posted by Alita Spink, Schools and Learning Support Officer, Schools and Learning

The Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland is looking for six young people aged between 14 and 17 to contribute online stories that other young people would be interested in reading. This could be hard news, fun things they have found online or pieces they have written on other social media platforms.

All the information is on our website and it’s easy to apply. If you know anyone who might enjoy getting involved in this three-month project, please tell them about it. The closing date is Friday 8 December.

posted by Alita Spink, Schools and Learning Support Officer, Schools and Learning

Anti-Bullying Week has taken place this week, 14-18 November. It is an annual event organised by Respectme, Scotland’s Anti-Bullying Service. The week aims to raise awareness of bullying in and out of school, and highlight ways of preventing and responding to it. Check out the Respectme website for more information.

posted by Alita Spink, Schools and Learning Support Officer, Schools and Learning 

The State of Children’s Rights report 2016 is now published!

Last night Children’s Parliament attended a Scottish Parliament reception hosted by Together. The event was held to celebrate the forthcoming Universal Children’s Day (20th November) and preview Together’s State of Children’s Rights 2016 report.

Members of Children’s Parliament were excited to see that, alongside other Children’s Parliament artworks, their recent StreetsAhead Tranent mural features in the State of Children’s Rights 2016 report.

The children were pleased to be invited to talk about their recent
Geneva trip to the United Nations Day of General Conversation on Children’s Rights and the Environment.

“Our message to adults is that they should treat children like they are important.”

– MCP at the launch of #StateofChildrensRights 2016

posted by Alita Spink, Schools and Learning Support Officer, Schools and Learning 

To assist people working with young people in education to focus on homophobia, biphobia and transphobia during National Anti-Bullying Week (14th-18th of November), we’ve created assemblies and an activity for schools and teachers. For ease of planning, the assemblies are split into primary and secondary, while the activity is unlevelled and easily adaptable to suit the needs of students.

LGBT Youth Scotland’s ‘Life in Scotland for LGBT Young People: Education Report’ tells us that LGBT young people in Scotland can face a particularly challenging time at school. The report asked LGBT young people about their experiences of bullying and found that that:

• 69.1% of all LGBT respondents has experienced homophobic or biphobic bullying in school.
• 76.9% of transgender respondents had experienced homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bulling at school.
• More than half of those who had experienced homophobic and biphobic bullying believed that it has negatively impacted on their education, rising to more than 88% of those who had experienced transphobic bullying.
• 10% of all LGBT young people had left education as a result of homophobia, biphobia or transphobia within the educational establishment.
• 14.3% of all LGBT young people had left education as a result of their direct experience of homophobic or biphobic bullying, rising to 42.3% for those who had experienced transphobic bullying.

LGBT Youth Scotland has resources for teachers and people working in education to help address incidents of homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying. You can find more information about recognising and responding to these types of bullying, and lesson plans to address their underlying causes and effects, in our Toolkit for Teachers: Dealing with Homophobia and Homophobic Bullying in Scottish Schools.

If you are working with a young person looking for information or support (or you are a young person yourself), find out about our local youth groups and our online digital youth work service. Our advice section, or resources for LGBT young people might also be useful.

TEACHING AND EDUCATION RESOURCES FOR ANTI-BULLYING WEEK CAN BE FOUND HERE

posted by Margaret Thompson, Library Assistant, Arbroath High School 

Pupils from Arbroath High School enjoyed some time out of everyday lessons to attend the visiting mobile planetarium from St. Andrews University. The planetarium is entirely run by Astronomy PhD students and is part of an outreach programme which can be used by schools to enhance pupils’ learning and give them an opportunity to learn more about space. Pupils were given a 30 minute show about the night sky and where they should look to see various planets and stars at this time of year. They were then able to question two astrophysicists from the University. Every pupil studying Physics from S3 – S6 attended the event and found the experience enjoyable and informative. S3 pupil Milly Cresswell said “The planetarium gave me such a good insight into how our universe works. It was really interesting hearing about the stars, planets and constellations.” Another S3 pupil – Rebecca Hay said, “I loved the planetarium, it was an amazing experience.”

Pictured outside the planetarium are some of our S6 pupils.

posted by Alita Spink, Schools and Learning Support Officer, Schools and Learning

Take part in our upcoming debate on rising sea levels

Climate change is one of the biggest threats to the natural world. The rise in sea levels is just one of the effects, and is a growing environmental issue for communities worldwide.

What measures can we take to stay safe as sea levels rise? Discuss this topic with your class using our dedicated resources and get involved in the debate on 24 November.

How can we stay safe as seal levels rise?  Join the debate from 09.30 to 11.00 GMT on 24 November and share your students’ ideas with schools across the Commonwealth.
Oceanographer Dr Simon Boxall will also be on hand to answer your questions. Find out more and prepare for the debate with some starter questions to get your class thinking about the associated risks of rising sea levels.

Classroom activities to inspire your students:  Our dedicated resource explains the science behind rising sea levels and includes practical cross-curricular activities to help demonstrate the impact of this environmental issue. The resource is complemented by a short film about the Pacific island of Kiribati. Students can discover how local communities are learning to stay safe and protect their natural environment.

‘Freedom of expression’ and the Magna Carta

In focus: ‘Freedom of expression‘:  The principles of this value form an intrinsic part of the Commonwealth Charter. How would your students use freedom of expression to speak out against injustices? Or how would they feel if they were not allowed to stand up for what they believed in? Introduce the topic to your class with some starter questions, encouraging students to think about how it is relevant to them.

Classroom resource:  Magna Carta, then and now:  Bring the topic to life with our classroom resource on one of the world’s most influential documents. ‘Magna Carta: My Digital Rights’ helps students discover its historical background and also asks them to consider what a Magna Carta for the digital age would look like. Activities cover topics on protection and privacy and affordable access to the web as a human right.