What’s New?
Your weekly update from across the SWEIC and nationally…
Code along for Christmas
Join Education Scotland, DigiLearnScot and Code Club Scotland for this Scotland wide festive code along to make a game to catch a reindeer!
Find out more…
Scotland Learns
In this issue you can find:
- new mental health and wellbeing resources and professional learning opportunities to support you;
- new resources to support learning, teaching and assessment;
- dates for your diary including a language matters workshop and a Children’s Rights session;
- news from our partners including information from SQA and a rail safety programme.
Use the links above to view the resource, or read the full newsletter..
To play or to Learn?
The OECD International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study asked over 4 500 five-year-olds what they liked best about their kindergarten or school. Almost all children gave very specific answers, and many explained the reasoning behind their views.
Join Andreas Schleicher, OECD Director for Education and Skills, and a panel of international experts to understand what we can learn from these children and how this can help education systems provide the best possible early learning environments.
Register for the Webinar on Friday 3 December
Please note: this webinar is on Zoom which may be blocked by your Local Authority and would require you to use your own device to access.
The Parental Employability Support Fund (PESF)
The Fund is collaboratively managed by Scottish and Local Government, providing dedicated support for low‑income families. PESF offers support to:
- Lone Parents; Parents with disabilities;
- Young parents age 25 years and less;
- Minority ethnic families;
- Families with a disabled child;
- Families with 3 or more children;
- Families where the youngest child is under 1 year.
Taking a holistic Key Worker approach, parents are supported to upskill and/or re-train, increasing family income, lifting themselves and their families out of poverty. The Fund will provide personalised support for parents who face barriers to progressing their careers, including help to gain qualifications, improving skills or work experience; money advice, and motivational support. Contact details for the local employability lead in your area.
Brookings Institute – Global research
Professor Rebecca Winthrop presented the findings from her recent global research on parent/family-school engagement at the jointly led Scottish Government and Education Scotland National Learning Together Network on 28th October. The research considered evidence from over 60 countries across the world, and resulted in a ‘playbook’ platform, which includes a ‘Strategy Finder’ tool. The research makes the case for why parent/family engagement is essential for education systems transformation and why families and schools must have a shared understanding of what a good quality education looks like.
