Category Archives: Primary schools

Education Scotland, glow, Primary schools, resources, Science

Free Science resource for Primary Schools – TigTag

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Education Scotland is delighted to announce that schools can now access Tigtag – an award-winning, online science resource for primary schools, free of charge through Glow.

They have agreed 12 month national education licence with Twig World which allows Scottish schools to have unlimited access to this great resource.

Schools across the country are currently using Twig on Glow to access almost 1500 top quality short films. Tigtag provides a superb addition to this resource, and provides valuable support to primary practitioners to assist in the effective teaching of the Sciences Experiences and Outcomes of Curriculum for Excellence.

It provides access to:

• background information, relating to the key concepts identified in the science organisers, and quality films to support and enhance teaching and learning in the sciences.

• planning resources, investigation sheets, practical challenges and succinct clear lesson plans, providing a range of contexts for learning which draw on important aspects of everyday life and work.

• interactive lesson packages to help stimulate the interest and motivation of all learners and support staff in planning challenging, engaging and enjoyable learning and teaching activities.

• a “What Happens Next?” and “Scientific Enquiry” section to encourage learners to engage in dialogue, developing their investigative and inquiry skills.

Log on via Glow (Glow password required) and explore the world of Tigtag on Glow with your learners.

Competition, Literacy and English, Primary schools, Secondary schools

Commonwealth Essay Competition 2014

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The Commonwealth Essay Competition is the world’s oldest and largest international writing competition.

Run by the Royal Commonwealth Society since 1883, the competition is open to all young people who come from or live in a Commonwealth country or territory.

Entries for 2014 should be on the theme ‘Team Commonwealth’ and will be judged in two categories – junior (under 14 years old) and senior (14-18 years old).

All pieces of writing must be in English but can be submitted in a variety of formats, for example a poem, letter, script or essay.

Suggested titles include: You’re one of us now; What makes a good team?; and How can sport build peace in troubled communities?

Full details are available on the Royal Commonwealth Society website.

The deadline for entries is 1 May 2014.

Competition, Creative practitioners, Creativity, Curriculum for Excellence, Drama, Glasgow2014, Literacy and English, Primary schools, Secondary schools, Technologies

BBC Commonwealth Film making competition

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School story competition – promoting your school, community and Commonwealth values (extended deadline: 21 February 2014).

The BBC are looking for 3 schools – 1 in the UK and 2 from other Commonwealth countries who will make a film with the help of a TV crew, which best reflects the Commonwealth values and shares what it means to be a global citizen.

Winning schools will have their films featured on the BBC Commonwealth Class website www.bbc.co.uk/commonwealthclass.

Creative Partners, Curriculum for Excellence, Funding, Music, Opportunities, Primary schools, Secondary schools

Awards for Young Musicians

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AYM believes that young people deserve the chance to fulfil their musical potential.
We help outstanding young instrumentalists in any genre with annual Awards from
£200 to £2000. Our funding is flexible: we want to help young musicians excel and
so we can support most major musical costs.
Receiving an Award is just the start of your journey with AYM – we do all we can to
help each young musician to flourish and grow.
Visit our website
http://www.a-y-m.org.uk/

Follow us on
Twitter: @AwardsAYM
Facebook: awardsforyoungmusicians
Creativity, Curriculum for Excellence, Dance, Drama, Music, Opportunities, Primary schools, Secondary schools

Youth Music Theatre UK – auditions

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Throughout January and February, Youth Music Theatre UK, the UK’s national music theatre company for young people (aged 11 – 21), will be heading to 24 cities across the UK looking for talented young performers and musicians to star in their new body of music theatre this summer. Now in their 10th year, they will be performing nine brand new shows right across the UK from London to Belfast as well as at the Aberdeen International Youth Festival in summer 2014.

They’re holding four auditions dates in Scotland: Sat 15 Feb – Glasgow (Scottish Youth Theatre), Sun 16 Feb – Edinburgh (The Studio at the Festival Theatre), Mon 17 Feb – Inverness (Spectrum Centre), Tue 18 Feb – Aberdeen (Danscentre).

For more information, download the flyers below:

Performer Audtions Flyer

Musician Auditions Flyer

Creative practitioners, Primary schools, Scotland Colleges, Secondary schools

The Research Emporium of Dangerous Ideas

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Friday 13 June 2014
City of Glasgow College

It’s 2024.  Imagine your research results and recommendations or hypothesis have become policy and practice.  What changes have taken place as a result of your research?  What difference to education has your research made?  Whatever your level and scale of research, as long as it is related to shaping the future of education, you are invited to present your future vision at the Research Emporium of Dangerous Ideas.

What’s involved?
You will present your vision supported by theory/research in 7 minutes – the choice of how you present is up to you.  Participants and Merchants of Danger at the Emporium will be able to ‘buy’ into the research they think will have impact on educational change, and support that research further.  This may take various forms, not necessarily monetary.

What do I do next?

Please email Kelly Fitzpatrick with a 200 word synopsis of your research and implication for future policy and practice by Friday 28 February 2014.  We are looking for research that spans diverse areas of education and welcomes work in progress.

CPD, Creative practitioners, Curriculum for Excellence, Health and Wellbeing, Opportunities, Outdoor learning, Primary schools, Scotland Colleges, Secondary schools

Without Walls: The Outdoor Classroom

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16-18 June 2014

Never tried outdoor learning?  College Development Network, John Muir Award, The Outward Bound Trust and Youth Scotland invite you to break out into the most exhilarating, imaginative, thought-provoking environment that you will ever experience.  Challenge yourself to think differently about outdoor learning, the curriculum and what it takes to develop the outdoor classroom.

What’s on offer:

3 days, 2 nights at The Well Road Centre, Moffat, where you will experience a range of outdoor learning experiences and consider how you can build your own outdoor learning class.

Who it is for:
Priority will be given to those who do not have experience of outdoor learning.  In keeping with the philosophy of The Emporium of Dangerous Ideas, we will be looking for a mix of participants from education providers.

Cost:
£100 per person – covers accommodation, food and outdoor learning experiences.

How to apply:

Please email Kelly Fitzpatrick with a short piece (200 words) describing what you would hope to get out of this residential, and clarifying what your role and work setting is by Friday 14 February 2014.

CPD, Creative practitioners, Opportunities, Primary schools, Scotland Colleges, Secondary schools

The Emporium of Dangerous Ideas

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For the past two years College Development Network has curated the Festival of Dangerous Ideas – a festival aimed at re-establishing the importance of ideas as agents of change in education – shifting the axis of what is possible in education.

The festival has been highly successful, but we didn’t think that ‘festival’ with its connotations of celebration and one off events really reflected what we are trying to do.

We have decided to develop the festival into an Emporium of Dangerous Ideas – purveying the finest danger in education.  In fact there will be many emporia where the focus will be on selling, exchanging and creating the education of the future.  Events will be happening across the country, developed and facilitated by a range of partners, but always with the aim of challenging what exists and thinking about how it could be.

Dangerous Conversations

Fancy hosting a ‘dangerous conversation’ in an exciting location between the 9th and 18th June?

As part of the Emporium of Dangerous Ideas 2014, would you be willing to help organise a conversation about the future of Scottish education in an unusual, exciting or challenging environment? It could be talking timetabling on a train through the Highlands; or debating classroom layout round a campfire; maybe creativity in a castle or lecturing on a mountain peak?  The only requirement is that you give partners the chance to talk, think and engage in a space which takes them away from their desks/classrooms.

Building on the success of previous Philosophy Cafes, and Creative Learning Network’s Creative Conversations series, we are eager to continue to promote the importance of creative debate and conversation about the future of education.

We aim to have ‘dangerous conversation’ events across the whole of the country, and we would be delighted if you could host one in an exciting location in your area.

All we ask is that you feedback on the debate, and send some pictures which will be collated into an overall presentation of all of the thoughts, questions and images from across Scotland.

Key questions that are likely to be covered are:

  • What will Scottish education look like in the year 2024?
  • What is creativity, and what does it mean for us now?
  • What is the creative space, and how can it best be used?
  • What is the creative lecture, and what is the creative lecturer?
  • What is creative learning and what is the creative learning provider?

All we want you to do is sign up as a host, and pitch us the exciting location that will really inspire debate, get people thinking and talking creatively. We hope your event will be arranged and supported through partnerships; however, small amounts of money could be made available if lack of funding is prohibitive. Please include a brief outline of any such requirements you might have.

Please email Karen Lawson your ideas by Friday 14 February 2014.

CPD, Creative practitioners, Primary schools, Scotland Colleges, Secondary schools

Radio Edutalk – Professional learning for teachers channel

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Radio Edutalk (http://edutalk.cc) is an online radio station and free professional learning resource, organised by teachers David Noble and John Johnston. There are no costs to listeners and shows can be streamed, downloaded or subscribed to anytime, anywhere via most web-enabled devices, including mobile phones and tablet PCs. Shows are broadcast every Wednesday and Thursday evenings at http://www.edutalk.cc/listen.

A series of international education keynotes begins on the ‘Professional learning for teachers’ channel on Thursday 13 February (http://www.edutalk.info/upcoming). These online radio shows feature excellent content, delivered by acclaimed speakers from across the education world. Listeners are able to interact with each speaker via email or Twitter.

A new ‘Professional learning for teachers’ channel has been launched on Radio Edutalk (http://bit.ly/17WB5Sf). Fortnightly online radio shows feature teachers who, having conducted practitioner enquiry and other forms of research into teaching, learning and education, have improved teaching and learning, and pupil attainment and achievement.

For your diary:

·         Thursday 13 February, 6.45 pm – Gerd Leonhard: Futurist in Human Futures, Media, Content, Publishing & Entertainment, Telecommunications and ICT,  Marketing, Branding, Advertising & Communications, Culture & Creative Industries, Energy, and Environment and Sustainability.

·         Thursday 20 February, 7.45 pm – Clare Bryden, Teacher of English at Oban High School.

·         Thursday 6 March, 7.45 pm – Bonnie Stewart and course participants in Communications in Education at the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada. ‘Considering Networked Communications for Educators’.

·         Thursday 13 March, 7.30 pm – Professor Paul Kirschner, Welten Institute, Open University Netherlands. ‘Urban Legends in Education: What does good science say?

Art, Art and Design, Creative Partners, Creativity, Curriculum for Excellence, Drama, Events, Literacy and English, Primary schools

ON at Fife Theatres – Spring 2014 – Primary Schools

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Below are all the performances available at theatres across Fife ( Adam Smith Theatre, Carnegie Hall, Lochgelly Centre and Rothes Halls), suitable for primary aged pupils.

  • ON across all the venues, The Secret Life of Suitcases , an Ailie Cohen Puppet Maker/Unicorn Co-production. Suitable for 5+ (Dates in March)
  • The Singing Kettle are back at Adam Smith Theatre in April with Fantastic Funfair
  • On at both Adam Smith Theatre and Carnegie Hall in May, Too Many Penguins is suitable for children from the ages of 1-4 yrs.
  • Adapted by Ian Wilkinson from the book by Robert Louis Stevenson, Kidnapped is brought to Carnegie Hall by Sell A Door Theatre Company. This is an imaginative re-telling of the classic story and is perfect for young and old audiences alike. Suitable of age 6+. Special schools price £7. Workshops will be available – details to be confirmed.
  • The Ballad of Pondlife McGurk is a coming of age tale about friendship, bullying and overcoming adversity brought to Carnegie Hall in March by Catherine Wheels. Suitable for Age 9+
  • Visible Fictions present Robin Hood, a silly and unexpected take on Robin Hood. Suitable for Age 7+

PUPPET ANIMATION FESTIVAL

Adam Smith Theatre

Carnegie Hall

Lochgelly Centre

Rothes Halls

  • Jabuti Theatre – My City – Age 5+