Newsbites
Learning and Teaching Scotland on iTunes U
Learning and Teaching Scotland's educational videos can now be downloaded from the iTunes U area of the iTunes Store. iTunes U also contains other free education resources from British and American universities. It helps to ensure that teachers have easy access to learning and teaching materials that can be shared easily. To find out more, visit www.LTScotland.org.uk/itunesu/index.asp
SCIPD visits going strong
The latest Scottish Continuing International Professional Development (SCIPD) study visits saw a group travel to Berlin to explore Holocaust education and another travel to Canada to study innovations in cooperative learning. Groups also travelled to Malawi and Uganda during the summer to support school improvement. Forthcoming groups are likely to visit Sweden to focus on sustainable development education, Spain to investigate minority languages provision and Ireland to focus on approaches to citizenship.
Learning and Teaching Scotland is also planning SCIPD visits for early years practitioners and on the Homecoming theme. To find out more, visit www.LTScotland.org.uk/internationaleducation/index.asp
What the press said...
An extra 170 childcare apprenticeships are to be created for young people aged 16–19, the Scottish Government has announced. Education secretary Fiona Hyslop said the move would help the economic recovery, during a visit to a nursery in the Borders. The apprenticeships are part of a £16m funding package announced in the Budget for the recruitment of 7,800 apprentices.
News.scotsman.com, 28 July 2009
Early Years Matters bumper issue coming soon
Issue 16 of Early Years Matters will be published in autumn 2009 and will have a brand new look. It is set to be a 'bumper' issue, packed full of the latest early years updates and useful information from across Scotland.
Early Years Matters is pertinent to everyone working with, or interested in, children from birth to eight years old and includes practical information on current practice. The autumn issue will explore planning within Curriculum for Excellence and what literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing as a responsibility for all means within this creative and exciting curriculum. It will also cover learning outdoors, why research should influence practice and the new early level support resource 'Curriculum for Excellence – Supporting the Early Level' which will be available from autumn 2009.
Early Years Matters will be delivered to your setting in autumn, and an online version will be available at www.LTScotland.org.uk/earlyyears/index.asp
Top personal finance award for Scottish schools
Two Scottish schools have won awards at this year's RBS Personal Finance Education (PFE) Awards. Corseford School in Renfrewshire was the overall winner of the 'School award for most impressive cross-curricular approach'. Trinity High School, also in Renfrewshire, picked up the runner-up award in the 'School award for best all-round approach to PFE' category. Students and
teachers from the schools travelled to London for the award ceremony on 18 June.
Pupils feel the earth move
Scottish school pupils wills be able to measure seismic waves generated by earthquakes from their classrooms thanks to the School Seismology Project, which is being run by the British Geological Survey. As part of the project, more than 40 seismometers will be donated to schools across Scotland by the end of 2009.
Think like a winner
An innovative games-based learning tool is enhancing pupils' ability to make decisions correctly, even when they feel under pressure. The game is based on the Winning Theory developed by Winning Enterprise's Yehuda Shinar, which states that winning is a skill that anyone can learn, practise and improve. Visit www.thewinninggame.co.uk to find out more or access the game via Glow.
On your bike
Sustrans, a leading sustainable transport charity in the UK, has been awarded £230,000 to get girls aged 9–16 cycling to school at least once a week. The cycling industry initiative Bike Hub is providing funding for Sustrans to hold cycle to school events, cycle training and bike maintenance for girls. The charity hopes to motivate girls to overcome concerns about 'helmet hair' and perspiration by offering them cycling fashion types, and promoting the health and fitness benefits of cycling regularly.
What the press said...
Doctors' leaders have called for better sex education in schools after new figures showed the number of cases of sexually transmitted infections almost doubled in a decade. Almost one-quarter of all acute sexually transmitted infections (STIs), some 5,652 cases, were diagnosed in people aged under 20. Dr Charles Saunders, Chair of the BMA’s Scottish Consultants Committee, said: 'This demonstrates the need for improving the education of young people to help prevent the further spread of these infections. It is clear from government statistics that children are becoming sexually active at a younger age, so it is imperative that we do more to inform young people of the risks of contracting STIs and educate them on how to prevent them.'
The Herald, 29 July 2009