Tag: learning

Share your stories of lockdown learning and teaching

Education Scotland wants to celebrate the fantastic work we know has taken place right across the country over the last few months – and we need your help!

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the sudden closure of school buildings and other learning sites. There were many examples of extraordinary work across the entire education system to support learners and communities.

For many learners, this was through distance and online platforms, with different forms of on-going contact with their teachers, childcare workers, youth workers, tutors and others. Of course, for children and young people, support from parents and carers continued to be key to their learning.

We’d like you to share your stories with us and we’ll use as many as we can to create a book of celebration to showcase the important work carried out by educators, learners, parents and communities at this unprecedented time.

Check out our website for more information, but be quick – the closing date for submissions is 10 October. 

We can’t wait to hear your story!

New digital training module for colleges to improve support for over 12,000 student carers

Carers Trust Scotland and College Development Network (CDN) have joined forces to help improve support to over 12,000 student carers in Scotland, who are studying alongside providing unpaid care for a family member or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or addiction problems.

Supporting Student Carers at College is a new innovative free digital training module which has been developed by Carers Trust Scotland and CDN from funding received by The Scottish Funding Council. The module will help college practitioners to better understand the challenges faced by many student carers and provides guidance on how to improve support for these students at college.

Research by Carers Trust found that student carers are four times more likely to drop out of college and university than those who are not carers. Together, Carers Trust Scotland and CDN are calling on all college practitioners working in Scotland’s colleges to use this free resource. Engaging with the digital training module will help college staff to better identify, support and report on their student carers.

This new resource compliments existing work being undertaken by both organisations to raise awareness, improve identification and ensure adequate support is in place to give student carers a fair chance to be successful in their own education. Last year Carers Trust Scotland launched Going Further for Student Carers Recognition Award, a scheme to assist and encourage all 27 of Scotland’s colleges to develop their policies and practices to improve support for student carers, and award good practice.

While the number of student carer enrolments at college across Scotland has increased from 3,413 in 2013-14 to 11,965 in 2018-19, many student carers continue to be unidentified and unsupported, and continue to be a hidden group.

There are student carers in every college trying to successfully complete their course to the best of their ability just like their peers, but they often experience additional challenges because of their unpaid caring responsibilities and do not always receive the support they need to successfully complete college; therefore, stopping students with caring responsibilities from reaching their full potential, maintaining good health and wellbeing, and having equal access to the opportunities open to other students. 

Additionally, due to the impact of the current Coronavirus pandemic, we know that many student carers are taking on additional caring responsibilities, therefore increasing the need for support at college.

Student carers can greatly benefit from dedicated support from their college and the Supporting Student Carers at College digital training module should help improve outcomes for student carers to reach positive destinations after study.

Scott Lafferty, Development Manager for Carers Trust Scotland, said: “Carers Trust Scotland is delighted to have worked with College Development Network to launch Supporting Student Carers at College, a digital training module for college professionals.

“It aims to raise awareness to the challenges that many student carers face and offers guidance on how colleges in Scotland can provide improved support to the over 12,000 student carers in Scotland, so that they have a fair chance to be successful in their own education and achieve their true potential in all aspects of their lives.”

Andree Carruthers, Access and Inclusion Consultant for CDN, said: “The Supporting Carers module is the first of its kind in the UK. We know that there are over 12,000 declared student carers studying in our colleges, and that they are four times more likely to withdraw from their course.

“College offers carers a break from caring and new opportunities for the future, and we owe it to them to support them to make the most of their time at college. This new resource, developed in partnership with Carers Trust Scotland, offers colleges a flexible and engaging professional development tool.

“The module is brought to life by the voices of the carers that courageously and selflessly shared their experiences and the challenges of combining their caring duties and studying.”

National competition launches to improve maths skills during Maths Week Scotland

Prizes to be awarded to winners in each category

To celebrate Maths Week Scotland, 28th September to the 4th October , students across Scotland will be competing in the M-Fluencer Maths Week Quest learning challenge to boost engagement in maths, improve attainment and win prizes for their school.

Now open for entries for schools with students from any year group, ranging from Reception to S6. Participants will be tasked with completing a series of online maths challenges, with each challenge adding to the school’s total score. Amazon vouchers and digital certificates will be awarded to the top 10 schools. 

All learning activities included in the competition are aligned to Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence and support the Government’s commitment to ‘making maths count’; an initiative that is becoming increasingly important to increase Scotland’s maths attainment.

The competition, run by maths mastery resource provider Mangahigh, is open to all schools across Scotland, both existing users and non-users. From 28th September all schools registered for the competition can access Mangahigh math’s resource free of charge. 

Mohit Midha, CEO and co-founder of Mangahigh, said, “Each student from early years to upper secondary school age can take part free of charge. The maths activities on Mangahigh are designed in a fun ‘game’ format to really engage the students and encourage them to return for more while developing their conceptual knowledge of key maths topics.”

For full prize details and to register for entry free of charge, teachers and schools should visit:https://www.mangahigh.com/en-gb/competitions/maths-week-scotland

SHE Scotland Mentoring Award

Are you looking for a new challenge? Would you like to be the person you needed when you were young?

SHE Scotland and Edinburgh College are running their new SQA Mentoring Award at the beginning end of September.

Mentoring programme delivered on Edinburgh College Granton Campus on Monday mornings from 10am -12.30pm.

Get in touch for more information.

Get on Board scheme honoured at national awards

Project aims to bring diversity to the boardroom

Edinburgh Napier’s ground-breaking Get on Board programme has been honoured with a prestigious Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE).

The programme – which places students with the boards of charities, voluntary organisations and public bodies, and gives them opportunities to network with professionals and help make decisions which impact their community – is one of 15 winning projects from universities across the UK.

The CATE awards, announced yesterday by Advance HE, the body dedicated to helping higher education shape its future, recognise collaborative work that has had a demonstrable impact on teaching and learning, highlighting the key role of teamwork.

Get on Board was established in 2015, with academics Miles Weaver and Jacqueline Brodie working with the University’s careers service to deliver an extra-curriculum programme to support employability of students and address the key Scottish national outcome of improving board diversity. The pilot project won a Herald HE Award for Enhancing Student Learning.

The programme’s development was supported by a student steering group called Young Trustees in Scotland led by Elena Pershina, who was a fourth year undergraduate at the time and President of Young Trustees in Scotland.

The Get on Board team later joined forces with RSM and Santander, and further organisations and universities became involved as the competency pathway was developed as an opportunity to bolster trustee skills among students in Scotland, each partner bringing their own capabilities, training and networking opportunities.

Dr Brodie, Associate Professor, Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Edinburgh Napier’s Business School, said: “The Get on Board team are honoured to be awarded an Advance HE CATE. It has been a privilege to empower students to make a positive difference in their communities and support the development of their employability and enterprise skills in the process.”

Alison Johns, Advance HE CEO, said: “I am sure I am joined by the entire sector in congratulating the 2020 CATE awardees. All of the winners should be extremely proud of their achievement.

“Their work epitomises the outstanding commitment to teaching in the UK higher education sector, which this year has been more demanding than ever before.”

The Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence scheme was introduced in 2016, and is open to members of staff from all providers of higher education across the UK.

LOVE Gorgie Farm to provide outdoor learning spaces

LOVE Gorgie Farm (formerly Gorgie City Farm) has opened its facilities to schools across Edinburgh and the Lothians looking for outdoor spaces for educating pupils.

Operated by education and social care charity LOVE Learning, the urban farm will host a range of programmes for schools to embrace outdoor learning, reducing physical interactions, amid their return to full time classes on 12th August.

The outdoor services range from learning workshops featuring sport and other activities, to outdoor space for classrooms, as well as different environmental programmes within LOVE Learning’s Earth School that combine nature and educational practices.

The Earth School will help develop an informal learning setting for children of all ages by focusing on projects where natural spaces are used for pupils to learn through outdoor experiences.

Through their learning programmes, LOVE Learning aims to assist in these changing times at the same time as enhancing all-inclusive practices involving nature and expanding these to mainstream activities for pupils of all ages.

LOVE Learning’s portfolio of programmes has already been welcomed by councils as a suitable alternative for school-based teaching. It not only provides safe spaces where physical interaction is reduced, but also engages them in more outdoor learning activities.

The LOVE Gorgie Farm site will cater to requirements of all types of schools, such as primary and secondary schools as well as special schools.

As a Scottish Qualifications Authority accredited centre, LOVE Learning will also offer training opportunities for teachers and facilitators looking to become skilled and confident in leading children through their learning process in outdoor experiences.

Lynn Bell, CEO of LOVE Learning said: “Due to the effects of this pandemic we have seen a rise in the demand of outdoor learning spaces and services. LOVE Gorgie Farm will assist in the provision of spaces to make it easier for schools to cope with the challenges presented by Covid.

“Our Earth School aims to bring pupils from all ages closer to nature, encouraging new generations into seeking to care about all living beings. At the same time, our provision of learning that reduces physical interactions will ensure both teachers and pupils are in a safe environment.

“We will also train educators into being confident with outdoor learning techniques and help schools and teachers embrace alternative teaching styles through our accredited training hub”

For further information visit: www.lovegorgiefarm.org.uk or email gorgie@l-o-v-e.org.uk

Lorraine says ‘Well Done!’ to the Class of 2020

Edinburgh Napier honorary graduates and alumni create tribute videos

TV presenter and journalist Lorraine Kelly has sent a special message of congratulations to more than 2000 new Edinburgh Napier University graduates.

The six graduation ceremonies due to be held at the Usher Hall at the start of July were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, Lorraine and other proud honorary graduates and alumni of the University have created video messages to pay tribute to the Class of 2020 and highlight their achievements.

Lorraine, who started her career as a local newspaper reporter in East Kilbride before progressing to national television and fronting a series of programmes for ITV, received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University in 2018.

Two years earlier, Lorraine, who herself trained as a journalist at the then Napier College, was at the Usher Hall to see her daughter Rosie Smith graduate from the University with a BA (Hons) in journalism.

In her video, shared on the University’s social media platforms, Lorraine told the 2150 new graduates: “Congratulations to every single one of you.

“I will never forget my daughter’s graduation.  It was such a special day, and I am lucky enough to be an honorary graduate as well so I know what a big deal this is.

“You have worked so, so hard, and I am really proud of you, and I wish you all the very best for the future. Huge congratulations to the Edinburgh Napier University Class of 2020!”

Other well-known faces who will offer congratulations by video this week include chef Tom Kitchin, TV weather presenter Carol Kirkwood, former Disney executive Duncan Wardle and political journalist Brian Taylor.

Professor Andrea Nolan, Principal at Edinburgh Napier, and University Chancellor David Eustace also appeared in a short film that looked at what it means to be an Edinburgh Napier graduate and a member of the University’s alumni community.

Professor Nolan told the graduating students: “Achieving your degree is fantastic for everybody at any time. To have done so under such particularly difficult and challenging circumstances makes it even more special.

“You will remain in my mind as a very special cohort – the cohort of 2020.”  

STEM Academy: New opportunities for lockdown learning

A science education programme is turning social distancing into an opportunity for school pupils and teachers to spend their summer learning online.

The Summer STEM Academy www.stemacademyscotland.org  is making workshops on a wide variety of science and engineering topics available online for free from Monday 15 June.

Led by the University of Glasgow in collaboration with Edinburgh Napier, it features 26 workshops containing videos and activities for teachers, pupils and wider school communities.

All but one involve a video introduction from an expert to a unique project which can be done at home and an explanation of the science behind it. Each of the workshops offer a worksheet to guide learners through activities and experiments such as designing racing cars and measuring the speed of sound.

Volunteers from Edinburgh Napier and the Universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Heriot Watt and Strathclyde have crafted workshop activities on topics including robotics, biodiversity and space colonisation.

Edinburgh Napier’s Professor Mark Huxham (above) has organised activities based on biodiversity, and there is also the use of coding to design and control robots with the computer engineering team, and the use of CAD/CAM software to design F1 cars with industry leading experts and Edinburgh Napier engineers in a schools challenge.

Representatives from organisations including the SS Explorer, BioCity UK, Heart of Midlothian FC, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Academy of Engineering have also contributed their expertise on aeronautical engineering, life sciences, sports science, climate change and the science of sound.

Teachers and students will also have the opportunity to brush up on new science teaching skills with a workshop provided by the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Connecting STEM Teachers initiative. They’ll also have the chance to design their own science teaching resources during a workshop provided by Timstar UK and the WF Education group.

Andrew Gallacher, Head of Teacher Education at Edinburgh Napier, said: “Even three months ago the idea of organising a major Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths event and placing it online would have seemed ambitious.

“However, this is exactly what we have done with the Summer STEM Academy. It represents a fantastic opportunity for pupils, teachers, academics and business innovators to explore stimulating workshops that are structured to offer blended learning and enthuse participants of all ages.

“Such is the global appetite for such an event that the organisers have now received countless information requests from many countries that include Japan, South Korea and the USA.”

The Summer STEM Academy was launched in 2018 and brought high school pupils from 13 local authorities to locations in and around Glasgow, along with registered and probationer primary and secondary teachers.

Follow-up interviews with participants found that both pupils and teachers were significantly more engaged with science, and a reduction in anxiety about both learning and teaching STEM subjects.

Dr Margaret Ritchie, of the University of Glasgow’s School of Chemistry, has organised each of the Summer STEM Academy events and led the effort to put this year’s projects online.

Dr Ritchie said: “The Summer STEM Academy programme was built from the ground up to create quality partnerships between universities, schools and businesses and find new ways for them to benefit from working together.

“It gives students the chance to see academia and industry up close, student teachers the chance to learn new methods of teaching, and academics and industry professionals the chance to reach out to younger people and shape their understanding of how science and business intersect.

“The coronavirus turned our plans for the third year of the Summer STEM Academy upside-down, but it’s also given us the opportunity to open up our workshops and reach a much bigger audience by putting them online. We also hope that it will keep participants engaged and interested in science while schools remain closed, and ensure they’re motivated to learn when schools reopen.

“Our content comes from volunteers across a broad spectrum of backgrounds, from an undergraduate student through academics to industry veterans. They’ve given us a lot of great content for school pupils and student teachers alike, and we’re really excited to make it available for them to explore over the summer.”

Five Million Workers Uncertain of Post-Covid Role

Woman with notepad and laptop

• A quarter (24%) of the UK workforce are learning new skills to mitigate against coronavirus uncertainty 
• Concerns for job security as 5 million expect the pandemic to dramatically change their role
• Younger employees are spearheading the distance learning boom, but want more direction from employers in bid to ensure their skills become valued assets
• Course enrolments during lockdown on The Open University’s OpenLearn platform have exceeded 950,000
• OU is urging organisations to harness this appetite for learning to adapt for the future and retain valuable talent

Covid-19 is expected to significantly change the skills required for as many as 5 million job roles across the UK, driving a surge in employees seeking out distance learning opportunities, according to The Open University. 

With coronavirus uncertainty affecting half (49%) of current job roles across the UK, a quarter (24%) of employees have taken on additional learning opportunities to boost their employability and protect the value of their skills.

The results suggest that younger employees are particularly fearful that their skills could become obsolete. Over a third (39%) of 18-34 year-olds agreed that they would put their own money towards development opportunities if it made them more employable.

However, for all the hunger for professional development, a quarter of employees (23%) admitted that they would like to have more direction from their employers when it comes to learning new skills, with younger team members again (38%) the most keen to have steer from their leaders on how to remain employable post-coronavirus.

OpenLearn homepage screengrab

Data from one of the UK’s largest free learning sites, The Open University’s   OpenLearn, backs up the findings. The site has logged over 950,000 course enrolments during lockdown, taking it beyond the 3.25 million mark since its launch. Specialist work-focused courses such as Leadership and Followership have proved particularly popular, in addition to modules designed to boost fundamental professional skills such as workplace communication.

In April, the Scottish Government and Skills Development Scotland launched a portal with the support of the OU in Scotland in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to support furloughed workers. The site on www.myworldofwork.co.uk was launched on 27 April by the First Minister in her daily televised COVID-19 briefing.

Across the board workers are investing in ever-green capabilities that will help them retain value to their employers in the long-term, as well as skills that will help them manage the current digital landscape. The majority of those who have taken on additional learning opportunities during lockdown have focused on developing managerial skills (51%), whilst just under a quarter (23%) have prioritised digital skills such as learning how to use new software.

While the OU welcomes this rise in independent study, the university is urging employers to make the most of the appetite for new skills development and utilise the advantages of online learning for remote employees, to cultivate the skills they are likely to require in the years to come.

Susan Stewart, Director of The Open University in Scotland said: “With the UK approaching a recession and the economic uncertainty that this will bring – the time to invest in skills is now.

“The world of work is changing and it’s clear that employees are recognising this and prioritising the development of their own skill sets to prepare for the ‘new normal’.

“With OpenLearn, employees can enrol on free courses that reward them with certificates and digital badges, helping them signpost their development and the value of their skills to their employers.

“Employees will still need direction from their employer if they are to acquire the new skills needed for post-lockdown business. Employers must embrace lifelong learning as a necessity for growth and ensure that teams stay engaged, potential skills gaps are tackled proactively and the associated risk of losing valuable talent is minimised.”

Schools will need government help with vulnerable children when they return, charity warns

Adoption UK is calling on the governments in all four nations of the UK to provide additional funding and resources to help schools support those children who will struggle most, when educational settings re-open, post Covid-19 lockdown. 

Half of the parents who completed Adoption UK’s Home learning during Covid-19 lockdown report said their child is experiencing emotional distress and anxiety, while around a third (31%) said they are experiencing an increase in violence, or aggression, from their child.

Care experienced children are among the most vulnerable in the country due to their traumatic start in life. But despite this, of those who are currently home-based during lockdown, 85% are not receiving any additional support in respect of their care-experienced status, the survey found.

Rebecca Brooks, author of the report, said: “These children have traumatic life experiences that can make learning and mental health a herculean struggle during normal times, let alone during a global pandemic.

“School closures and lockdown are exacerbating learning and emotional problems, including an increase in violent behaviour. Schools are struggling to support their pupils with highest needs.”

Mrs Brooks added: “This is why we’re urging the governments across the UK to provide schools with the funding they will desperately need to help these children with their return to school – supporting not only their learning, but also their wellbeing.”

However, the report also shows that some families with care-experienced children are clearly thriving during lockdown. Around half of the respondents who completed the survey said their family relationships are improving and the same proportion of those parenting secondary aged children, said their children are calmer.

To find out about the impact of school closures on care experienced children, Adoption UK ran a week-long survey in April for parents and carers of care-experienced children who would normally be in school. The UK-wide survey received 660 valid responses.

Previous Adoption UK research has shown that adopted children, on average, achieve significantly less well in exams than their peers, are more likely to have a range of higher-level learning needs and are 20 times more likely to be permanently excluded when compared to their peers.