Category Archives: Outdoor Learning

CfE, Community Capacity Building, Community Resilience, Early Years, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Responsibility of All, Sciences, Senior Phase, Skills, Social studies, Technologies, Young people, children & families

Last Chance: Community Resilience Conversation and Networking event – Monday 17th March 2014 at the Glasgow Hilton Hotel. (09:30 for 10:00 start – 15:00)

March 12, 2014 User deactivated Leave a comment

There are still places available at Education Scotland’s Community Resilience Conversation and Networking Event on Monday 17^th March.

The day is aimed at members of the Scottish Government, emergency planning and civil contingencies teams from local councils, representatives from local education authorities, and members of other key organisations to consider community resilience as a rich and exciting context for teaching and learning.

Conversation activities will provide delegates with opportunities to network with one another and engage in professional dialogue in relation to preparing for emergencies and developing resilient communities. Selected examples of good practice will also be shared through engaging presentations delivered by government, local council and school representatives.

We would like to invite you to take part in the event at the Glasgow Hilton Hotel on the 17^th March 2014 to explore how we might take forward resilience education in schools and consider important developments in teaching and learning.

We would be grateful if you could register online at http://svy.mk/Mb8ZM7 by end of day Thursday 13^th March 2014 to confirm your attendance and inform us of any special dietary or access requirements you may have.

CfE, Community Capacity Building, Community Resilience, Early Years, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Responsibility of All, Sciences, Senior Phase, Skills, Social studies, Technologies, Young people, children & families

Community Resilience Education – Conversation Day and Networking Event – Mon 17th March 2014

March 4, 2014 User deactivated Leave a comment

Time: 09:30 (for 10:00 start) – 15:00

Venue: Glasgow Hilton Hotel, William Street, Glasgow, G3 8HT

Education Scotland is excited to be hosting its first community resilience conversation and networking event with a view to developing a shared, partnership approach to provide 3-18 resilience education opportunities.

The day aims to bring together members of the Scottish Government, emergency planning and civil contingencies teams from local councils, representatives from local education authorities, and members of other key organisations to consider community resilience as a rich and exciting context for teaching and learning focusing on a range of contexts such as flooding and other forms of extreme weather and their impact on our lives.

We would like to invite you to take part in the event at the Glasgow Hilton Hotel on the 17^th March 2014 to explore how we might take forward resilience education and consider important developments in teaching and learning. Places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. There is no cost to attend.

We would be grateful if you could register online at http://svy.mk/Mb8ZM7 by Monday 10^th March 2014 to confirm your attendance and inform us of any special dietary or access requirements you may have.

CfE, Early Years, Expressive Arts, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Languages, Literacy, Mathematics, Outdoor Learning, Responsibility of All, RME, Sciences, Technologies

Game On Scotland Event: 26 March, Dundee

February 23, 2014 User deactivated Leave a comment

Last in the series!

With just over 20 weeks to go before the biggest multi-sport and cultural event ever to come to Scotland, we invite practitioners to find out more on how the Commonwealth Games may provide a unique opportunities to create stimulating learning across the curriculum and beyond.

What will be delivered?
The event will showcase inspirational initiatives from schools across the spectrum and highlight a vast amount of resources and opportunities available to teachers ensuring that, together, we are able to deliver a lasting legacy for learning.

Addresses will be delivered by a wide range of inspirational speakers covering topics from international programmes to physical and Games related education.

A variety of engaging workshops delivered by practitioners and organisations will provide practical, hands-on exemplification on the impact of using the Games as a context for learning. Workshop sessions will include:

case studies from primary and secondary schools
inspirational address by people directly engaged with the Games and its legacy
international education and partnerships
funding opportunities around food education in the context of the Games
cluster and local authority initiatives

View the Game On Scotland Event DRAFT programme – 26 March, Dundee.

Who should attend?

Teachers, lead staff and those with a whole school responsibility for Games Legacy, including cluster initiatives and wider curriculum remits related to the Games (e.g. active schools coordinator, health and wellbeing).

This is the third event of our CPD series, following events in Glasgow and Inverness. The previous two events were considered useful by over 98% of delegates attending.

How to register:

We invite you to join us for an inspirational day of sharing and collaborative thinking around a variety of exciting opportunities by registering for the event online or directly with Diane Carson: Diane.Carson@educationscotland.gov.uk

CfE, Outdoor Learning, Sciences

Calling all young Citizen Scientists!

February 16, 2014 User deactivated Leave a comment

The British Science Association are delighted to be partnering with EDF Energy for year one of their five year citizen science programme, The Great EDF Energy Experiment. In collaboration with the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, we will be inviting schools and families to take part in the Big Bumblebee Discovery, to help scientists understand more about bumblebees across the UK.
This nationwide project will be a huge opportunity for kids to get hands-on experience of conducting scientific research, and we’ve linked up with the Pod to provide loads of free educational resources and activities.

Find out more

CfE, Community Resilience, Early Years, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Responsibility of All, Sciences, Social studies

Reminder – Climate Week 2014 (3rd – 9th March)

February 3, 2014 User deactivated Leave a comment

Climate Week 2014 is fast approaching. It is Britain’s largest climate change campaign, with half a million people attending over 3,000 events each year.

Climate Week is about how people can live and work more sustainably, and you can run any kind of event or activity you wish. Here are some ideas:

Don’t forget to enter the Climate Week Challenge, a competition for small teams in schools and workplaces. It needs no preparation, is free and helps develop innovation and teamwork. There are one-hour and one-day versions – register here.

Also enter the Climate Week Awards for professional achievement that is helping to create a more sustainable society – click here to find out more. Deadline – February 14th 2014.

Run a Climate Week Swap event at which people can exchange clothes, books or children’s toys they don’t want any more – find out more here.

Please remember to register your events and activities with Climate Week – they will then be listed as an official part of Climate Week, encouraging others to take part and so growing the movement for environmental change.

Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Skills

‘Meet’ Holly Cram, the Game On Ambassador: Thur, 30 Jan, 10am

January 27, 2014 User deactivated Leave a comment

‘Game On Scotland’ Special:

Holly Cram – the Game On Scotland Ambassador live on Glow

30 January, 10.00

Join here: http://bit.ly/1eDHCnt

Holly, a Scottish International Hockey player with over 140 caps, has join the Game On Scotland Team as official ambassador to assist schools in making the most of the exciting opportunities the 2014 Commonwealth Games offer young people.

Holly will tell you about her exciting career as a international hockey player and share some of her insights into what makes a successful team player. She will also answer any questions you always wanted to ask a top athlete!

See you all on Thursday! Game On!

CfE, Outdoor Learning, Sciences

Scotland’s Environment Web competition, closing date extended until 31st March 2014

January 24, 2014 User deactivated Leave a comment

The Youth Discussion competition is still open; why not enter this weekend for a chance to win a unique prize?

What is the competition about?

What needs to change in your local community that will make a difference to your environment and what role can you play in making it happen?

We want you to answer the question and tell us how you can make your environment better.

Gillian from Keep Scotland Beautiful explains the prize they are offering – with a little help from her furry friends! vimeo.com/84878949.

Who can enter?

The competition is open to all young people throughout Scotland between the ages of 5-18 whether through your school, as part of a group or as an individual. Prizes to be won include a backstage tour of the Hydro, tickets to the Irn Bru Carnival 2014/2015 and the Teen Drive electric car event at Knockhill and gadgets like tablets!

Get your entry in soon and don’t miss out!

Community Capacity Building, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning

Supporting Outdoor Learning in Secondary Schools

January 22, 2014 User deactivated Leave a comment

Supporting Outdoor Learning in Secondary Schools

When:            Saturday 1^st March
Where:           St Joseph’s Academy, Kilmarnock
Time:              9.30am – 4pm

In the revised GTCS Standards for Career Long Professional Learning teachers are required to “understand and develop the most appropriate contexts for learning including outdoor learning and be able to apply appropriate pedagogies for these environments”. This event aims to support this and build confidence and capacity in the delivery of outdoor learning in secondary schools in particular within Broad General Education (S1-S3).

Throughout the day participants will have the opportunity to attend a variety of practical outdoor workshops delivered by teachers and outdoor partners. These workshops will showcase outdoor learning approaches and will demonstrate how these have been incorporated into practice.

A market place at the event will allow practitioners to meet with outdoor partners and find out more about the range of resources available to further support outdoor learning.

This is a free event open to secondary teachers in Scotland – in particular those who are starting out on their outdoor learning journey and wish to develop their confidence in taking the curriculum outdoors. There is an expectation that those who attend this event will be willing to share their learning with colleagues in their establishment.

Registering for this event:

If you wish to attend this event please register online by Wednesday 19^th February @ https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VSCB9NP

Early registration is advised as this event is likely to be very popular. Workshop choices will be sent out mid-February.

If you would like further information about this event please contact:

Fiona Cruickshanks, Development Officer, Outdoor Learning Fiona.Cruickshanks@educationscotland.gov.uk

Outdoor Learning

Scottish Education Awards – Sustainable School and Global Citizenship Categories

January 13, 2014 User deactivated Leave a comment

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 awards this year will once again feature a Sustainable School category and also a Global Citizenship category to recognise the achievements of schools that have developed effective whole school approaches in these areas. The awards also support the wider national strategy relating to the Learning for Sustainability Report.

If your school has a good story to tell in relation to global citizenship, sustainability, outdoor learning and play and/or children’s rights then we’d like to encourage you to apply so we can help celebrate your achievements and share your good practice with others. Find out more about the awards and how to apply by visiting http://www.scottisheducationawards.org.uk/nominate/categories/index.asp

The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday 21 February 2014.

CfE, Community Capacity Building, Community Resilience, Early Years, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Responsibility of All, Sciences, Social studies, Young people, children & families

Climate Week 2014 – Countdown!

January 8, 2014 User deactivated Leave a comment

It’s time to start planning for Climate Week – eight weeks from now on 3-9 March 2014. It is Britain’s largest climate change campaign, with half a million people attending over 3,000 events each year.

Climate Week is about how people can live and work more sustainably, and you can run any kind of event or activity you wish. Here are some ideas:

Enter the Climate Week Challenge, a competition for small teams in schools and workplaces. It needs no preparation, is free and helps develop innovation and teamwork. There are one-hour and one-day versions – register here.

Enter the Climate Week Awards for professional achievement that is helping to create a more sustainable society – click here to find out more. Deadline – February 14th 2014.

Run a Climate Week Swap event at which people can exchange clothes, books or children’s toys they don’t want any more – find out more here.

CfE, Community Resilience, Early Years, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Responsibility of All

Learning from extreme weather and flood news releases in Scotland

January 7, 2014 User deactivated Leave a comment

Over the festive period, persistent rain across Scotland has taken its toll on communities throughout the country. Areas such as Ayrshire, Borders and Dumfries and Galloway have been hit particularly hard, requiring people having to be evacuated from properties or rescued from areas where rising river levels have placed people in immediate danger.

A number of emergency meetings were been held by the Scottish Government resilience team before the new year – many involving ministers. Local multi-agency response arrangements have since been initiated in a number of places across Scotland to support those worst affected and to mitigate the impact.

The Scottish Government newsroom has released several articles in relation to the extreme weather. The following links can be used to access more information:

Flooding response continues: http://bit.ly/197P775

Latest Weather warnings: http://bit.ly/JDuPGX

Vigilance urged as flood threat continues: http://bit.ly/1dIDnqW

Flood Threat Continues: http://bit.ly/KvSCcF

Weather – Scotland’s Response: http://bit.ly/1cT46AY

More information can also be found from BBC news footage:

UK weather report – Sever warnings: http://bbc.in/1lvUobr

High tide in Ardrossan: http://bbc.in/KsWnim

Dumfries and Galloway flooding: http://bbc.in/1klRzeY

A full account of 2013’s global weather and links to climate change can be also be found at: http://bbc.in/KsNC81

For teaching and learning ideas related to extreme weather, flooding and climate change, visit the resources section of Education Scotland’s ‘Ready for Emergencies website’.

Also be sure to sign up for free flood warning in your local area through the SEPA (Scottish Environmental Protection Agency) website: http://bit.ly/1cCJ2uB

Power cuts and flooding after gales hit west coast. Are you Ready for Emergencies?

December 19, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Severe weather has caused disruption through utility failures and signifiant flooding in various areas throughout Scotland.

Winds of up to 90 mph hit parts of the country last night causing power cuts, rough seas and heavy swells. Those regions partcularly badly affected include Glasgow, Aberdeen, the Western Isles, Shetland, Orkney and Dumfries and Galloway among others.

For further details go to: http://bbc.in/1klW9Yb

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has been issuing regular flood warnings urging the public to take immediate action against the predicted flooding.

The ‘Ready for Emergencies’ website contains free teaching resources to help young people and their local commuitites to prepare and cope in extreme weather situations like these. For severe weather learning journeys go to: http://bit.ly/1gmTEml

Make sure you are signed up for SEPA’s free flood alert service. Register at: http://bit.ly/1cCJ2uB

Scottish Water – Play safe around water this winter!

November 27, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Scottish Water is reminding teachers and learners of the importance of playing safe this winter.

In recent years Scotland has witnessed some of the coldest winters for generations, so there’s no telling what the coming weeks may bring. Scottish Water is advising customers that they should remain vigilant and should not take any risks around freezing cold watercourses.

While it’s important that youngsters enjoy their school holidays and that people across Scotland take pleasure in the country’s beautiful lochs, rivers and reservoirs, it is also vital that they stay safe. Latest figures show 22 people died accidentally or from natural causes around water in Scotland last winter, but there are easy ways to prevent tragedies, and equipping yourself with the knowledge of what to do in an emergency can save a life.

For further details of Scottish Water’s recent release and advice on how to stay safe around water this winter, go to: http://bit.ly/1b4agsG

Community Capacity Building, Community Resilience, Early Years, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Sciences, Social studies, Young people, children & families

Climate Change in Scotland – Reflecting on Typhoon Haiyan and the impact of global climate change

November 25, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

The number of people confirmed dead in the Philippines from Typhoon Haiyan now stands at in excess of 4000, and a further 4 million people have been forced to leave their homes since the storm hit.

At a recent conference at the Royal Society in central London, the Prince of Wales claimed that the typhoon is a ‘direct result’ of climate change and that ‘the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events has increased, and is set to increase even further’.

In the face of global warming and it’s possible impact closer to home, Scotland has set world-leading greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, and has plans in place for how to reduce further by 42% by 2020.

Adaptation Scotland provides advice and support to help ensure that Scotland is prepared for, and resilient to, the impacts of climate change. Find details of key messages, climate information and adaptation suggestions in light of climate change in Scotland.

CfE, Health and wellbeing, Mathematics, Outdoor Learning, Responsibility of All, Sciences, Technologies

The Royal College of Surgeons Christmas Lecture

November 20, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

RCSEd Christmas Lecture :

“The work of the Sports Doctor; Tales of the Unexpected”

Join Dr James Robinson in a Glow meet on Monday 2^nd December, 1.55pm-2.55pm, where he will outline the role of exercise in health, both to the individual and the population.

Dr Robson has been team doctor on the last six consecutive tours by the British and Irish Lions. He joined the Scotland team as doctor at the start of season 2002/2003 and has now been team doctor for more than 100 Scotland Test matches, including the Rugby World Cup competitions in 2003, 2007 and 2011.

He will endeavour to bring to life through his own experiences, over many years of International rugby, the life and times of the team doctor. From the lows of injury, to the highs of sporting victory, the lecture will touch on some moments of drama for those whose work is sport, and for those who care at pitch side.

For further details regarding registration: http://bit.ly/rcschristmaslecture

Community Capacity Building, Community Resilience, Early Years, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Responsibility of All, Sciences, Social studies, Technologies, Young people, children & families

Reminder – Make your booking today! Free interactive urban flood model visits and workshops.

November 18, 2013 User deactivated 1 Comment

Not to be missed! Heriot Watt University still have availability for schools interested in receiving a visit from the interactive flood model and flood experts.

For a flavour of what you can expect, see the flood model in action at: http://bit.ly/1dNfNIa

What is it?

An interactive, free workshop has been developed to explain the processes involved with urban flooding and flood prevention. It also introduces the concept of community resilience and the role that individuals can play in protecting themselves and their neighbours.

The main element of the workshop is an interactive physical model, representing a typical town with a river, houses, shops, industrial units, roads and parks. The model simulates rainfall, with water being fed to sprinklers and the river via a system of pumps. Workshop participants are able to change certain elements of the urban fabric to help reduce the severity of flooding.

Is it any good?

Since 2009, over 5000 people have participated in the workshop, most of whom were young people. Independent evaluation of the workshop “…yielded strong evidence for the learning that took place during audiences’ interaction with the project”.

Work with the Scottish Government and SEPA has supported on-going flood risk awareness raising, and again the feedback has been very positive.

Can it come to my school?

Sure. The Scottish Government have commissioned Heriot-Watt University to take the workshop to Scottish schools in 2013/14.

We can visit you to run our interactive workshop for your pupils for free; all you have to do is provide us with some space to run the workshop and some interested children. We will also leave you with a follow up lesson plan to reinforce some of the key workshop messages

Contact Grant Wright to arrange a visit (Tel: 0131 4518261, Email: g.b.wright@Hw.ac.uk)

For more information go to http://urbanfloodmodel.wordpress.com/

Community Capacity Building, Community Resilience, Outdoor Learning, Technologies

Free SEPA flood alerts to your phone.

November 14, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

SEPA can provide free flood alerts to your home or school.

To sign up to the Floodline direct warning service you will need to have the postcode for the property that you wish to receive flood messages for.

SEPA can provide two different types of warning messages depending on your property location. When you enter your postcode, the system will check and confirm which warning service is available for your area.

If your school/property is within an area covered by a SEPA flood monitoring system, you will be able to sign up to receive a targeted Flood Warning message for your local area;
If your school/property is not within a Warning target area, you can sign up to receive a more general Flood Alert message for the wider geographical area, usually representing Local Authority boundaries.

For more information on Flood Alert and Flood Warning areas please click here.

To register your post code for flood alerts go to: http://bit.ly/1hIkOHK

If you would like to register more than one property address, or you require any further assistance in registering, please call Floodline on 0845 988 1188 for more information.

CfE, Community Capacity Building, Community Resilience, Early Years, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Responsibility of All, Sciences, Social studies, Technologies

FREE to your school!! Urban Flooding Model Workshops

November 13, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

What is it?

Is it any good?

Work with the Scottish Government and SEPA has supported on-going flood risk awareness raising, and again the feedback has been very positive.

Can it come to my school?

Sure. The Scottish Government have commissioned Heriot-Watt University to take the workshop to Scottish schools in 2013/14.

Contact Grant Wright to arrange a visit (Tel: 0131 4518261, Email: g.b.wright@Hw.ac.uk)

For more information go to http://urbanfloodmodel.wordpress.com/

Mathematics, Outdoor Learning, Sciences, Technologies

Young Engineers & Science Club Scotland

November 13, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

The Young Engineers & Science Clubs Scotland is a Scotland wide primary and secondary programme run by the Scottish Council for Development and Industry and supported by many of its members including BP, Skills Development Scotland and the Lloyd’s Register Foundation.

Through a network of over 700 science, engineering and technology clubs throughout Scotland, from Orkney to Dumfries, pupils from P5-S2 test their problem-solving skills on a number of themed investigations. So far 12,000 members have worked alongside their teachers, real engineers and scientists on a variety of STEM projects.

Projects include:

Junior Saltire Awards – 2014 Marine Energy Challenge
Science on the Menu – experiments and investigations to explore the world of food and drink through science
Carbon Capture and Storage – S1/S2 interdisciplinary project to engage learners in the global challenge of limiting CO2 emissions
Ping Pong Pentathlon – STEM sporting challenge to mark the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games

Participating schools are fully supported by YESC in the form of start-up grants, free resource kits, advice and assistance.

Further information, advice and contact details can be accessed through the YESC website: http://bit.ly/1cU2F7H

Outdoor Learning, Sciences

Scotland’s Environment Website

November 13, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Get Interactive with data

A whole range of new tools and resources to view, analyse and visualise data and information have been launched on Scotland’s Environment Web.

Map View where you can look at any combination of 165 published map layers,
Discover Data applications for the latest Household Waste and Water Classification data
Resources produced by different organisations providing interactive data
Environmental Games that make finding out about the environment more fun.

The team at Scotland’s Environment Web are always interested to hear about new ideas for links to resources, games, data visualisation applications, map layers or even mobile app’s that record observations about Scotland’s Environment.

Contact seweb.administrator@sepa.org.uk. with your ideas.

Early Years, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning

More play for Scotland’s children – Play Strategy Implementation Fund

November 8, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

In response to the newly launched Play Strategy Action Plan, Inspiring Scotland has launched a Play Strategy implementation fund to support Scottish charities bring the strategy to life for Scotland’s children.

Inspiring Scotland has played a key role in supporting the development of the Play Strategy for Scotland and will continue to support the sector through this small focused implementation fund which will become available in 2014.

Speaking at the launch of the Play Strategy Action Plan, the Minister for Children and Young People, Aileen Campbell, MSP said:

“Children need to be active and playing regularly sets the foundations for a healthier lifestyle as they grow older and contributes to brain development. Research has also shown how vital play is in encouraging imagination, coordination and confidence to get youngsters ready for nursery and school and the new experiences that holds.

“I have been lucky enough to have visited many events supported by Inspiring Scotland and its partners and it is wonderful to see parents and children, ranging from the very young to teenagers, really having fun together. What comes across so strongly is that often time and a little imagination are all you need to have an excellent time together and get active.”

The Play Strategy Action Plan highlights the long term physical, social and educational benefits of inspiring youngsters to play. In launching the Plan, the Minister committed to the establishment of the £90,000 implementation fund to help charities deliver play opportunities.

Speaking following the launch event, Head of Funds at Inspiring Scotland, Celia Tennant, said: “The Go2Play Play Strategy Implementation Fund builds on our commitment to support the Play Sector, helping to develop and nurture play opportunities and ideas which will ultimately help to deliver the Play Strategy Action Plan. We are delighted to be able to build upon the success of our Go2Play capacity building fund and respond to the needs of the play sector. £90,000 will be available in 2014 from this fund which we are confident can lead to significant social impact when supported by our unique venture philanthropy model.”

Inspiring Scotland will launch the process for applications at end of 2013 which will consist of three funding rounds during 2014.

Inspiring Scotland, in partnership with the Scottish Government, have been developing the capacity of the Play Sector since 2009 and significantly increased free play opportunities for vulnerable children across Scotland.

If interested in this fund, please contact Julia Abel Julia@inspiringscotland.org.uk or Paul Dickson paul@inspiringscotland.org.uk to register your interest in the fund.

CfE, Early Years, Outdoor Learning, Sciences

Chick and the Egg

November 6, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Emerging scientists in Kilwinning Early Years Centre have been learning about biological science, through experiencing the life cycle, growth and development of a chick. The centre sourced the embryo eggs from an online company which were just a few days away from hatching. Chick eggs were housed in an incubator and the children cared for each egg and then nurturing the chicks once hatched. The children recorded their prior knowledge of chicks and chickens through mind maps, researched information about how to care for the eggs and chicks using the internet and gained knowledge and understanding of the concept of a particular life cycle. Observations and discussions about the life cycle of the chick were recorded on cameras and iPads. The project has enhanced their skills in enquiry and investigation and encouraged their curiosity about the world around them.

Community Capacity Building, Community Resilience, Early Years, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Young people, children & families

SUSTRANS in Scotland

October 30, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

SUSTRANS works with communities across Scotland to help people improve their local areas through a number of exciting and innovative projectshttp://bit.ly/Hpu9Um

Possible projects include:

Re-designing streets to create liveable spaces outside front doors.
Creating important links that connect people to the places they want to get to by car and bike.
A grant programme making Scottish Government funding available to local authorities for the creation of cycling infrastructure in Scotland – including links to schools.

Sustrans Scotland also has 120 expert officers working across Scotland to encourage young people to get active through cycling. Further details of their work with schools can be found at: http://bit.ly/16JKw9U

Further online resources are also available:

Bike to school week: http://bit.ly/1itpMmF
Suss it out – 10, 20 and 30 minute simple and snappy activities to inspire action and discussion on active travel: http://bit.ly/199Q24n
Big Street Survey – a curriculum resource where young people study the area around their school to identify the good and the bad, and draw up a manifesto for change and deliver it to local and national decision-makers:http://bit.ly/1adklmX
Moving up – A guide for those working with 11 – 18 year olds, setting out how best to promote active travel at secondary schools: http://bit.ly/1aH8xNW

CfE, Early Years, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Young people, children & families

Grounds for Learning – Parent Play

October 25, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Following the success of its Nurturing outdoor play project, Grounds for Learning has compiled a series of 30 simple and low-cost outdoor play ideas for parents/carers for early years professionals to share with the families they work with.

This is a great way to continue to encourage parents to play outside with their children.

Adult Learning, Community Capacity Building, Community Resilience, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Young people, children & families

Developing school play times to support the curriculum and nurture happy, healthy children: new Free CPD Resource launched

October 23, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

In recent years, a number of Scottish primary schools have developed innovative approaches to enabling child-led outdoor play in morning and lunchtime breaks.

This new training resource has been created with support from Education Scotland to share the learning from these schools. Its aim is to demonstrate how outdoor play in schools can support the curriculum and nurture happy, healthy children and to share practical, tested ideas and approaches to providing richer play experiences in primary schools.

This resource has 11 sections, each of which is based around a short film with accompanying discussion questions and links to useful online resources. It’s designed for anyone who is interested in pupil health and wellbeing but will be of particular relevance to playground support staff. In each film clip you’ll hear from support staff about why they have developed these new approaches and how they deal with the various practical issues that arise.

The films are on the Education Scotland website while further support is available at www.ltl.org.uk/playtimerevolution.

CfE, Outdoor Learning

National Tree for Scotland

October 11, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Scotland boasts truly wonderful trees, woods and forests.

Some trees are native to Scotland, while others have found a home here after being introduced for the purposes of tourism, recreation or the timber industry. These trees fulfil vital roles in our environment – all whilst locking away millions of tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere.

It has been suggested that Scotland should have a national tree to symbolise the importance of our forests and woodlands.

Forestry Commission Scotland is running a National Consultation for a National Tree for Scotland on behalf of Paul Wheelhouse, Minister for Environment and Climate Change.

The consultation aims to find out the public’s opinions via two questions;

Should there be a national tree for Scotland? And why?
If you would like a national tree for Scotland, what species would you like and why?

The consultation runs until 3rd December and the Minister would like to engage with as many schools and education establishments as possible.

There are two main ways for schools to get involved:

There are a range of connections to the curriculum that could be made depending on what angle teachers wish to make: political literacy, studying Scotland, learning for sustainability for example.

All details, including interesting facts can be found at www.forestry.gov.uk/scotlandsnationaltree

For further information click: www.forestry.gov.uk/yearofnaturalscotland

Early Years, Outdoor Learning, Young people, children & families

Inspiring Scotland Funding Opportunity

October 10, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Go2Play Capacity Building Fund for Scottish Charities

Inspiring Scotland are offering Scottish charities an opportunity to bid for support to develop innovative projects which are play based. This capacity building fund is offering up to 12 months of tailored capacity building support and up to £15,000 for Scottish charities to develop new work which will help children benefit from more play.

Go2Play capacity building fund is a small fund looking to support innovative and exciting people within the play sector. Through this fund they are offering tailored capacity building support to help turn great ideas from a concept into a reality, positively impacting upon the lives of children and supporting the development of play in Scotland.

The next deadline date is Friday 25 October 2013 at 5 pm.

The criteria document and application form are now live on the Inspiring Scotland website.

CfE, Community Capacity Building, Community Resilience, Early Years, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Responsibility of All, Sciences, Social studies, Young people, children & families

Ready for Emergencies? – Resilience Education Web Resource

October 10, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Have you ever been affected by difficulties such as severe winter weather, flooding, utilities failures or pandemics (amongst others)? What would you do if you were? Would you know how to cope in an emergency situation and what procedures to follow? How could you ensure that you and your community were fully prepared for times of crisis?

The ‘Ready for Emergencies’ website provides information on all of the above and is a valuable resilience education resource to help develop resilient attitudes and pro-active strategies among young people to prevent and deal with emergency situations.

The site contains a wide range of links to free downloadable teaching and learning materials http://bit.ly/1gmTEml including learning journeys, challenges and media files covering numerous real-life emergency contexts linked to the experiences and outcomes of Curriculum for Excellence.

For further details – visit: http://bit.ly/GJ8CWz

CfE, Community Capacity Building, Community Resilience, Early Years, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Responsibility of All, Sciences, Technologies

Scottish Water – Science/Resilience Education Resources and Volunteer Programme

October 10, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

The Scottish Water organisation provides a range of educational resources through their website http://bit.ly/GKSF1Z These include:

Scottish Water Volunteer Programme – Launched in Spring 2011, Scottish Water has a team of enthusiastic volunteers located across different locations in Scotland to deliver a range of talks and presentations to schools and organisations. http://bit.ly/1bGKYYB The programme is highly rated and praised by local communities who have benefited from its input to date.

Teaching and Learning Modules – Recently developed teachng ideas in relation to experiences and outcomes from Early to Fourth level of CfE, covering topics ranging from water safety to climate change and pollution. http://bit.ly/1gpAJaG

All About Water Factfiles – Teaching notes to help practitioners deliver learning around water themes. These contain useful links to other relevant websites, downloadable posters and other resources to enhance practice. http://bit.ly/18Otp4m

Discover More Section – Further edcuational resources including water films and links to the Water Ways exhibit at the Glasgow Science Centre.

Partnership Work with Go Safe Scotland

Scottish Water has also been recently working in partnership with Glasgow City Council and Go Safe Scotland to launch an education programme and resources in conjunction with members of the emergencies services. Find out more at http://bit.ly/1bYDRaH

Assessment, CfE, Early Years, Outdoor Learning, Responsibility of All, Sciences, Technologies

Sciences 3-18 curriculum impact report 2013 update

October 4, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

This week Education Scotland published an update of the 3-18 Sciences Impact Report. The updated report evaluates current practice, supplements the good practice exemplars, reports on progress made regarding aspects of development in the 2012 report and highlights important areas for discussion and further development.

The evidence presented in this report tells us that children and young people are developing a range of knowledge, understanding and skills in the sciences and achievement is strong and improving.

The report is intended to continue to help practitioners reflect on how well they are developing these capacities, how much more needs to be done and act as a hub for ongoing professional dialogue and development.

There is a summary of the report written specifically for children and young people and, in response to practitioner feedback, there is now a separate document outlining the examples of good practice.

Education Scotland is keen to hear your views about the report and its findings. Visit the Talk with us blog http://bit.ly/GCHeZw to share your thoughts on how best we can improve sciences education for all learners in Scotland.

To download the report and associated documentation visit: The Sciences 3-18

Additional Support for Learning, Community Capacity Building, Early Years, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Literacy, MCMC/16+LC, Outdoor Learning, Responsibility of All, Sciences, Social studies, Universal Support, Young people, children & families

Royal Horticultural Society – The Edible School Garden

October 1, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Royal Horticultural Society

The Edible School Garden
Dumfries House, KA18 2NJ – Tuesday 19th November 2013, 10 am – 3 pm

Kilbarchan Primary School, PA10 2LA Thursday 28th November 2013, 10 am – 3 pm
To give teachers of all age groups the skills to confidently grow and manage a simple productive garden throughout the year. To ensure that produce is used in tasting, cooking and enterprise activities. Every school should be a food growing school.
Objectives
At the end of this course you will:
a) Have the knowledge and skills to sow and grow the RHS top 14 fruits, vegetables and herbs for the school garden, to provide a range of fresh, healthy produce throughout the school year
b) Get hints and tips on tasting and cooking with the produce, outside in the garden and in the school canteen
c) Know how to add value to your produce through correct harvesting and storage, preserving and other simple enterprise ideas.
Experience: Suitable for beginners and those with some experience.
CPD Provider

Angela Smith
angelasmith@rhs.org.uk

RHS Development Officer for Scotland

CfE, Mathematics, Outdoor Learning, Sciences, Technologies

STEM at the Scottish Learning Festival

September 13, 2013 User deactivated 1 Comment

Raising the Bar in Scotland – transforming lives through learning.

Science, technology, engineering and maths are key priorities within Curriculum for Excellence.

The Scottish Learning Festival 2013 provides numerous opportunities for practitioners to engage in meaningful discussions and attend seminars and workshops relating to STEM.

A select showcase of innovative practice will demonstrate how STEM skills are being developed in creative, exciting and thought provoking ways.

Come along and watch learners from Hamilton College demonstrate how Lego Mindstorm robots helped develop their problem solving skills, take the I-pad journey with Bellshill Academy pupils and find out how to bring science into your school community through Citizen Science activities.

Download the STEM programme of workshops and seminars detailing dates and times:

STEM at the Scottish Learning Festival 2013

To book and register for the Scottish Learning Festival follow the link below:

http://bit.ly/1eqaimD

Additional Support for Learning, Adult Learning, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Literacy, Outdoor Learning, Responsibility of All, Social studies, Universal Support, Young people, children & families

Outdoor Learning with the National Parks Inspiring Landscapes – Inspiring Learning

September 13, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Senior Leaders Professional Learning Event – Dounans Centre, Aberfoyle: Friday 20^th September 2013

A one day event for head teachers and deputy head teachers, focusing on whole school approaches, inspection and self-evaluation for school managers. Delegates will hear from senior managers, education officers and others with experience of outdoor learning in the context of school improvement.

Staff Professional Learning Weekend – Dounans Centre, Aberfoyle: Friday 20^th – Sunday 22^nd September 2013

This opportunity is aimed at staff from all schools and settings within the partner authorities, and will provide inputs from project and centre staff, from the National Park ranger service, and from Education Scotland staff to support you in embedding Curriculum for Excellence through Outdoor Learning in your school or nursery. As well as a variety of ‘sharing good practice’ sessions run by teachers across all sectors.

The weekend will provide staff with practical tools, ideas and inspiration for developing progressive and frequent outdoor learning opportunities for pupils which will support and enrich all aspects of their learning.

Spaces are still available on these programmes for further information contact

Joan.Reilly@educationscotland.gov.uk

Workshops Staff Professional Learning Weekend

Staff CLPL residential weekend 2013 – info for schools

Final Programme Staff PL Weekend

Final Programme School Leaders

Early Years, Gaelic Learners, Literacy and Gàidhlig, Outdoor Learning

We’re Going on a Gaelic Bear Hunt!

May 30, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Our friends at Grounds for Learning have very kindly shared a link to the children of Caledonia Primary school giving a tour of their school grounds as they go on a bear hunt. You can see the video here.

Do you have a project you would like to share? Drop us a line in the comments box and we’ll get back to you.

Expressive Arts, Outdoor Learning, Sciences, Technologies

Look, Capture, Create

May 27, 2013 User deactivated 1 Comment

Curious and creative learners from across Scotland have been exploring the importance and beauty of Scottish Biodiversity through Scottish designer/illustrator Johanna Basford’s exhibition ‘Wonderlands’ via Glow TV. This interdisciplinary learning experience has been developed in partnership with Dundee Contemporary Arts and is being supported by Sarah Derrick, Head of Education at DCA and Anna Rossvoll, Emerging Technologies Development Officer with Education Scotland.

Look Capture Create outline for educators

Johanna Basford is an ink evangelist who creates beautifully intricate hand drawn designs using black ink. ‘Wonderlands’ is her first solo exhibition and it is proving to be a magical context for creative learning through expressive arts, science, mathematics and languages.

Before the project went live learners were invited to join the Look, Capture, Create Glow group by submitting an InkyME! The response was astounding. Currently there are InkyMEs exhibiting from Burravoe, Carron, Clackmannan, Hythehill, Lochgelly West, Lincluden, St Andrews and St Patricks primary schools. The InkyMEs have even travelled to Dundee to attend the first live Glow TV event ‘Wondertales’ at Dundee Contemporary Arts on 13^th May.

‘Wondertales’ encouraged learners to look at the intricacy of Johanna’s designs and to capture the detail in words to create a Wondertale! Wendy Woolfson, an incredibly talented storyteller led the event, creating breath taking stories based on three of Johanna’s wallpaper designs. She then went on to create a collaborative tale as learners submitted their ideas live during the event. You can watch Wendy in action here.

This use of an exhibition as a form of text truly captured the imagination of learners and they have submitted incredible Wondertales to the Glow wiki. Learners are taking the time to read each other’s work and leave comments. It would be lovely if you could do the same. (Glow username and password required)

Keep up to date with the Look, Capture, Create Glow blog and the next Look, Capture, Create Glow TV event will take place at Dundee Botanical Gardens at 10am on the 4^th June.

Additional Support for Learning, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Responsibility of All

Free CPD with the Royal Horticultural Society

May 27, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

The RHS Campaign for School Gardening aims to encourage and support schools to develop and actively use a school garden. As part of the Campaign they provide teachers with resources through this website and an extensive programme of CPD days. Fabulous edible garden and playground ideas, like the recycled pallet pictured here.

Why get involved?

Join the RHS Campaign for School Gardening and reap the benefits for your school:

Free start-up kit following registration on this website.
Rewards and certificates for your progress on the new benchmarking scheme.
Access to useful information and advice that will help you use your school’s garden to greater effect.
Regular news and items of interest sent to you by e-mail.
Access to a national programme of RHS CPD days. Places still available for June 6th!

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/schoolgardening/default.aspa

Contact your Scottish Regional Advisor for course information.

Angela Smith

Development Officer for Scotland

Education, Funding and Communities

angelasmith@rhs.org.uk

07714560008

Community Capacity Building, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Young people, children & families

Scotland’s Nature Festival

May 20, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Scotland’s Nature Festival (formerly Biodiversity Week) is organised by Scottish Natural Heritage and other strong partners in environment and forestry, outdoor learning and play to highlight and celebrate Scotland’s natural landscape, areas of wild beauty and city greenspaces. This year’s theme is ‘Love Life, Love Nature’ and aims to inspire fun, adventurous and positive engagement with nature as a way to promote biodiversity, sustainability, enjoyment and well-being.

The .pdf below lists a collection of resources, with weblinks for celebration activities and nature based experiences suitable for all ages.

2020 Scotland’s Nature Festival

Also included below is a presentation on the top ten reasons why Scottish teachers say they love leading learning in the outdoors – why not choose one to explore in a nature-based action learning project? Love life, love nature and enjoy celebrating!

Dalkeith Top Ten Reasons to Love OL

CfE, CLD, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Young people, children & families

Festival of Dangerous Ideas 13th – 21st June 2013

April 21, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

The brilliant folks from the College Development Network have put together another wonderful programme for this year’s Festival of Dangerous Ideas. The festival was created to ‘re-establish the importance of dangerous ideas as agents of change in education – to shift the axis of what is possible!’ There is a real focus on adventurous approaches to learning, especially in the outdoors, which fits completely with our work in professional learning and Adventures in Improvised Living. More information about the week and the overall programme of events which are suitable for a range of educators can be found on the CDN website: http://bit.ly/Vw0nzT

There are two outstandingly innovative events which feature outdoor learning prominently. The first is a repeat of the most excellent Edible Edinburgh Breakfast at the Botanics Event which takes place in the Royal Botanic Gardens on 19th June. Check out the details: http://bit.ly/109G01s If you enjoy a stimulating, delicious and nature connected start to your working day, this event is a ‘must’ for you!

The second is a fabulous whole day event at West Highland College UHI in Fort William: Celebrating Failure and Success http://bit.ly/YZLfy1 In the first part of the day, the West Highland Way Walkers who will just have completed their 5 day walk, led by young people from West Highland College will exhibit the dangerous ideas that grew during their journey in the wild. In the second half of the day, Outward Bound will lead a session that will explore how they have used the research on Mindsets to develop their work with young people. Mindset is a model developed by Professor Carol Dweck of Stanford University. At its heart is the distinction between students’ perceptions of their abilities. The belief that you have innate, unchanging capabilities is called a Fixed Mindset. The belief that you can develop your capabilities through hard work and practice is called a Growth Mindset. The implications of these two are significant, and will frame this workshop.

CfE, CLD, Community Capacity Building, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Sciences, Social studies, Young people, children & families

Mission:Explore celebrates John Muir with launch of a new ebook

April 21, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

A partnership between the John Muir Trust and Mission:Explore – a group of teachers, artists, activists and adventurers – has launched a free ebook to introduce the great explorer, naturalist, writer, mountaineer and conservationist to a new audience.

Supported by Scottish Natural Heritage, Mission:Explore – John Muir, features a range of activities that reflect the adventures and ethos of the Victorian Scot, whose 175th birthday will be celebrated this month in his adopted homeland the USA as well as in the land of his birth.

It encourages people of all ages – including groups and families – to follow in the footsteps of Muir by taking part in an imaginative set of ‘missions’, which involve looking, touching, walking, exploring, thinking, and even dancing in wild nature wherever they find it.

Suggested activities range from observing how frogs swim to getting windswept, creating a mini-National Park, and staring at the stars.

The book launch ties in perfectly with Year of Natural Scotland 2013 and its theme of celebrating John Muir. There is already interest across the UK and in America.

Your ebook is free to download from Mission:Explore and John Muir Award web pages, and can be used on smart phones, laptops and tablets, or printed off and read in the old-fashioned way.

Link to John Muir Award launch page – http://www.jmt.org/jmaward-mission-explore-john-muir.asp
Link to Mission:Explore launch page – http://www.missionexplore.net/shop

Daniel Raven-Ellison, Guerilla Geographer at Mission:Explore, said: “Mission:Explore and the John Muir Award have much in common. We’re both all about discovering, exploring, conserving and sharing, so making this book together made perfect sense.

“We had a great time making it and we’re sure that our readers will have an even better time doing each of the quirky adventures inside. Good luck!”

“These missions are great, you can really see the spark they’ve generated with teachers.” Carol Walker, South Lanarkshire Outdoor Learning Development Officer

Featuring 20 activities that reflect the adventures and ethos of the Victorian Scot, you can access the free Mission:Explore John Muir eBook or PDF in a number of ways:

• eBook – on-line with Graphicly http://graphicly.com/mission-explore/mission-explore-john-muir/john-muir
• eBook for iPhone or iPad – via ‘Mission Explore John Muir’ in iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/mission-explore-john-muir/id627660952?mt=11
• eBook from Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=The%20Geography%20Collective&search-alias=books-uk&sort=relevancerank
• Printable PDF version (5.3MB) from http://www.jmt.org/jmaward-mission-explore-john-muir.asp

Find hundreds of other missions on the Mission:Explore website http://www.missionexplore.net

About Mission:Explore

• Mission:Explore is a collection of books created by the Geography Collective, a unique team of over 25 geographers, teachers, educators and artists who work together to help young people explore and see the world in new ways. It makes books full of illustrated challenges that aim to make children a little more confident, happy, empathetic and knowledgeable.They think that learning in the real world, in real places and about real issues are vital to any childhood.

• Mission:Explore has won awards including National Trust & Hay Festival Outdoor Book of the Year 2011, and a Pink Stinks approved stamp for being gender neutral.

About Year of Natural Scotland 2013

• The Year of Natural Scotland 2013 is the latest in a series of themed years for the Scottish Government. It aims to highlight Scotland’s stunning natural beauty and biodiversity, and promote opportunities for visitors and residents to enjoy our beautiful landscapes, wildlife and heritage responsibly. http://www.snh.gov.uk/enjoying-the-outdoors/year-of-natural-scotland-2013

About The John Muir Trust

The John Muir Trust is the leading wild land conservation charity in the United Kingdom, with a membership of around 10,000.

We seek to ensure that wild land is protected and enhanced, and that wild places are valued by and for everyone.

The Trust does this by:
• Owning and managing wild land for conservation
• Assisting others in wild land management
• Campaigning for the long-term legal protection of wild land
• Encouraging people to connect with and care for wild places through the John Muir Award and volunteer conservation programmes.

We take our name and inspiration from John Muir (1838-1914), the pioneering, influential Scots-born American conservationist who dedicated his life to protecting wild places and campaigned successfully for the establishment of National Parks to safeguard vast tracts of wild land, including Yosemite Valley in California.

CLD, Community Capacity Building, Early Years, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, Young people, children & families

The National Play Strategy – Consultation with Children & Young People

March 26, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

The Scottish Government want Scotland to be the best place in the world to grow up. Making sure that children and young people are able to take up their right to play is an important part of this. The Scottish Government is writing the strategy to make sure that people know about children and young people’s right to play and understand why it is important.
The views of children and young people are important and the Scottish Government would like to know what they think.

If you are a child or young person you can help by filling in an online survey, either as an individual or as a group. The group could be a group of friends, a class at school, a football or hockey team, your Scout or Girls Brigade Group – it is up to you.
If you are a parent or carer of a child or young person who is not able to complete the survey by themselves, you can help by recording their responses for them.
If you work with groups of children or young people, in whatever setting, please help by gathering their views with one of our group surveys.

Just choose the link that is right for you:
For individual 3-5 year olds
For groups of 3-5 year olds
For individual children and young people of primary school age
For groups of children and young people of primary school age
For individuals aged 12 – 18 years
For groups of 12-18 year olds

If you want to print out a PDF of the survey to take along to your group you can download the group surveys here:
NPS Group Survey – 3 to 5
NPS Group Survey – Primary
NPS Group Survey – 12 to 18

Printed copies should be returned to National Play Strategy Consultation, Education Scotland, The Optima, 58 Robertson Street, Glasgow, G2 8DU or emailed to enquiries@educationscotland.gov.uk. Please note that the closing date has now been extended to the 23rd April.

CfE, Early Years, Health and wellbeing, Outdoor Learning

Regional events – children’s rights, global citizenship and outdoor learning

February 18, 2013 User deactivated 2 Comments

Download flyer for regional events

Regional events – children’s rights, global citizenship and outdoor learning

Education Scotland is hosting a series of important regional events in March 2013 to enable schools to explore the implications of two major policy developments – the Children and Young People Bill and the Learning for Sustainability report.

The Children and Young People Bill, which will be considered by the Scottish Parliament in 2013, sets out a range of proposals for children’s services and will seek to embed the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) across the public sector. This will support the Getting it Right for Every Child approach and also the exciting work taking place in Scottish schools to engage learners in rights-based education and pupil voice activities.

The Learning for Sustainability report, published in December 2012, sets out a strategic agenda for change for Scottish schools. The report recommends the adoption of a coherent whole school approach to ensure that sustainability, global citizenship and outdoor learning are experienced in a transformative way by every learner in every school across Scotland. The report also includes a number of recommendations relating to career-long professional learning, leadership development and the new GTC Scotland Professional Standards. The Scottish Government will respond to this report in March this year.

In addition, participants will also learn of the many exciting events taking place in 2013/14 to support these aspects of learning including: the Year of Natural Scotland; Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games; the Scottish independence referendum; Homecoming Year; Ryder Cup; David Livingstone’s bicentenary; John Muir’s centenary and the centenary of the start of the First World War.

Through a mixture of workshops, exhibitions and spotlight sessions, delegates will have the opportunity to gain practical ideas and insight from early years, ASN, primary and secondary schools with interesting practice to share. Key national organisations will also be on hand to offer support, resources and advice.

Target audience: The main target audience are school leaders, local authority staff and those with a whole school responsibility for global citizenship, sustainability, children’s rights and outdoor learning.

Sectors: Early years (including partnership providers), ASN, primary and secondary schools.

When:

9:30am – 3:30pm, Wed 13^th March – Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
9:30am – 3:30pm, Mon 18^th March – Drumossie Hotel, Inverness
9:30am – 3:30pm, Wed 20^th March – Hampden Stadium, Glasgow.

How to book: Delegate places have been allocated to each local authority to ensure all school sectors and geographical areas are well represented. School or local authority staff should contact their local authority coordinator in the first instance to book.

General bookings will be available from 26^th Feb onwards. Please email Willie Bhari: Willie.Bhari@educationscotland.gov.uk or Tel: 0141 282 5208 to add your name to this waiting list. Cost of attending event: Free.

Assessment, BtC5, CfE, Early Years, Expressive Arts, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Languages, Literacy, Literacy and English, Mathematics, Moderation, Modern Languages, NAR, Outdoor Learning, Profiles, Profiling, Religious and Moral Education, Responsibility of All, RME, Sciences, Social studies, Supporting Learners, Technologies

Taking a closer look at the National Assessment Resource: A professional learning resource

February 12, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Education Scotland have recently developed this professional learning resource. It provides an opportunity to reflect on effective practice in learning, teaching and assessment, drawing on the work published on the National Assessment Resource (NAR). It also provides a structured look at the NAR flow chart as a tool for planning effective learning, teaching, moderation and assessment.

The resource can be used by individual practitioners keen to reflect and improve on their assessment practice as well as pairs, groups of practitioners, associated school groups (ASGs) or clusters working collegiately to reflect on and improve practice.

It is available to download from the Education Scotland website and welcome section on NAR. There will be a Glow meet on Wednesday the 13th of February at 8:20am and Thursday the 14th at 4:15pm to explore the resource further.

CfE, CLD, Community Capacity Building, Early Years, Expressive Arts, Health and wellbeing, Languages, Mathematics, National Qualifications, Outdoor Learning, Research, Responsibility of All, RME, Sciences, Senior Phase, Social studies, Supporting Learners, Technologies, Young people, children & families

Learning for Sustainability – report published

December 17, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

Learning for Sustainability – the report of the One Planet Schools Working Group, was published 17 December 2012.

The report includes strategic recommendations to support the development of coherent whole school approaches to ensure that learning for sustainability, global citizenship and outdoor learning are experienced in a transformative way by every learner in every school across Scotland. The report includes a number of recommendations relating to career-long professional learning and initial teacher education and advocates genuine partnerships with local communities and action to improve the sustainability of the school estate. A key ambition of the report is to provide an agenda for strategic change that will create an enabling framework, remove barriers, and build on existing excellent practice.

Dr Alasdair Allan, Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland’s Languages said:
“I welcome the publication of Learning for Sustainability and would like to thank the Working Group for their work and commitment to producing the report and recommendations. As we approach the Year of Natural Scotland in 2013, the report reminds us of the importance of learning which connects young people to local and global issues, an integral part of Curriculum for Excellence.

“A wide range of actions have been taken as part of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development and we welcome steps to encourage and support schools in their approach to sustainability and global citizenship, including through outdoor learning.

“We will take time to consider the report, to engage with partners on its recommendations and respond in full in March 2013.”

The report can be downloaded from:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/Schools/curriculum/ACE/OnePlanetSchools

See the associated Engage in Education blog from Professor Pete Higgins, Chair of the One Planet Schools Working Group: http://engageforeducation.org/news/learning-for-sustainability/

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Following the success of its Nurturing outdoor play project, Grounds for Learning has compiled a series of 30 simple and low-cost outdoor play ideas for parents/carers for early years professionals to share with the families they work with.

This is a great way to continue to encourage parents to play outside with their children.

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Go2Play Capacity Building Fund for Scottish Charities

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A training blog for PLSuperheroes