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

26 February – 11 March 2018

Fairtrade Fortnight 2018

Fairtrade Fortnight is approaching

We are excitedly preparing everything you need to help your Fortnight to go off with a bang – films, games, teaching resources and posters to make your Fortnight celebrations bigger and better than ever. Make sure you have the dates in your calendar – Monday 26 February to Sunday 11 March.

For 2018, we’re asking you to come on in to Fairtrade to stand with farmers and close the door on exploitation. Invite others to your Fortnight events.  Show them the difference that Fairtrade can make. Whether it be a pop up café, a school assembly or an exhibition, share your love of Fairtrade with parents, the community or other schools by inviting them to come on in.

Schools resources: Will be available to download from January. Event packs are also ideal for schools, and can be ordered from the online shop.

Please get in touch if you are interested in a speaker from the Foundation attending your event. We will endeavor to fulfill as many requests as possible, but please contact us as soon as possible so that we can evaluate the needs of all supporters and our capacity appropriately. We will be allocating speakers from December to the end of January, so if you could send your request using this online speaker request form by the 29 January at the latest then that would be much appreciated.

There’s also more information on the main Fairtrade website here; http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/Get-Involved/Current-campaigns/Fairtrade-Fortnight

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

Strengthening Families Programme

What is the Strengthening Families Programme?

SFP is an evidence based programme that supports families avoid developing serious behavioural problems by intervening early. The programme runs over 7 weeks in the evenings. Parents and young people attend separate skill building sessions for the first hour and then break for 30 minutes and then another hour together in a supervised family session. 

The parent and youth sessions provide reinforcement and skills practice. For example, while the parents are learning how to use consequences, the young people are learning about the importance of following rules. Then in the family session the young people and parents practice problem solving together as a family when the rules are broken. 

• Build life skills in young people and parents.
• Reduce alcohol misuse and other behavioural problems during adolescents
• Strengthening parent/child relationships.

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that new training dates are available:

• 23^rd January 2018
• 30^th January 2018
• 6^th February 2018

You must be available to attend all 3 days. Training starts at 09.30 for registration and coffee and will finish 15.30 on all 3 days at Barnardo’s, The Grenfell House, 290 High St, Arbroath, DD11 1JF.

Please let me know if you would like a space and I will send you a booking form.

Many thanks

Angela Duncan
Strengthening Families Programme Co-ordinator
The Grenfell House Centre
290 High Street, Arbroath, DD11 1JF
Tel: 01241 873146 Mobile: 07825843142
Email: angela.duncan@barnardos.org.uk

posted by Rhonda McFarlane, Funding Officer, Chief Executive’s Department

Attached is the latest issue of the Funding Alert Newsletter. The Newsletter features funding opportunities to have featured on the Grants 4 Schools website over the last two weeks.  This issue contains 16 pages of the latest funding opportunities available to schools.

Highlights in the issue include:

– Schools can apply for grants of up to £10,000 per year for up to 3 years for projects that help children and young people overcome poverty and deprivation.

– Grants of up to £50,000 available to schools to run help young people get involved in local heritage projects .

– Grants of up to £12,000 available to school s toencourage young people’s interest in the countryside, literacy, numeracy and science.

– British Council announces final bidding round under the Connecting Classrooms programme.  Grants of up to£3,000 available for schools to visit partnerschools overseas.

For further information on these and other funding opportunities available to your school, please see the attached Newsletter.  Funding Alert 15th December 2017

Grants 4 Schools has launched a new series of “Bid Writing Masterclass for School Fundraisers” workshops.  These workshops are designed to enhance the grant bid writing skills of anyonein school involved in bidding for grants.  For more information please click here

posted by Alita Spink, Schools and Learning Support Officer

The Scottish Education Awards celebrate the hard work and success which takes place in Scottish education.

They recognise the achievements of people who dedicate their lives to children and young people and showcase the valuable work and innovation in Scottish classrooms.

The Scottish Education Awards were first launched in November 2001 by the Scottish Government and the Scottish Daily Record, with the specific aims of celebrating the successes and recognising the achievements taking place within Scottish education.

Entry to the Awards is open to all publicly funded schools, including secondary, primary, nursery and special schools. There is a wide variety of categories that recognise the dedication and commitment of establishments, practitioners and education supporters.

Take a look at our exciting new categories for 2018!

Celebrating the hard work and success in Scottish education, the awards recognise the achievements of people who dedicate their lives to children and young people.

There are awards in 15 categories covering all areas of education from languages and sustainability to digital learning and teaching, Find out more and submit a nomination.

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

Click here to read the Families Outside Impact Report 2016/2017

It gives me great pleasure to enclose Families Outside’s Impact Report for 2016/2017.

As you will see, it’s been another successful year at Families Outside. We continue to reach more and more families through both our Helpline and our Regional Family Support Coordinators, and with new staff covering the Highlands and Dumfries & Galloway, we are very proud to be the only national charity supporting families affected by imprisonment across Scotland.

We have developed our training offering and, as well as continuing the success of our teacher CPD sessions, we are seeing increased numbers of prison staff and police enrolling on our courses. This increased appetite for training shows how the landscape has changed in the last 25 years and proves that we are another step closer to removing the stigma associated with the imprisonment of a family member.

We continue to create unique resources that are not only having positive impacts in Scotland and the UK, but also across Europe and as far as Australia and New Zealand. As we monitor the issues that families face through our support teams, we will be even better placed to create resources that create solutions.

Our involvement with Visitor Centres has changed dramatically over the last 18 months: our direct management of the centre at HMP Addiewell ended with the financial year following the introduction of the National Visitor Centre Coordinator post. Through this new post, however, we are able to offer a national strategic function, supporting all providers and ensuring consistency of practice.

We continue to lobby policy and decision makers across Scotland to make sure that families are of primary importance within the Criminal Justice System and the wider national context. Although we now offer direct support for families affected by imprisonment, we remain true to our core purpose set out 25 years ago – voicing the needs of families affected by imprisonment.

Few of the achievements highlighted in the report would be possible without your continued support. Therefore, on behalf of the team and the thousands of families we help each year, thank you! Together we create the silver lining that the cloud of imprisonment can place on the children and families left behind.

Kind regards,
Nancy
Prof Nancy Loucks OBE
Chief Executive

Families Outside Support & Information Helpline: 0800 254 0088

posted by Pauline Stephen, Head of Schools and Learning and Chief Education Officer 

As you maybe aware, nominations for the 2018 Scottish Education Awards are now open.  Education Scotland and the Daily Record are working together to ensure that this year’s awards are the biggest and best. 

We are looking for the support of local authorities to raise awareness of the Awards across your authority by encouraging your staff to nominate schools, centres and individuals. 

The Awards recognise the achievements of initiatives  and people who dedicate their lives to children and young people, and showcase the value of work and innovation in our rich range of learning environments across Scotland. 

The fifteen categories are listed below;

Award Categories

• Employability, Creativity and Skills Award
• Family and Community Learning Award
• Parents as Partners Award
• Digital Learning and Teaching Award
• Gaelic Education Award//Duais Foghlam Gaidhlig
• Raising Attainment in Literacy Award
• Raising Attainment in Numeracy Award
• Health and Wellbeing Award
• Year of Young People 2018 Participation Award
• STEM Award
• Learning for Sustainability Award
• 1+2 Languages Award
• Teacher of the Year Award
• Headteacher of the Year Award
• Lifetime Achievement Award

Last year we received over 300 nominations with almost every local authority in Scotland being represented.   To build on this success we would be grateful if you could share information about the awards with your colleagues and consider submitting any nominations from your authority.

The deadline for submitting nominations is midday Wednesday 14 February 2018.    Nominations can be made through the website http://www.scottisheducationawards.co.uk