat the activity a few times to show how quickly some children are left behind the others. Bring the activity back to fair trade and explain some farmers are not paid fairly for the crops they grow. Is this fair? How might it affect them and their families? 

The price of justice

Challenge children to find out the price of fair trade and non-fair trade bananas in different shops. What is the difference in the average price of fair trade bananas compared to others? Encourage children to find out how the farmer benefits when we buy a fair trade banana. Debate if the extra cost to the consumer is worth it. 

Did you know? 

There are more than 1,000 Fairtrade schools in the UK. If you would like to find out how your school can become one, read our blog: How to Become a Fair Trade School

More on Fairtrade Fortnight here.

Schools encouraged to use free video content

  • ClickView has been selected by the National e-Learning Partnership to host West OS online learning content created by schools, local authorities and RICs to support online remote learning.
  • To complement this learning content, ClickView is offering schools in Scotland free access to its full range of curriculum aligned video learning content, free of charge until March 31, 2021.
  • All schools in Scotland are encouraged to benefit from the offer 

To help teachers engage students in remote learning the National e-Learning Partnership and leading video content provider, ClickView, are offering all schools across Scotland free access to their full range of dynamic, highly visual resources.

Already trusted by many Scottish schools and local authorities including Edinburgh and Inverclyde ClickView was selected to host and stream the National e-Learning Partnership’s West OS pre-recorded content, providing a secure and reliable vehicle to share a growing bank of over 1000 valuable, teacher recorded videos, with schools across Scotland.

In addition to this, the National e-Learning Partnership agreed with ClickView to offer all schools across Scotland the opportunity to have full use of its high-quality curriculum aligned content to supplement and extend the West OS provision. The three-month agreement valued at nearly £500k is currently being offered until the end of March, to support schools through lockdown.

Gayle Gorman, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, said, “Schools and practitioners are working hard to develop and deliver remote learning across the country.

“It’s fantastic that practitioners in Scotland now have free access to ClickView’s educational videos to provide additional support for the work they are doing locally at this time. Complementing the National e-Learning offer, this further strengthens the overall national offer of support for remote learning.”

Michael Wilkinson, managing director of ClickView, said, “As lockdown continues, the majority of teachers are finding it increasingly hard to motivate their students. Today’s students’ preferred format of information consumption is video. Curriculum aligned video-based learning content brings together movement and noise to convey an efficient message and capture their attention.

“ClickView and the National e-Learning Partnership encourage all schools to take up this offer to help them through the current challenges of remote learning. This doesn’t just mean learning can continue outside of physical classrooms, but provides the opportunity to revitalise traditional education practices, putting transformative world-class resources at their fingertips, for meaningful experiences at all levels of learning.”

John Stuart, workstream lead officer at the West Partnership, said, “We are delighted that West OS is hosted on ClickView because it provides the ideal platform for learners and school staff in Scotland to access on demand, high quality educational content as part of the National e-Learning Offer.

ClickView’s current offer of free access to their educational videos until the end of March, complements the continually growing bank of West OS content to provide excellent support for remote learning.”

To find out more, visit Clickview.co.uk.

Helping Hermie: Hibernian Community Foundation donate lap desks to support Primary pupils

Pupils at Hermitage Park Primary in Leith are sitting comfortably while learning from home, thanks to Hibernian Community Foundation’s donations of multi-purpose lap desks.

Depute Head Teacher Lisa Black explained: “Hermitage Park Primary is a Hibernian Community Foundation partner school. The foundation is keen to help us remove any barriers to learning our pupils may face.

“When I approached them to share my concern that many of our pupils did not have a desk space for home learning, they were keen to help”.

Lisa was troubled by survey findings from ‘The second wave of the Understanding Society COVID-19 survey’: “I read that over 30% of children lived in homes that did not have enough desk space for them to undertake home learning. This percentage increases to almost 40% for children living in low income households.

“Many of our pupils were working from their bed. Whilst this is not ideal, the lap desks give them a hard surface on which to work. This has benefits for their learning as well as their physical health promoting better posture,” Lisa continued.

“It also tackles the issue of overcrowded homes as pupils can carry their desk to any convenient spot and work at a place which suits them”.

They are already proving a hit with pupils who say their home learning has improved since getting a lap desk:

“My handwriting is better because I have something to lean on” says P6 pupil Brandyn.

“I like the pockets as I can organise myself and that makes me feel less stressed” says Jenna P7.

P7 Abdul’s mum is a fan because he says, “I don’t leave all my work scattered on the floor!”

Lisa concluded: “We appreciate the challenges families face when undertaking home learning.

“This helps us to improve the physical environment for our pupils and we are grateful to Hibernian community foundation for their continued support.”

Edinburgh College to host Virtual Open Days

Edinburgh College is hosting Virtual Open Days this week, allowing people thinking of studying in 2021/22 to find out everything there is to know about starting college.

The virtual events – taking place from 10am until 12pm on Friday 19 February and from 10am until 2pm on Saturday 20 February – will give those in attendance the chance to speak to teaching staff about the courses on offer and discover the best study options available to them.

During both Virtual Open Days, prospective students will have the opportunity to: watch videos on application information including funding and student support; speak to college staff via a dedicated Virtual Open Day contact line (0131 297 8300); attend live question and answer sessions with course teams; and watch video presentations showcasing all Edinburgh College subject areas.

Course areas include: Art and Design, Computing and Digital Skills, Performing Arts, Engineering and Built Environment, Childcare, Health Professions, Business and Legal, and much more.

To attend the live question and answer sessions, attendees must register using an online form on the Edinburgh College website: www.edinburghcollege.ac.uk/virtual-open-days. These sessions will be hosted on Microsoft Teams; however an account is not required to join.

Edinburgh College Principal Audrey Cumberford (above) said: “We’re looking forward to hosting our first ever Virtual Open Days and meeting lots of prospective new students online ahead of the 2021/22 session.

“The past year has been a challenging time for us all, but Edinburgh College stands ready to continue educating and training the workforce of the future.

“Our College is in prime position to support people who may now require to boost their existing skillset in a digital environment, for instance, or to retrain in a new area. Similarly, we’re here to support those embarking on the first steps in their career journey.

“We have more than 700 courses delivered through a mixture of online and on-campus learning, with expert lecturers and support staff across the piece to guide our students on their way achieving their career goals.”

For more information, visit: www.edinburghcollege.ac.uk/virtual-open-days