Tag: Scottish Government

Nurseries rewarded for innovation

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.”

New support for families of children starting school

Full Best Start Grant package now available

A brand new benefit for low income families is now open for applications.  The £250 School Age Payment is for families with a child old enough to start primary school  this August.

The payment is part of the Best Start Best Grant, a package of three payments for families in receipt of eligible benefits – including Universal Credit, Income Support, Housing Benefit and tax credits – to help at key stages in a child’s life.

The Best Start Grant package also includes the Pregnancy and Baby Payment, which has been open for applications since December 2018 and the Early Learning Payment, which launched in April.

Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Covering the costs of a child starting school puts pressure on family finances, and we have created this new payment to help ease that burden, putting more money into the pockets of families at a time when they need it most.

“We are committed to doing all we can to make sure Scotland is the best place for a child to grow up.  We want to increase financial support to families, bringing equality to children by giving them help towards a fairer start.

“We also want to encourage everyone who is entitled to a payment to apply, so will be working with services to promote the benefit to ensure as many people as possible are aware they can access this new additional support.”

  • applications for the School Age Payment open today (Monday 3 June) and will remain open to 29 February 2020
  • eligible families can apply for a payment if their child was born between 1 March 2014 and 28 February 2015
  • there is no requirement to take up a place at school to be eligible for the payment
  • parents who have deferred school entry so their children will start school in August 2020 should still apply in the 3 June to 29 February window
  • Social Security Scotland is using a single application process for these payments so families can apply for any Best Start Grant Payment in one form. Applications can be made online, over the phone or by post
  • parents/carers will be eligible if they live in Scotland, are responsible for a child and receive certain qualifying benefits
  • the qualifying benefits include: Universal Credit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit
  • the introduction of this benefit means that the Scottish Government is now delivering four new benefits. These are: Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment, Early Learning Payment, School Age Payment and Carer’s Allowance Supplement.
  • Social Security Scotland came into being as an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government on 1 September 2018
  • further information can be found at mygov.scot/benefits or call 0800 182 2222

 

 

Scottish Government acts to cut disruption on roads and pavements

Communities will face less disruption with new standards to manage road works and speed up the installation of fibre broadband. A national code of practice will see the standardisation of faster and more modern techniques for trench digging for improving utility services.

The development of more compact cables has seen modern techniques, such as requiring narrower holes and less excavation required, increasing the speed of delivery. The technique also safeguards the roads by reducing the need for return visits to repair failed trenches.

As well as broadband cable installation, this will mean shorter periods of disruption for power, water and gas works who use this technique.

Connectivity Minister Paul Wheelhouse (above) visited a Virgin Media dig to see a new broadband installation taking place and discuss the new code with the installation team. He said: “The Scottish Government has listened to the views of companies who tell us that narrow trenching can help companies deliver fibre broadband faster and with less disruption to communities.

“We understand that utility companies operate in a competitive market. They are therefore constantly looking for ways to improve their efficiency and to reduce their costs in order to keep ahead of their competition. This has led to innovation in how infrastructure, such as broadband, is deployed.

“We have updated the code to enable narrow trenching to take place consistently, and in a manner which protects our pavements and road network, and this has the added benefit that will result in the faster deployment of broadband across Scotland and a reduction in the disruption communities face during the roll out itself.”

Julie Agnew, Regional Director for Scotland at Virgin Media, said: “As Virgin Media continues to invest in bringing ultrafast broadband to more areas of Scotland, this new code gives much needed clarity for networks to be built in a fast, flexible and efficient way with minimal disruption.

“We thank the Scottish Government for working with us and creating an environment that encourages and supports broadband builders like Virgin Media.”

The Code of Practice comes into force immediately.

 

 

 

More of Scotland’s bathing waters rated ‘excellent’ but Porty’s just ‘sufficient’

  • More bathing waters (32%) have been rated as ‘excellent’ than since the tighter standards first came into force in 2015.
  • Fewer bathing waters have also been rated as ‘poor’ – and partnership projects are currently underway to maintain progress and further improve bathing waters including the 10 rated as ‘poor.’
  • Overall 88% of Scotland’s designated bathing waters have met the strict environmental water quality standards for 2019.  
  • Water quality information is available by 10.00 am every day during the season for 31 bathing water locations at sepa.org.uk/bathingwaters, via Beachline and live electronic beach signage.

Continue reading More of Scotland’s bathing waters rated ‘excellent’ but Porty’s just ‘sufficient’

Scotish Government starts process for a new independence referendum

The Scottish Government has published legislation to set the rules for any referendum within the competence of the Scottish Parliament. The SNP, supported by the Scottish Greens, want to hold a referendum before the end of next year – but they need Westminster’s permission, and it’s unlikely that the current UK government will give their assent. Continue reading Scotish Government starts process for a new independence referendum

Suicide prevention training launched across Scotland’s football clubs

Football clubs across Scotland will be among the first to receive a new mental health and suicide prevention training resource for their players and staff.

Funded by the Scottish Government and created by NHS National Education for Scotland and NHS Health Scotland, the online resource will be shared with all 42 professional football clubs, along with 300 mental health first aiders employed by around 80 football organisations throughout the country.

It will also be shared across all junior, youth, women’s, amateur and para-football leagues and clubs, reaching around 190,000 players.

The training, which is part of the Scottish Government’s Suicide Prevention Action Plan, will also be distributed to all local authorities and will be included in NHS health board workforce development planning from June 2019.

Mental Health Minister Clare Haughey said: “We must ensure that mental health is given parity with physical health, and our new online resource is a significant step and a key part of our suicide prevention plan, which aims to reduce suicide in Scotland by 20% by 2022.

“We want to create a Scotland where suicide is preventable, and where anyone contemplating suicide or who has lost a loved one gets the support they need. I’d like to thank the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and the Scottish FA who will be among the first to roll this out to players and staff across 42 all clubs.

“I’d also like to thank Scotland’s councils for their commitment to take this training to almost 250,000 local authority workers across the country. Our approach recognises the need to work together across sectors and organisations to identify and support people in distress, strengthen communities, and save lives.”

Neil Doncaster, SPFL chief executive, said: “The SPFL and its clubs are proud to be able to play a part in this ground-breaking initiative.

“It’s vital that mental health issues are given the prominence they deserve, and that more people are encouraged to seek the support and treatment they require.”

SPFL Trust chief executive Nicky Reid, who also sits on the Scottish Government’s National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group, said: “We are happy that Scottish football is able to support the dissemination of this new suicide prevention training resource to our clubs across the country.

“Every football club in Scotland has now participated in our programme of mental health first aid training, with nearly 400 clubs now trained in our partnership with NHS Scotland and Positive Mental Health Scotland.

“We’re also pleased with the progress of our ongoing pilot projects with Hibernian, Heart of Midlothian, Movember Foundation and SAMH which have delivered The Changing Room – our project supporting football fans who are at risk of poor mental health by creating a safe space within their clubs. We are working with SAMH to look at ways to expand this programme.

“Our commitment to the wellbeing of staff, players, and supporters has never been stronger.”

Ian Maxwell, Scottish FA Chief Executive, said: “The Scottish FA is dedicated to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of all footballers in Scotland, so we are pleased to lend our backing to this important resource, which addresses such a worthy topic.

“It is through services such as this that we will work to ensure that Scottish football is a supportive and nurturing environment for the mental wellbeing of everyone who wants to participate in our wonderful game.”

COSLA Health and Social Care Spokesperson Councillor Stuart Currie said: “Suicide prevention is everyone’s business, and local government employees have a key role in preventing, recognising and responding to distress. This online resource provides an additional way for the 250,000 strong workforce to learn more about suicide prevention.

“This is important both in terms of their role in serving our communities, but also on a personal level and with family and friends, because anyone can experience distress and suicidal thoughts.

“The animations within the online resource will be screened across all 32 local authorities and will be one element of the work we do to build a culture of understanding distress and preventing suicide across Scotland.”

George Dodds, Member of the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group and Director at NHS Health Scotland, said: “On average two people die by suicide every day in Scotland. That’s tragic and preventable. We also know one in three people who take their own life have had no contact with any specialist services before they die. We need to change that dramatically. 

“That’s why NHS Education for Scotland and NHS Health Scotland have worked together to develop these resources, to help the Scottish workforce improve mental health and prevent suicide. The online animations aim to raise awareness of the issues that affect people and that can lead those in distress to sometimes think about taking their own life. They’re also designed to increase the confidence of healthcare staff to respond compassionately and effectively to support anyone in that situation.

“We hope the animations will also help staff from other sectors have the confidence to hold compassionate conversations with those they meet, so that they can get help to those most vulnerable at the time it’s needed.”

The online resource consists of three animations totalling nine minutes and can be downloaded for use via the links below:

https://vimeo.com/338176495  – Ask, Tell – Look After Your Mental Health
https://vimeo.com/338176444  – Ask, Tell – Have a Healthy Conversation
https://vimeo.com/338176393  – Ask, Tell – Save A Life: Every Life Matters

 

 

Made in Scotland arts programme announced

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, has announced the companies, ensembles and artists selected for the 11th year of Made in Scotland – the curated showcase of music, theatre and dance performed during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Continue reading Made in Scotland arts programme announced