Parentzone is a website for parents which provides clear and accessible information on Curriculum for Excellence. It is a very useful reference guide for anyone on the curriculum as a whole and provides information on elements such as broad general education, assessment, and the new qualifications. Visit the site here:
Update on the Creative Scotland website
On Friday 4 April, Creative Scotland will begin the switch-over from its existing website to its new site. Users of the site may experience some disruption over that weekend as part of this switchover but it is intended that the new site will be operational from Monday 7 April.
The new site is designed to be easier to use with clearer layout, structure and access to information. Over the coming weeks, the site will evolve to feature Creative Scotland’s new Plan, new funding programmes and showcase key projects.
The site will also feature case studies of the range and breadth of work that Creative Scotland supports and organisations and individuals from across the arts, screen and creative industries will be invited to submit content in order to showcase their work to a national and international audience. This has already been piloted and the new site will feature a range of user-generated content when it goes live, but Creative Scotland is keen to expand this content as much as possible.
As you might expect with a new site, many elements are still in development and the site will continue to improve and expand over the coming months.
In the meantime, if you have any questions regarding the site, please contact enquiries@creativescotland.com
Radio Edutalk – Professional learning for teachers channel
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.
Forthcoming shows:
Wednesday 2 April, 8 pm: John Connell on ‘Developing World, Developing Education’. Link: http://iamlearner.net
Wednesday 9 April, 8 pm: Miles Berry on the new English Computing curriculum. Link: http://iamlearner.net
Thursday 17 April, 7.45 pm: Mike Brown, Chartered Teacher in Dumfries and Galloway.
Thursday 24 April, 7.45 pm: Donald Gillies, new Head of School of Education at the University of the West of Scotland: ‘The differences between current educational policies in England and Scotland’.
Extend Leadership Programme 2014-15
Applications are now invited from colleagues working in learning and education roles in the arts and cultural sectors to participate in the Extend Leadership Programme 2014-15. Developed in response to the under-representation of learning and education staff in leadership roles in the arts and cultural sectors, Extend aims to give participants the confidence and skills to achieve a greater degree of leadership in their future career.
Please download the further information here: Extend 14-15 information
The deadline for applications is 10am on Monday 17 March 2014.
Route maps through assessment for National 4 & 5
Minister for Learning, Dr Alasdair Allan recently put in place a package of support for secondary schools to help deliver the new National Qualifications. This support included new route maps through Assessment and these are now being published on the Education Scotland website.
Click here for more information: route maps through assessment
Developed by Education Scotland, in partnership with the SQA, these provide sequenced list of main messages and links for National 4 and National 5. These guides will provide reassurance of the key documents and the sequence they should be used in. This can help teachers to reflect on their approaches this year, ensure they’ve done all they need to do and prepare for next year. They are step by step guides and will help practitioners ensure they have referred to the key guidelines and advice for learning, teaching and assessment in the new qualifications. The route maps are being developed for all subjects for the new National Qualifications. They will also be developed for the new Higher courses and these will be available from the start of the new session.
Artist Will Maclean on Glow TV
27 February 10.45
As part of the preparation for the MUSA Young Artist Award 2014 renowned Fife-based artist Will Maclean will be talking about his life and work and will answer questions from the Glow audience.
CREATIVE RESILIENCE – How culture enables young people to thrive on change
Delivering a curriculum and new qualifications to highest standards
Education Scotland Learning Blog recent post:
The below article by Graeme Logan, Strategic Director, Education Scotland appeared in The Herald on 07 February 2014.
‘In schools across Scotland, young people are now experiencing a different approach to their education. The new curriculum has been ten years in the making. As a result, schools are providing young people with high-quality, in-depth learning that matches their individual needs and interests. Their experiences, qualifications, awards and achievements at school will set them up well for their life ahead. We should not lose sight of the magnitude of this, and the enormous collective effort involved as we work to provide our young people with a world-class curriculum…’ (to see full article visit the blog).
Gaming project opens up new worlds of creativity – TES article
“Part of it is embracing uncertainty, being open to whatever comes up,” said Dangerous Ideas curator Karen Lawson. “It’s about a belief that everybody is creative, and helping them to realise that.”
http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6400535
TES article exploring the Festival of Dangerous Ideas and how two primary, secondary and colleges from Scotland and Norway collaborated on an innovative online gaming project that developed new ways of learning.
5 days to nominate – Creative Learning Award – #SCOTEDAWARDS
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 and this year you can make nominations for the Creative Learning Award:
http://www.scottisheducationawards.org.uk/nominate/categories/creativelearning.asp
The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday 21 February 2014.