Hot on the heels of their annual festival, Edinburgh Science are on the road again bringing hands-on science lessons to classrooms in a number of schools across the city as part of Generation Science.
This fantastic programme sees science educators tour Scottish nurseries and primary schools delivering a range of engaging workshops and shows which are all linked to the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) – helping to inspire a new generation to explore the world of STEM. Running for over 30 years, Generation Science has delivered hands-on learning to over 1 million children!
Over the coming weeks, the Generation Science team will be bringing some of their shows and workshops to a number of local primary schools across Edinburgh as part of their Summer programme.
This year’s programme features 10 exciting interactive shows and workshops, including two brand new climate-focused activities Our Changing Climate and The Green Machine.
Next month, for Childhood Day, schools across Scotland and the rest of the UK will come together to raise funds for the NSPCC. This will help us deliver our services and support children across the country.
Childhood Day is the charity’s flagship fundraising event, when the public are encouraged to embrace their inner child, celebrating play to put the fun into fundraising.
As part of the celebration on 10 June, we are encouraging schools and nurseries to take part in The Big Breaktime – an extra hour of play with pupils, staff and parents being encouraged to give a small donation towards funding vital NSPCC projects, like Childline.
https://youtu.be/mMcOHBaKkN0
Schools can sign up for The Big Breaktime via the NSPCC’s Childhood Day hub The Big Breaktime | NSPCC From there, they will be able to download lots of exciting resources to help them plan a Big Breaktime in their school.
To sign up to the Big Breaktime, all you have to do is visit the NSPCC website, search for The Big Breaktime and fill in your school’s details with the registration form.
OWNERSHIP of an Edinburgh childcare company has been handed over to its 150 dedicated staff in what is believed to be a sector first in Scotland.
Kidzcare has announced its transition to employee ownership with 100% of the company shares now placed into an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) by owner Anne-Marie Dunn who co-founded the successful business in 2001.
The childcare specialists operate four nurseries, four breakfast clubs and six after-school clubs for children, offering options across Edinburgh, from Portobello to Bruntsfield and Fox Covert.
Ownership Associates, a specialist adviser to businesses considering establishing an EOT, provided support to the Kidzcare owner and employees throughout the process in what is believed to be the first business in the Scottish childcare sector to transition to employee ownership.
Anne-Marie Dunn said: “I’m delighted to be able to reward these dedicated and loyal employees by gifting them a share of this brilliant business. The staff at Kidzcare have supported me throughout this journey and I couldn’t reconcile myself to the idea of passing it on to anyone else.
“As I looked to withdraw from the business, I wanted to find an option that rewarded and empowered the staff into the future. As soon as I heard about employee ownership, I was instantly convinced that this was the vehicle to make it happen.
“By becoming employee owned, I am confident that Kidzcare’s values of safety, child development, fairness and kindness will continue, greatly benefiting the children we look after and the people who look after them.”
The business turns over £3 million a year and provides high quality childcare for more than 500 children a day around the city.
Anne-Marie added: “Our current HR Manager, Julie MacKenzie, who has been with us for more than eight years will take more of a managing director role as I gradually step back in the next few months.
“We have planned for a seamless transition so the business can smoothly enter its next chapter, and crucially, we are in control of how that happens best for all stakeholders.
“The transition into employee ownership has been very easy. Business transactions like this can be daunting and complicated but I have been so lucky to have a team of experienced advisors in Lindsays and Ownership Associates. They have guided me every step of the way. Nothing was a problem for them.”
Carole Leslie of Ownership Associates, who has worked on the transition of more than 80 businesses to the succession model, said: “It has been a great experience assisting Kidzcare to make the move to employee ownership. It was clear that this was the obvious option for the company and I’m certain the firm will fast see the benefits of this model of ownership.
“It has provided an exit plan for Anne-Marie, potentially life changing differences to her staff, and most importantly ensured that the quality of care for children remained at the heart of the business.
“This is a shining example of the business model benefiting everyone involved in the company. It also highlights the strong positives it can have on an industry like childcare.”
Douglas Roberts of Lindsays added: “Kidzcare has a brilliant reputation in Edinburgh and it was an honour to help the company with the legal aspects of its move to employee ownership.
“Parents trust the staff at Kidzcare to look after their children and Anne-Marie trusts her loyal employees to keep the values and high standards of Kidzcare. It was clear that employee ownership was ideal for Anne-Marie’s succession plans and I’m sure Kidzcare will hugely benefit from being employee owned.”
Ownership Associates works exclusively within the employee-owned sector, supporting companies on their move to employee ownership and working with established employee-owned businesses enabling them to maximise the ownership advantage.
A series of new measures aimed at driving down coronavirus (COVID-19) rates in Scotland have been announced.
Current restrictions, including the ‘stay-at-home’ requirement, are set to remain in place until at least the end of February and schools will continue to be closed to most children for the rest of this month.
Nurseries and Primaries 1 to 3 are, however, now scheduled to return full-time on 22 February, subject to final confirmation two weeks from now that sufficient progress in tackling the virus has been achieved.
In an update to Parliament the First Minister confirmed that a managed quarantine system for anyone who arrives directly into Scotland regardless of which country they have come from will be introduced as soon as practicably possible.
In addition to guarding against the increased importation of new cases, access to testing to find cases and interrupt transmission already taking place in Scotland will be stepped up:
from the middle of February, routine testing of healthcare workers will be expanded to cover patient-facing primary care workers such as GPs, dentists, optometrists and pharmacists, as will testing for all patient-facing staff who work in hospices
from later this month, regular testing will be offered to support the return to schools and nurseries. Senior phase secondary school students, and all staff in primary, secondary and special schools, including school-based ELC staff, will be able to benefit from routine at-home testing two times a week
certain workplaces where the risk of transmission is greater and which provide essential or critical services, such as those within the food processing and distribution sectors and staff within emergency service control rooms, will also be supported to introduce routine workforce testing
targeted community testing will continue to be expanded – so that testing is available to people locally, regardless of whether or not they have symptoms
from mid-February tests will also be offered to all close contacts of people who have tested positive for COVID-enabling Test and Protect teams to identify their contacts and track, and break further, chains of transmission
In order to promote people’s ability to self-isolate when necessary, financial support will be significantly expanded to include all workers earning the Real Living Wage or less, as well as those in receipt of a council tax reduction because of low income.
The £500 Self-Isolation Support Grant will also be extended to people who cannot work because someone they have caring responsibilities for is asked to self-isolate.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “As levels of the virus continue to fall in Scotland, it becomes ever more important that we stop the virus from being imported again. The threat of new variants is real and we must be ever-more vigilant.
“That is why we intend to introduce a managed quarantine requirement for anyone who arrives directly into Scotland, regardless of which country they have come from.
“We want to work with the UK Government to avoid travellers sidestepping restrictions and arriving in other parts of the UK before travelling to Scotland, however the most effective approach to prevent this and to stop new variants being imported is for the UK Government to introduce a compulsory quarantine for anyone travelling into the UK from overseas.
“Since we still have work to do these measures will not be introduced this week and more detail will follow shortly.
“We believe that targeted community testing can play a particularly valuable role in communities where prevalence is starting to rise rapidly which is why we have expanded our testing programme to identify cases and break chains of transmission.
“Lockdown is starting to slow down the virus. But we also need to pick up the pace in our vaccination programme. We are doing that and will accelerate the programme further over the next fortnight – providing that we have sufficient supplies of the vaccine – as we work towards being able to vaccinate 400,000 people a week by the end of the month. We are making rapid progress in protecting those who are most at risk from COVID-19.”
On schooling, the First Minister added: “I am acutely aware of the pressure school closures is putting on working parents and on family life more generally.
“Our room for manoeuvre, given the current state of the pandemic, is limited. But the government is determined to use every inch of headroom we have to get children back to school.
“Based on the advice of our expert advisers, if we all agree to abide with the lockdown restrictions for a bit longer so that our progress in suppressing the virus continues, we can begin a phased, albeit gradual, return to school from 22 February.”
The EIS has responded to the First Minister’s statement on a planned phased return for schools, welcoming the planned roll-out of regular testing for staff and students – but warning that virus levels must fall ‘substantially’ before the plans for a phased return for pupils can be confirmed.
Commenting, EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said, “Clearly, any school return remains contingent upon continued progress on community suppression of the virus and that is not a given so we need to see infection levels coming down substantially before the return date can be confirmed.”
Mr Flanagan continued, “Whilst a phased return is a more cautious approach, we are surprised that the First Minister did not discuss the need for physical distancing amongst P1-P3 pupils, given that she clearly stated the new variant impacts on all age groups, whereas previously younger children seemed to be less directly involved in transmission than adults.
“The EIS believes that a blended learning model, i.e. implementing physical distancing, would be a safer strategy to deploy and we would need to see strong scientific evidence to justify the Government’s approach. Frankly, in the absence of such evidence this model creates unnecessary risk for staff and pupils.”
On the planned rollout of testing for school staff and some secondary pupils, Mr Flanagan added, “The availability of regular testing for staff is something the EIS has called for, so that is welcome, as is its extension to senior phase pupils which will offer some reassurance to their families.”
“The EIS also notes the limited number of senior pupils able to return at any one time, but this must be organised in a way which explicitly enables physical distancing amongst pupils.”
Responding to the First Minister’s COVID-19 update concerning a phased return to schools in Scotland, GMB Scotland Senior Organiser for Public Services Drew Duffy said: “Yet again the Scottish Government failed to acknowledge the role of school support staff in the response to COVID-19.
“This morning over 1,000 of our members in support staff jobs, including cleaners, caterers, and pupil support staff, wrote to the First Minister asking her to strengthen school safety guidelines and the implementation of them across our thirty-two councils.
“This afternoon’s statement said little to these workers, despite the fact support staff are most at risk against the backdrop of more virulent strains of COVID-19 because many continue to work in our schools throughout this lockdown.
“We need full consultation with Ministers on a consistent approach to worker safety in the phased return of schools. That’s the only way we are going to give these forgotten key workers some badly needed confidence their safety is a priority for this government.”
Education leaders in Edinburgh have welcomed the phased return of school pupils announced by the Scottish Government.
Cllr Ian Perry, Education, Children and Families Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “I know many families across the city will be pleased to hear that a phased return to schooling will be in place by the end of the month.
“Our teaching staff are doing a tremendous amount of great work with home learning but we all know there’s no better place for our children than being back in school with their peers and learning face to face.
“Our schools will now work really hard to put plans in place so P1 to P3 pupils and some senior phase pupils can return on February 22 which will hopefully be confirmed by the Scottish Government in two weeks time.
“In the meantime home learning will continue and we hope to be to welcome more pupils back to school in the coming months as long as the virus continues to be suppressed.”
Cllr Alison Dickie, Education, Children and Families Vice Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “These are extremely challenging times for families and no one can underestimate the impact the pandemic has had especially for those struggling at home.
“Everyone’s mental health and wellbeing is really important so it’s welcome that early years, childcare and P1 to P3 pupils will be back in school where they belong in a few weeks time.
“Supporting the children who need it most is vital and I’m glad they will continue to attend their schools as we all work together to get through this. With the number of positive cases coming down in Edinburgh and the rollout of the vaccination programme we hope even more pupils will be able to come back to school when it is safe to do so.
“We will continue to follow the latest Scottish Government and health advice in ensuring our schools continue to be safe learning and teaching environments for all our young people and teaching staff.”
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “I appreciate only too well the burden being placed on many families as they navigate this COVID pandemic. I am also acutely aware of the need to maintain teaching and learning wherever possible. In doing so, the health and wellbeing of our children, young people and staff is paramount.
“My priority has been to ensure a safe return for children and young people to school and nursery as quickly as possible. That is why the steps that have been announced today are guided by the advice of the Chief Medical Officer and public health experts.
“Children and young people will begin a gradual, phased return to classrooms supported by a testing regime and enhanced guidance. A sense of caution underpins the plans unveiled today, but this is essential as we work to return to full time teaching in schools.”
Two Thirds of Scottish parents have noticed signs of regression in their children due to lack of peer play dates
36% found their child to become clingier following lockdown
84% of Scottish parents worry about finding the balance between educational and fun activities
Although Scottish parents are thankful that the second lockdown meant schools and nurseries would stay open, they are still finding that a lack of peer play dates has negatively affected their children.
According to the research conducted by Nick Jr. UK for Blue’s Clues & You!, the survey found that Scottish parents find peer play dates to be important for their child/ren’s development. Almost three fifths (59%) found that they gave their children an opportunity to interact with their peers and 43% felt it allowed their kids to learn whilst having fun.
55% of Scottish parents felt that due to continued lockdowns and tier regulations, the lack of peer play dates has affected their child’s confidence. Over a third (36%) noticed that their child/ren had become clingier and 21% said their children have become shyer. Three fifths (60%) have also seen their children’s happiness affected due to lack of time spent playing with friends, with 44% of Scottish parents noting their child/ren need more attention and under a quarter of children (23%) are crying more.
With playdates a no-go, over a third (39%) of Scottish parents are spending more time with their children now than they did during the first lockdown and 18% of respondents admitted becoming their child’s friend and developing a closer bond has been the best bit of spending lockdown with their child.
However, when it comes to friendship 27% of Scottish parents rely on playdates to allow them an opportunity to speak with other adults and 14% use the time to discuss any parenting woes they have with other parents with children of a similar age. Scottish parents have also seen a negative impact on their mental health, with 24% not being able to attend parent-baby groups and almost a third (31%) not having a break from parenting.
Comparing the first lockdown to the second lockdown, it’s no wonder that 84% of Scottish parents have struggled to find the right balance between educational and fun activities. More than 1 in 10 (14%) of Scottish parents have admitted that they have spent less time playing with their child, as they’ve run out of ideas of things to do and 31% noted that the cold and wet winter weather has made it harder to find activities to keep their children occupied.
With activities becoming repetitive and the lack of interaction with peers taking its toll, 66% of Scottish parents have noticed signs of regression. Almost half (47%) of Scottish parents said their children are having more tantrums / meltdowns, 27% had experienced sleep walking or trouble with sleeping and over a quarter (27%) had become fussy with their food.
Founder of the Good Play Guide, Dr. Amanda Gummer noted: “Parents have really struggled during lockdown when it comes to juggling childcare and their day to day lives.
“It’s understandable parents have seen regression in their children, as peer play dates are a great chance for children to learn and play with those of a similar age and help with their development in their younger years.
“Blue’s Clues & You! is a great way for children to continue learning through play whilst at home and unable to attend playgroups. Offering interactive and educational activities, puzzles and clue-led adventures for kids to participate in, children are learning as they play.
“If you are noticing signs of regression such as playing with toys you think they’ve grown out of or a change in eating habits, remember this is all natural. Times of change see children seek comfort so use this as an opportunity to spend more time together and provide them with a good role model to copy.”
Scottish parents are also concerned that the lack of interaction their kids are having with their peers during lockdown will negatively affect their development. 23% of parents are worried that they won’t know how to interact with other children, with a further 36% believing their child will be unhappy and 37% thinking they’ll lack confidence.
However, for Scottish parents, lockdown certainly hasn’t been all doom and gloom.
Over half of those surveyed (59%) enjoyed spending quality time together as a family in lockdown, 44% enjoyed seeing their child learn new things and gain a greater independence and 26% had a greater appreciation for teachers. 86% of Scottish parents have also found they are doing more Christmas arts, crafts and activities with their children to boost spirits.
For parents looking for inspiration of fun and educational exercises to help with their child’s development, as well top tips and parenting advice visit nickjr.co.uk/letsplay for useful tips and entertaining ideas to help your child continue to learn through play.
Blue’s Clues & You! airs daily at 8.30am and 4.30pm on Nick Jr. (Sky Ch. 606) Visit nickjr.co.uk/letsplay for more.
Seven top parenting tips from Dr. Amanda Gummer:
When coping with child regression, don’t pressure your child to achieve – even if you know they could do certain tasks before. Try to meet them where they are at and support them in moving onto their next milestone naturally.
In times of change and stress, children (and adults) seek comfort and reassurance. Make lots of time for familiar, comforting activities such as stories, film nights, baking etc. to minimize unnecessary change.
To ensure your children develop in to well-rounded and polite individuals, play is an important part. Playing with toys such as a play kitchen will give you an opportunity to practice please and thank you.
Look at your own manners and communication style and make sure you’re happy for your children to copy it. Use playtime as an opportunity for them to see you sharing things and taking turns. Playing games with your children lets them see you playing fairly and losing graciously at times.
There’s no such thing as the wrong weather when it comes to playing outdoors, just the wrong clothes. Make sure you’ve got a change of clothes if you’re playing outside and make it an exciting adventure rather then forcing them to go for a walk.
For siblings that bicker, remember it’s normal and actually helps them develop important skills. Leaving your children to resolve the argument themselves (as long as there is no clear victim / bully) is important with regards to social development. Children will learn skills such as negotiation, compromise and empathy.
If the bickering persists, give kids activities that require cooperation and collaboration. The reward for them working together is better than anything they’d be able to achieve on their own.
New awards recognise Early Learning and Childcare success
A nursery where children built a car out of old tyres and recycled wood is among the inaugural winners of a new awards scheme to boost the quality of childcare.
Other winners of the Scottish Government’s Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Innovation Award include a nursery where children set up a café for parents and a nursery where children now grow their own food for lunch.
All six winning nurseries set up new creative experiences to challenge children and improve their social and language skills and self-confidence.
The six are:
Clober Nursery, East Dunbartonshire
Menstrie Nursery, Clackmannanshire
Village Nursery, West Linton, Scottish Borders
Bowhouse Early Learning and Childcare, Falkirk
Treetop Family Nurture Centre, Fife
Innerwick Early Years Setting, East Lothian.
All of the winning nurseries will receive £5,000 to further develop their innovative ideas.
Children’s Minister Maree Todd visited Clober Nursery and said: “Every winning nursery has gone above and beyond to give their children outstanding opportunities to learn and develop.
“Staff have come up with amazingly creative and fun ways to develop children’s understanding of the world around them, with great results already for the children, their families and staff.
“As quality is at the heart of our expansion plans, the awards will showcase best practice and encourage nurseries to share success with each other.”
Louise McHugh, an ELC practitioner from Clober Nursery, said: “Outdoor learning is an exciting and daily part of Clober Nursery.
“We strive to provide children with opportunities to learn and develop their risk-taking strategies, educate them to understand where food comes from as well as providing them with the opportunity to use their imagination with loose part play.
“We are only at the beginning of our outdoor learning journey and we cannot wait to see where the children’s investigations take us.”
Due to weather conditions, all City of Edinburgh Council-operated nurseries and primary, secondary and special schools will be CLOSED today. The council will continue to monitor weather updates for later in the week.
All Edinburgh College campuses are also closed and they too will update bout the situation for tomorrow later today
‘Education is not just part of our sense of ourselves, it’s the key to a better future for young people growing up in Scotland today’ – First Minister Nicola Sturgeon
Funding for free nursery places delivering early learning and childcare will double over the term of the next Parliament, increasing opportunities for families and giving children the best start in life, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has pledged.
In a speech on education at the David Hume Institute in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon laid out the Scottish Government’s ambition to see every child have the educational opportunities that she herself benefitted from.
During her address, the First Minister set out the contribution education makes to tackling inequality and growing the economy, focusing on the importance of all children, no matter their background, having the best opportunities through early learning and childcare, strong school education and wider access to higher education.
In a move she described as ‘one of the best investments any government can possibly make’, Ms Sturgeon confirmed that free early learning and childcare provision would rise to 30 hours per week, matching the time children spend each week in primary school, by the end of the next Parliament.
Committing to funding this expansion, she pledged that by 2019/20 annual revenue spend on early learning and childcare will have increased from an anticipated £439 million this year to around £880 million.
The First Minister said: “Today I want to highlight some of the areas where we can and must do better. In particular, I want to focus on how inequality in attainment – starting in the very early years, and persisting into adulthood – is weakening our society, holding back our economy, and constraining the life chances of too many of our fellow citizens.
“Early Learning and childcare promotes opportunity twice over. It enables parents to enter the workforce now and provide a better standard of living for their children, and it helps all children to make the most of their potential later in life. It’s one of the best investments any government can possibly make.
“In my view, it is central to any enlightened view of what modern Scotland should look like and that is why it is such a driving priority of my government. That’s why I can confirm today my intention that spending on early learning and care will double over the course of the next parliament.
“That’s in addition to the extra capital spending we will provide. The great capital investment project of this parliament is the Queensferry Crossing. If I am re-elected as First Minister next year, I intend that the great infrastructure project of the next parliament will be perhaps less visible, but arguably even more transformational.
“It will be the investment in care and learning facilities needed to ensure our early years provision matches our primary school provision. These facilities will create a bridge to a better future for children and families across the country.”
Addressing the need to widen access to university Ms Sturgeon said: “When I became First Minister, I set out the clear ambition that a child born today in one of our most deprived communities should, by the time he or she leaves school, have the same chance of going to university as a child born in one of our least deprived communities.
“And let me stress that – the same chance. Not just a better chance than they have today. But the same chance as anyone else. In other words, where you are born and brought up and your parents’ circumstances will not be the driver of how likely you are to go to university.
“But to ensure we’re doing everything we can, as early as we can, we are establishing a Commission on Widening Access. The Commission will propose milestones, measure progress, and identify improvements. It will be central to ensuring that our ambition of equal access within a generation becomes a reality.
“It is part of a far broader approach to post-school learning. After all, the key test we need to apply is not whether learning takes place in college, at work or in university. It’s whether the learning is relevant, engaging and widens people’s opportunities.
“So since 2007 we’ve focused colleges on promoting skills which help people to work, and which support economic growth. The number of students gaining recognised qualifications has increased by a third in the last 5 years.”
Ms Sturgeon concluded: “So from supporting mothers in the early stages of pregnancy, to helping people gain their first experience of work, this government is committed to promoting opportunities and reducing inequalities. That’s not something that Government, schools, colleges and universities can do on our own – although our role is hugely important. It’s got to be part of a shared endeavour.
“I want Scotland to be a land of opportunity – a country where every individual, regardless of background or race or gender, gets the chance to fulfil his or her potential. Can that be achieved? Yes, I believe it can and education is the key.
“The removal of obstructions to education, and the opening up of new opportunities, has been the focus of many of the major initiatives of my first 100 days. It is a subject which will receive sustained attention for as long as my government holds office. Because education is not just part of our sense of ourselves, it’s the key to a better future for young people growing up in Scotland today. And it is at the heart of the fairer, more prosperous Scotland, that all of us seek to build.”
