Glasgow renews contract to host asylum seekers

Glasgow has renewed its contract with the Home Office to accept asylum seekers - for the next five years the city will host 4200 at any given time.

Glasgow is the only city in Scotland to take on this role, and will now receive additional financial support from the Scottish Executive (£1.4 million) to help with the costs.

While the arrival of a first wave of asylum seekers to the city led to widely reported social tensions, city leaders are keen to stress the positive impact asylum seekers may play on city life - several schools in deprived areas have benefited from an influx of motivated, high attaining refugee children.

"Glasgow has a proud history of giving refuge to those who are fleeing persecution," Irene Graham, Glasgow City Council's spokesman on equality issues, told the Herald. (29th June)

More enterprise and business training for the under 16s, promises Blair

At a Downing Street reception for members of the British Society of Magazine Editors, Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke of his desire to encourage entrepreneurship among young people, report the BBC.

"One of the things we need to do, particularly for younger people, is to get them to think about how they can go into business and industry and become self-employed," said Blair.

"One of the things we are doing with specialist schools and trust schools is have schools where enterprise and business becomes very much a greater part of what kids are taught from an early age.

"In the end, if you look at the successful countries around the world, they are harnessing the skills and talents of people.

"Human capital is the biggest resource of a country."

The government has said it wants every 14 to 16-year-old in the UK to have the chance to learn about business and enterprise at school. (28th June)

Scottish peer to invest in primary schooling

Lord Laidlaw, one of Scotland's richest men and a major financial backer of the Scottish Conservatives, has announced plans to invest in primary schools in some of Scotland's poorest areas, reports the Scotsman newspaper.

This will take place independently of the Executive's Schools of Ambition programme, which gives extra money to 30 innovative secondary schools.

Laidlaw, whose Laidlaw Youth Project already works to support disadvantaged youngsters, argues that primary school education is often overlooked.

He has already held "constructive" talks with representatives of Edinburgh city council, and talks are planned with Glasgow City Council.

Lord Laidlaw is currently building an academy in one of the poorest areas of Newcastle, with a planned role of 1800. (27th June)

PSHE and Citizenship teaching spreads in England, at expense of traditional subjects

The spread of vocational education, PSHE and Citizenship in English schools is taking place at the expense of traditional subjects, reports the Sunday Telegraph.

To create space in the timetable, schools have been combining subjects, for example teaching general science course or combining geography, history and RE into a single humanities course.

This newspaper, which disapproves of the changes, gives an example of a north London comprehensive where for some 15 year old pupils Citizenship, PSHE and ICT take up a third of the timetable; students spend six out of thirty periods a week taking the new vocational GCSE in health and social care.

When the government's 14-19 reforms are launched in 2008, the paper reports, these innovations will become more widespread.

By 2008, schools will be required to offer 14 vocational diplomas, meaning that the national curriculum at 14 will be limited to Maths, English and Science. (26th June)

Personal Finance Education spreading, but patchy says FSA survey

According to a Financial Services Authority survey published today, 48% of primary schools and 91% of secondary schools across the UK are delivering some form of personal finance education.

In many of these cases, however, the subject formed only an occasional part of the curriculum - 74% of secondary schools surveyed only teach the subject once or twice a term.

This reflects competition for teaching time from other subjects, and a lack of teaching confidence in the subject.

"If financial education does not become widespread, there are serious consequences for young people. The experiences of their elders have already shown us that those who struggle to manage their finances will be less effective at work, their relationships will suffer, and debt may spiral out of control," FSA chief executive John Tiner told the Guardian.

The government promises that personal finance will be emphasized in the revised national curriculum, to be introduced in 2008. (20th June)

Scottish EAL Provision Stretched by Migration

EU Migration is putting language services under increasing pressure, reports TES.

The article quotes Alison Lachowski, a member of Aberdeenshire's EAL service.

"The numbers are continuing to rise, but we have had no increase in staffing. In addition most of the families whose children are referred have little or no English, which was not the case in the past," Ms Lachowski told an EIS conference last week.

She went on to say that many schools who formally had an EAL role of 1% now are 10% EAL.

The article also quote Marjorie Bell of Glasgow, who reported that the profile of EAL classes is changing, with the arrival of large numbers of Slovakian Roma children. (17th June)

Timepiece Triumph for Lenzie's Young Enterprise Team

Pupils from Lenzie Academy in Dunbartonshire have won the Royal Bank of Scotland Young Enterprise Scotland (YES) Awards for the second year in a row.
The pupils set up a business trading in handmade timepieces using renewable Scottish timber. They will now go on to represent Scotland in the UK finals next month.

"It has been a tremendous achievement for the pupils, who worked really well together. The skills they have learned will stand them in good stead for their future careers," Business Studies teacher and team co-ordinator Jemima Priester told the Herald. (16th June)

Still More Emphasis on Non-European Languages Required, says Goldsmiths Tutor

Too often non-European languages are regarded as 'second class' options in schools, reports the BBC News website.

Dr Jim Anderson, who heads up teacher training courses (PGCEs) in Arabic, Mandarin, Panjabi and Urdu at Goldsmiths College, London, says despite the new interest in "non-traditional" languages, a hierarchy of learning still exists, the BBC reports.

Dr Anderson believes that while government policy in the 1980s argued that community language were best taught by the community themselves (eg at Saturday schools rather than in mainstream schools), the national language strategy introduced in 2002 has sent out more positive messages about community languages and the need for diversification.

The article argued that of the community languages studied in the UK Mandarin has enjoyed the most attention in recent years, but there is still much progress to be made. The BBC interviewed Jane Thick, currently taking a PGCE in Mandarin teaching at Goldsmiths who highlighted the need for more school-level Mandarin resources in the UK.

Figures from the National Centre for Languages (Cilt) show 3,091 candidates were entered for GCSE Chinese in 2005, up 40% on 2001. (16th June)

Executive Announce Action Plan for NEET Youth

Jack McConnell yesterday announced a 39-point action plan yesterday designed to reduce the number of pupils who are not in employment, education or training, says the Scotsman Newspaper

An estimated 35,000 Scots aged between 16 and 19 fall into what is often referred to as the NEET group, the newspaper reports.

Under the "More Choices, More Chances" action plan, selected schools, councils and individuals will enjoy access to extra funding, to be spent on careers advisers, provision of vocational courses in school and participation costs in voluntary training schemes.

"Every young Scot should get a chance in life, but if they don't take it on their first chance, then they should get another, and then another," McConnell told reporters. (14th June)

Study Reveals Pupil Concerns Over Homophobic Bullying.

A Scottish Executive study into homophobic bullying has found that 84% pupils completing an online survey have received or witnessed homophobic bullying, reports the Scotsman.

"Some of the young people who were experiencing or had experienced homophobic bullying had a huge lack of confidence in staff, and this had an impact on rates of reporting," the report states.

"It tells us that homophobic bullying happens in every school in the country and crosses every social boundary," Andre Mellor of the Anti-Bullying Network told the newspaper.
The Executive intend to tackle the problems raised in the report, a spokeswoman said. (13th June)