Category Archives: Health and wellbeing

Glow Meet with Tom Renwick – Monday 12 March at 2 pm

Alcohol – using percentages to calculate units

Education Scotland will be hosting a Glow Meet with a difference with Tom Renwick from Maths on Track. Aimed at third level and suitable for S1, S2 and S3 pupils, this live transmission from the Medical School at Glasgow University, will examine the percentage calculations required to confirm units of alcohol, given the volume and alcoholic strength of the liquid.

Please note that cans of beer, as well as bottles of wine and spirits, will be used as examples of numeracy in the context of everyday materials.

Colleagues from the Medical School will be on hand to help explain the effects of units of alcohol on the body.

The lesson will last about 45 minutes and be available shortly after on Watch Again TV. You will need a Glow login to view this event.

Click here to sign up!

Scottish Network for Able Pupils event 21 March 2012

Literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing: making the experiences and outcomes work for able pupils

The Scottish Network for Able Pupils is running a one day session for managers and teachers interested in looking at what the experiences and outcomes in numeracy, literacy and health and wellbeing might look like in practice for highly able pupils particularly in P4-P7 years of primary school.
The day will draw on findings from a recent research project undertaken by SNAP. Participants will have the opportunity to work alongside experienced SNAP staff to develop activities linked to the experiences and outcomes. They will hear about current developments in education and what this means for children who are working ahead of their age peers. Participants will leave with ideas and activities that can be put into practice in the classroom. These ideas and activities will not only support pupils who are highly able but will support the learning of all.

Date: Wednesday 21st March 2012
Time: 9.15-3.15pm
Venue: St Andrew’s Building, University of Glasgow, 11 Eldon Street, Glasgow G3 6NH
Cost: £80 for SNAP members and for schools and Nurseries from Associate Tutor Authorities. £90 for non-SNAP Members
The day includes: all materials, tea/coffee on arrival, tea/coffee mid-morning, lunch.

To book a place please contact
Education-SNAP@glasgow.ac.uk
Our address is
SNAP
School of Education
St Andrew’s Building
University of Glasgow
11 Eldon Street
Glasgow
G3 6NH

Or fax :
0141 330 3476

Happy Talk

One factor that is increasingly being cited as an important economic indicator is happiness.

After all, what good is increased production and consumption if the result isn’t increased human satisfaction? Until fairly recently, the subject of happiness was mostly avoided by economists for lack of good ways to measure it; however, in recent years, “happiness economists” have found ways to combine subjective surveys with objective data (on lifespan, income, and education) to yield data with consistent patterns, making a national happiness index a practical reality

But at this moment in history, as GDP growth becomes an unachievable goal, it is especially important that societies re-examine their aims and measures. If we aim for what is no longer possible, we will achieve only delusion and frustration. But if we aim for genuinely worthwhile goals that can be attained, then even if we have less energy at our command and fewer material goods available, we might nevertheless still increase our satisfaction in life.

To read the full article click here.

Sport Your Trainers 2012

Sport your Trainers and get involved in the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games!

As a school we’d like to set you the challenge of reaching your partner country by Commonwealth Day on the 12th March of this year and show your support for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games by getting involved in this year’s Sport your Trainers campaign.

You can take part by walking, jogging, rowing, cycling, and spinning or even skipping, the choice is yours and all activities count, so get creative. You can find out more about this in the Sport Your Trainers Glow Group.

To help celebrate this we will be having a special Glow Meet as part of the national launch and we will be coming live from Maddiston Primary in Falkirk on Thursday 23rd February at 11am. The athlete who will be appearing at the school is 18-year-old Scottish Pole Vaulter Jax Thoirs. Find out more about Jax.

Join us and find out more about Sport Your Trainers 2012 and ask your questions!! Sign up and join us in Glow TV.

Think of a Learner…and a loop the loop

Education Scotland’s Sciences Development Offier joined up with SSERC to work with Physics teachers from South Lanarkshire during their recent in-service days.

The Think of a Learner toolkit, under development to aid practitioners in self evaluation and engaging in professional dialogue, to explore in more depth the guidance and advice on CfE from the perspective of the individual learner, was used to stimulate and structure interesting and challenging discussion. This toolkit, designed to be used for individual, department, Faculty or whole school CPD,  addresses the most common questions and queries arising around new NQs and bridging from the BGE to Senior Phase. The theme was continued with some hands-on work including the amazing invisible test tube and new ideas for physics of motion using a loop the loop track and a neat piece of free software called Tracker.Jar. Together, we explored how learning and teaching in a three year Senior Phase can offer opportunity to build on prior learning and support the learning in achievement his or her potential.  

Many thanks for the teachers who worked hard on each of the two mornings, and to South Lanarkshire and SSERC for working in partnership with Education Scotland to support teachers with CfE.

Health and wellbeing Glow Meet Wednesday 22 February 1615-1700

This Glow meet will provide CPD support to deliver the aspects of HWB that are the Responsibility of All. 

You will have the opportunity to hear about the building blocks of HWB to develop a whole school approach and a shared understanding of Responsibility of all.  This shared understanding can help teachers and partners to consider assessment in HWB, in particular on those aspects that are the Responsibility of all.

There will be the opportunity to post questions throughout the meet.

To join your colleagues, please click here. (Glow log in required).

Community Café

On Wednesday (02/02/12) I had the opportunity to visit Kate O’Regan a Primary 7 teacher at Livingston Village Primary in West Lothian. The Primary 7 pupils were preparing for the opening of their Café the following day. They described the processes they went through to set up the Café and also explained the skills they developed.

To find out more about my visit view the video of Primary 7 on the Chalkface Blog.

To find out about  the opening of the Café visit their blog.

Glow Science

Glow Science is a great free resource offering rich engaging learning material for pupils aged 8-14. Inspire your pupils to engage with Science across the curriculum.

Glow Science is a stunning video-based learning resource designed for pupils aged 8 to 14 to engage their imaginations and enhance their understanding of Science in the modern world. Over 500 three-minute films and their associated learning materials (including quizzes, lesson ideas, extension questions, diagrams, images), cover Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Earth Science.

 Topics in Chemistry and Physics include the Periodic Table and Newton’s laws of motion; Biology includes films about the brain, heart, pregnancy, senses, muscles, lungs, hormones; Earth Science covers a wide range of topics from volcanoes to renewable energy.

Glow Science can be used in many different ways to support the Sciences experiences and outcomes, as well as other areas of Curriculum for Excellence. It has been available free to all teachers in Scotland since April 2011 and is accessed using your Glow username and password.

Katy Sowden, principal teacher at Williamston Primary school in Livingston, has seen a marked improvement in levels of pupil engagement since she started using Glow Science as well as helping to deepen her own understanding of science concepts. You can read a cookbook of Katy and her pupils using the resource in class.

Glow Science answers pupils’ questions: “What makes our blood red? Why do some people see smells and hear colours? How does the largest mammal on earth hold its breath for up to two hours? It allows learners to journey from Earth’s core to land surface, examining the layers that make up our planet; they can discover how our DNA make us unique and understand the scientific evidence that supports the Big Bang theory.

New content is regularly added to Glow Science. The latest Biology module is called Healthy Living and covers Health and Disease, Substance Misuse, Fitness and Nutrition.You can download a list of over 500 films from the Glow Science website.

Health and Wellbeing Showcase, Thursday 9th February, Aberdeen

The Health and wellbeing team welcomed over sixty practitioners to our Showcase event. 

We had a packed day celebrating good practice across the health and wellbeing organisers. There was a marketplace where many of our partners were available to discuss how they can support schools, these included Active Schools, British Heart Foundation, The Red Cross, Organ Donation, Sustrans, Health Working Lives and Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency.  

Alison Hammerton from Outdoor Learning enthused with ideas that stimulated how schools can deliver health and wellbeing by taking the curriculum outside. Click here to go the Outdoor Learning Blog for updates.

We finished the day with a keynote speech from Craig Brown, former Head Teacher and current Manager of Aberdeen Football Club.  He shared some tales of football fun whilst integrating the key messages of health and wellbeing and gave us all a laugh too.

We hope our delegates gain a lot from the day and would encourage them to sign up to our HWB Community where we will share the presentations from the day and partner contact information. Click here to sign up to the community.

Also don’t forget to join Education Scotland on Facebook and Twitter.

Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS)

The Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) is part of an important and long established series of national surveys on smoking, drinking and drug use. Information has been collected in Scotland from 1982 on smoking, 1990 on drinking and since 1998 on drug use. The latest survey was carried out during the autumn term of 2010 with a sample of over 37,000 pupils from S2 and S4 classes from across Scotland.

The report provides information on:

Prevalence of smoking, drinking and drug use
Frequency of substance misuse
Sources of cigarettes, alcohol and drugs
Pupils’ attitudes to substance misuse

The report makes very interesting reading and is useful point of reference for practitioners working with children and young people.

A summary of the report can be found at –

http://www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/publications/abstracts/salsus.htm

Adolescent Health and Risk Behaviours Symposium

Adolescent Health and Risk Behaviours Symposium
Policy, Research and Practice

 Wednesday 29th February 2012

Royal Society of Edinburgh, George Street, Edinburgh

9:30am – 3:30pm

If you would like to register for a place, please complete and return this form to Renee Ingram (renee.ingram@scphrp.ac.uk).

Internet Safety Competition

Following the popular competition on internet safety in 2010 the Scottish Government will this year run a similar competition to coincide with Safer Internet Day on 7 February 2012.  The competition will run till 1 March 2012.  The theme for this year is ‘Connecting generations so that we can discover the digital world together safely’. The theme aims to encourage you to think about your internet use, and how other age groups might also use the internet.  Full details of the competition brief and internet safety information can be viewed here.

To view the Scottish Government Internet Safety Leaflet, click here.

Competition Brief

Wise up Wednesday…..for parents!

Health and Wellbeing Event for Parents – Saturday 25 February 2012

 The Health and Wellbeing team at Education Scotland is hosting an event for parents on 25 February at Stirling Management Centre. The event will start at 10 am and finish at 1 pm and is free to attend. The aim of this event is to outline the health and wellbeing entitlements for Curriculum for Excellence.

 There will be lots of opportunities for discussion about the different aspects of the health and wellbeing curriculum and how parents can support their children with this. Partner agencies will also be attending to facilitate some group discussions. This event will be of interest to any parent with children in the early years, primary and secondary settings.

 If you are interested in attending this event please register with Anne-Marie Lamont.  Anne-Marie.Lamont@educationscotland.gov.uk

Scottish Education Awards

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. Nominations close on Friday 2 March 2012. Visit the Scottish Education Awards website for more information.

A Right Wee Blether

A RIGHT wee blether, a creative conversation led by Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People ran from 12th September – 31st October 2011. 

The Commissioner, Tam Baillie, has a responsibility to promote and safeguard the rights of children and young people in Scotland.  A RIGHT wee blether encouraged children to creatively express how they feel by answering five key questions:

  • How are you feeling today?
  • What makes you smile?
  • Who is special to you?
  • You are given a special star, where will you put it? 
  •  What would you like to change?

The views and experiences of children have been captured and summarised. These responses, in addition to the consultation with school age children a RIGHT blether, will inform the Commissioner’s work over the next four years.

  • To find out more about the work of Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People and a RIGHT wee blether please visit http://www.sccyp.org.uk/.
  • You can also see an example of  how this was put into practice by visiting St Joseph’s Nursery website.

Health and Wellbeing Profiles 2010, Scotland Overview Report

Click here to access the 2010 health profiles, along with complementary profiles focussing on children and young people. These profiles highlight the considerable variation in health between areas and help identify priorities for health improvement. The profiles give a snapshot overview of health for each area using spine charts (which show how the area compares to the Scottish average), and allow further understanding of the results via rank charts and trend charts.

Health and Wellbeing Showcase – Carnegie Conference Centre, Thursday 26th January 2012

The Health and wellbeing team are welcoming a hundred practitioners to the first of our Showcase events.  We have a packed day celebrating good practice across the health and wellbeing organisers.  There is marketplace where some of our partners are available to discuss how they can support schools and we have a keynote speech from Dr Rosemary Geddes, Research Fellow for the Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy at the Medical Research Council in Edinburgh.  Also Julie Wilson from Outdoor Learning will stimulate ideas about how schools can deliver health and wellbeing by taking the curriculum outside.  Click here to go the Outdoor Learning Blog for updates.

We hope our delegates gain a lot from the day and would encourage them to sign up to our HWB Community where we will share the presentations from the day and partner contact information.  Click here to sign up to the community.

Also don’t forget to join Education Scotland on Facebook and Twitter.

Get Set Network and Ticketshare

I am pleased to attach as usual the latest figures for Get Set registration and network membership together with lists of those schools in your authority which are either ‘not yet registered’ or ‘registered but not yet networked’.  You will see from the overall Get Set report that there are now extra columns detailing the final tally of schools which successfully applied for membership of the network before the 16th Dec ticketshare deadline.  The overall figures show a healthy 39% of eligible schools nationally and a rise to 65% of registrations.   Well done for all your efforts in making this happen!

 As we move into 2012 there is still plenty of time to apply (click here!)and take advantage of many more rewards and opportunities including Get Set goes global, World Sport Day and the Torch relay.  Please continue to encourage Get Set network membership!

Health and wellbeing event – 10th March 2012

The health and wellbeing team are busy organising a number of events to support staff in this key area of the curriculum. If you have any thoughts or suggestions regarding content for events then please let us know. Contact

An event for all practitioners takes place on 10th March 2012 at the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow.
If you would like the opportunity to network, share good practice and hear key messages then add this date to your diary!

Watch this space for further information and sign-up details!
If you have any thoughts or suggestions regarding content for events then please let us know. Contact Yvonne Sherry at the following address: yvonne.sherry@educationscotland.gov.uk

Scottish Athletics

Scottish athletics have recently launched a new national schools athletics programme booklet to provide  guidance and support for schools in Scotland offering athletics opportunities.

National Schools Athletics programme

STEM Central: Bioengineering

Work continues towards the publication of the STEM Central context “Bioengineering”. Working in partnership with the BBC to explore the role Bioengineering plays in helping service personnel from 45 Commando Royal Marines based in Arbroath, and Touch Bionics, the Livingston based company behind world leading prosthetic technologies, this fourth level sciences and technologies based context will prove a rich source of learning, debate, discussion and creative thinking for your learners.

Children and Young people’s Mental Health Indicators

  
NHS Health Scotland has launched a new set of indicators for the mental health of children and young people in Scotland.  Updated every four years, the profile aims to provide a greater understanding of the current and changing picture of mental health within this population and the factors that influence it.

A briefing which contains the indicators is available from the Health Scotland website The indicators were launched at an event on 25th November at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. The presentations are available here, and videos of the presentations will be added to this webpage shortly as will the final report from the project.

 

STEM Central @ SSERC

Lauren Boath, Development Officer (Sciences), attended the SSERC Physics Residential on Friday 2nd December. A fascinating insight into using physics in accident reconstruction from the Police, a hard hitting account of reconstruction of an accident in 2006 which claimed three lives. Lots of ideas for exploring applications of Physics with connections to health and wellbeing, and ethics. After an introduction to STEM Central, delegates had an opportunity to try out a kit which could be used within the technologies focussed learning journey from the Electric Car context. Once constructed, scope for open ended investigtion around relationship between battery voltage and motor speed, reversing direction of vehicle, design and aerodynamics.

STEM Central Electric Cars

If you’re using the STEM Central Electric Car context, some interesting materials to support learning around vehicle and road safety from the BBC: crash-proof cars, and a map of road deaths from 1999-2010 with information on accident cause, weather conditions, injuries and fatalities searchable by postcode or local authority area. Would be ideally accompanied by work with the Desktop Road Safety Reaction Timer, developed by a partnership between Fifex, Renfrewshire Council and SSERC.

Cheers for credit unions!

This resource illustrates the development of financial capability using pupil-run credit unions. The activities address experiences and outcomes within Curriculum for Excellence and help schools and early years’ establishments make connections across learning.

This 3-18 resource will support staff in embedding financial education in the curriculum, supporting family learning and promoting partnership working within the community.

To find out more click here.

16+ Learning Choices Coordinators’ Meeting

67 delegates (16+ LC Coordinators, Education Scotland colleagues from Communities Team, colleagues from LA CLD, HMI, Scottish Government, local authority colleagues) attended the network event in Perth on 23rd November. The purpose of the event was to embrace the positive input that CLD can make to 16+ Learning Choices.

There was an input from Rosie Whelan, Scottish Government and a presentation from Kenny Lindsay, CLD Manager, Children and Young People, Dundee City Council, round table discussions and speed networking workshops from representatives from 8 LA CLD representatives.Kenny Lindsay CLD Presentation 16 plus LC event Perth 23 11 11

Attached is Kenny Lindsay’s presentation from the network event.

Curriculum Area Events on Glow TV

SQA, in partnership with Education Scotland, are holding a series of curriculum area events to discuss the new national qualifications and give practical support on their implementation. The events are also an opportunity for practitioners to give their views on the new qualifications. Places have been allocated to local authorities and their schools, independent schools and colleges. The events are part of a range of support to help local authorities and individual centres prepare for implementing the new qualifications.

The events will take place on 29 November, and 1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12 and 13 December. Each event will be streamed live on Glow via the SQA Glow Group.  Most events and workshops will be shown live and recorded for watching again later.

A number of resources will be available following each event, including opportunities to hear some of the discussions from the day.

Make a Sport Podcast!

Over two Mondays in November and December, The L.A.B will work with you to make your own radio programme or podcast – on a sporting theme. We’ll be hosting two workshops in The L.A.B at BBC Scotland, and you can join in from your classroom. In the first workshop, you’ll be working with us to record an interview with a special guest, plus idents for your programme. And in the second workshop we want you to record an event at your own school. By the end you’ll have made your own sporting podcast. Where possible, we’ll publish your finished work on The L.A.B’s website.
In advance of the Glow Meet:
Practise with recording equipment. Think about what makes a good interview. The special guest will be Scotland and Glasgow Warriors rugby star, Ryan Grant. You should do some research about him in preparation for the Glow Meet.
To sign up to this Glow TV Event, click here.
Click here to visit The Lab Glow Group. 

Edinburgh Interfaith Week

Edinburgh Interfaith Week Programme has been launched and offers an ideal opportuntiy for those in and around the Edinburgh Area to find out more about faith and belief and its relevance to the world today.

 EIFA Inter faith week

Wise Up Wednesday!

Early Years Glow: Did you know?

There is a whole wealth of Early Years whiteboard activities in the Aardvarks storecupboard!

  1. Visit the National Early Years Glow site
  2. Click ‘places to go’
  3. Click on the Aardvarks storecupboard
  4. Click on a subject area and have fun!

Scottish Ballet launches Glow Group

Today we are excited to be launching our Scottish Ballet Glow Group. The Education Team here at Scottish Ballet have been busily preparing and creating new schools resources and we can’t wait for our Sleeping Beauty ones to be uploaded onto Glow for you all to use in the coming months.

Here are just a few of the ways we’ll be using Glow to get you thinking about ballet soon.

• Brand New Sleeping Beauty Primary School Resources
• A specially devised Sleeping Beauty Workshop for teachers to use in the classroom
• 2 short films – one CPD film for teachers about teaching dance in the classroom and another for pupils about what to expect when you go to the theatre
• Live Sleeping Beauty Webcast from backstage at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre on Thursday 12th January 2012 time??

Why not send us a message using the forum to tell us what you think of our page and what you’d like to see on it. Or you could ask us that ballet question you’ve been dying to know the answer to. Don’t forget to follow the links to our Connect page for lots more exciting games and resources…look out for our Dancer of the Month Interviews coming soon.

https://portal.glowscotland.org.uk/establishments/nationalsite/Creative%20Learning%20Scotland/Arts%20Organisations/Scottish%20Ballet/default.aspx

Forest Pitch – Meet the artist in a Glowing Thursday!

Glowing Thursday 10th November 2011

Forest Pitch – football strip design competition!

Meet the artist!

Join us on 10th November at 11am on Glow TV!

An opportunity to meet Scottish artist Craig Coulthard, creator of the highly innovative art project Forest Pitch. Funded by Creative Scotland and part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, Forest Pitch will culminate in two football matches between amateur players who have recently taken up British citizenship.  At the Scottish Learning Festival in September this year Craig launched a football strip design competition for primary age children to come up with exciting and innovative designs for the football strips that the players will wear.

As an arts project, Forest Pitch encourages debate about national identity, citizenship, the natural world, sustainability and participation in sport.

If you have already signed up for the competition or are thinking about doing so, then join us for this exciting Glowing Thursday to find out more and get some artist’s tips and advice.

Find out more about the competition, sign up and download the design brief and support materials here

And don’t forget – taking part in this competition is a great way of demonstrating a commitment to the Olympic and Paralympic values and joining the London 2012 Get Set Network.  Do this before 16th December and qualify for FREE tickets for the Olympics! Find out more >>

Travelling Green

Travelling Green is a 6 week walking project which aims to encourage as many children as possible to change their method of travel to and from school, by increasing active commuting (walking) to school.

Travelling Green is an interdisciplinary project focusing on Health and Wellbeing with links to Science, Social Studies, Expressive Arts, Technologies and Languages.

Children learn about walking time and distance, they chart their progress to a more active journey to school and learn about healthy eating, why walking is good for them and how to stay safe on the walk to school.

Who is it aimed at?

Travelling Green is aimed at P5s (9 year olds) in primary schools in Scotland, but it can also be used in composite classes.

What can it achieve?

Increases in overall physical activity. Setting realistic, individual, achievable physical activity targets.

What’s new with Travelling Green?

Sustrans has developed new, free, eye-catching interactive whiteboard flipcharts that can be used with any interactive whiteboard. The flipcharts complement the paper resource pack and provide more opportunities for engagement in the classroom. You can download the interactive resources for free from the Promethean Planet partnership pages.

More info is available on the Sustrans website.

Choices for Life

Choices for Life is now an online event taking place on 14th and 15th November 2011. Practitioners working with children and young people are asked to log on to Glow to access a number of interactive workshops and thought provoking dramas. 

Choices for Life supports learners to develop their understanding of the use and misuse of a variety of substances including alcohol, drugs and tobacco. Curriculum for Excellence coverage includes second, third and fourth level substance misuse experiences and outcomes within health and wellbeing.

This online event encourages an interdisciplinary approach in a key area of the health and wellbeing framework. Young people will engage in a number of interactive activities which allow them to explore and develop their understanding of the impact of risk-taking behaviour on life chances.

To visit the Glow Group click here. (Glow log in required)

A Guide to Faith Communities in Scotland

To advance public knowledge and understanding of the teachings, traditions and practices of the different faith communities in Scotland, SIFC has produced the above booklet. It has recently been reprinted in May 2011. It can be downloaded  here:

A Guide to Faith Communities in Scotland

Home Economics Good Practice : Young Chef of the Year

Published Monday 10th October 11

Pupils from five East Lothian secondary schools put their culinary skills to the test in front of distinguished judges – in the final of the East Lothian Young Chef of the Year 2011 competition on Friday.

The nail-biting event was held at Preston Lodge High School, Prestonpans, on 7 October and the ‘home team’ of Shelby Dalgliesh and Abby Douglas lifted the trophy.

A special award for the individual chef ‘most determined to succeed’ went to Rachal Cooper from Knox Academy.

The teams of two S4 pupils had 90 minutes to prepare a two-course meal based on local ingredients, working under the scrutiny of a team of judges. The main course and dessert was prepared from a selected menu, using locally-produced pork, chicken and salmon. Accompaniments for the main course were chosen by each team. The main ingredient of the dessert had to be a dairy product. All ingredients had to be predominantly fresh, East Lothian and/or Scottish and reflect current eating trends.

The competition has been developed to complement and promote East Lothian’s rich history of local produce by involving our young people in an exciting culinary challenge and also introducing them to the idea of a career in the hospitality industry. To read more click here.

Learning about food: down on the farm

One hundred and fifty Primary 6 pupils got their hands dirty down on the farm – but it was all in a good educational cause.
Children from Annanhill, Galston, Hurlford, Silverwood, Barshare and Ochiltree enjoyed a fun Food and Farming Day at Auchincruive Estate last week, to find out about the food they eat and where it comes from, courtesy of the Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET).
Youngsters enjoyed a variety of activity sessions provided by local farmers and by lecturers from the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC). They made butter and ice cream, ground some grain and toured the farm to get a closer look at dairy cows and calves. The children also tried experimental ‘egg magic’ and had some tractor fun, which incorporated basic physics activities.
To read more click here.

Glow Meet – Global citizenship DROP IN

Every month the DGC team will be available on our new Glow TV channel to answer your questions about global citizenship and to signpost you to resources and ideas to help you embed global citizenship in the curriculum.  This is an informal session open to any school leader or practitioner in Scotland – just drop into the Glow meet to pick our brains, find out what’s coming up or tell us what you’re up to.

The inaugural session will take place from 3.30-5.00pm on Wednesday 26th October.  The theme for the first 45 minutes of this session will be A Games Legacy for Scotland and will showcase how the London Olympics 2012 and Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014 can be used to create exciting learning opportunities for global citizenship activities and interdisciplinary learning.  Find out how to get free tickets to the Olympics, hear about the Forest Pitch football strip design competition and how the organisers plan to Get Scotland Dancing. 

A general Q & A/open floor session will follow from 4.15pm to 5pm. Put the day in your diary and join us for all, or part of, this event to discuss and share or get help with a particular issue. Visit Glow TV to register and take part on the day: http://bit.ly/DGCdropin

If you can’t make this one then the following drop in session will be on Tuesday 6th December 2011 from 3:30pm – 5pm. The theme will be: Developing a whole school approach to global citizenship.

Does skipping breakfast help you lose weight?

There is a large amount of research evidence relating weight status in children and adolescents to eating breakfast. In 2005, a review of the literature found that although breakfast eaters tend to consume more daily calories, they are less likely to be overweight.

A follow-up review in 2009 found that most cross-sectional studies reported that eating breakfast was associated with a reduced risk for overweight or obesity. Routinely eating breakfast is associated with more regular eating habits and exercise patterns, healthy food choices and consistent energy intake in children and adolescents.  Children and adolescents who skip breakfast miss the opportunity to consume a nutrient-rich meal.  In addition, evidence suggests that eating breakfast as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle is associated with children’s health and well-being.

A number of studies show that:

  • overweight or obese children and adolescents eat breakfast less frequently
  • girls tend to skip breakfast more than boys
  • skipping breakfast increases as children age into adolescence
  • parental eating and living in two parent families are positively associated with adolescent breakfast consumption, whilst families are positively associated with adolescent breakfast consumption, whilst socioeconomic deprivation is inversely associated with eating breakfast

 To read the some more from the National Obesity Observatory click here

Iceberg Glow Meet – Responsbility of All

 

This Glow meet took place on Wednesday 28 September 16.15-17.00 – to watch again click here.

This Glow Meet demonstrated a way to provide CPD support to deliver the aspects of Health and Wellbeing that are the Responsibility of All. It was a poplar Glow meet with  an very encouraging 78 people joining in.

They heard about and discussed the Iceberg Model for shared understanding of Responsibility of All.   The Iceberg model helps to mark crucial learning experiences with added activities.    This may support teachers identify the appropriate starting points based on a learner’s prior knowledge.  This potential pathway can help teachers to consider the gathering of evidence of ‘how much and how well’ a learner has learned, when considering assessment in aspects of HWB.   For more information contact Suzanne Hargreaves.

SLF Highlights

Other highlights from SLF included taking a brand new look at Physics and being introduced to Fermi’s ‘How many piano tuners are there in Chicago?’ problem. 

The sessions in the Education Showcase area where pupils presented was always busy, stimulating and fun.  North Queensferry Primary showed how they had created a garden to incorporate food and the environment, it was really engaging and innovative…….and the chocolate and courgette cake went down a treat!

In honour of Strictly Come Dancing starting at the weekend here are some clips that we hope will give you happy feet!

A Scottish dancing flashmob!    This led to discovering this gem from last year it’s the Brain POP robot Moby in a dance off with the Consolarium team – dancing development officers

Finally Sir John Jones at the Scottish Learning Festival reminded us of this uplifting and inspirational bit of dancing.  See Matt Dance!

Health and Wellbeing Network

We recently met with our HWB National Network where strategic leads from across all 32 Education Authorities as well as our NHS and Scottish Government colleagues. We had inputs around Responsibility of All aspects of HWB and skills development.  There was a very enthusiastic response to our proposal to fund staff across a range of authorities to work with us on developing exemplar materials for HWB potentially on areas around assessment, profiling and Responsibility of All.   It was a very productive and positive day as reflected in the evaluations. 

We are going to be out and about meeting with our contact authorities seeking out emerging practice and offering support.

Nourish Scotland Annual Conference 2011

On Friday 30th September the Nourish Scotland conference was hosted at  the Pearce Institute in Govan.   The theme of the event was  the new food economy: towards a secure and sustainable future for food in Scotland. 

The event was brought to life by the arrival of  Alastair McIntosh, a Scottish writer, academic and activist who made a dramatic entrance carrying a scythe, which considering we were in Govan called to mind the 1986 film Crocodile and the famous line  “You call that a knife?  Alistair eloquently talked about the culture of Govan, now his home and the need for a better food economy for areas of deprivation. 

The event brought together over 150 delegates from all over Scotland and beyond who are highly passionate about the sustainable future of Scotland’s food industry.  There were several keynotes looking at the food economy globally, in Europe and Scotland.   Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment announced a substantial investment has been awarded to the Food and Drink Division of the Scottish Government.

School open day: Mearns Primary School (East Renfrewshire)

Main focus: Learner voice and Rights Respecting Schools

 Thursday,  13 October 2011,   9.30 am – 3 pm 

 Mearns Primary School, –  this year’s Education Awards in the category ‘Global Citizenship’ -,  will provide you with the opportunity to spend the day in the school to talk to staff and pupils about a high level of momentum and commitment to learner voice across the whole school for years.    This has enabled the school to transform the ethos as well as the overall life and work of the school and to develop rich learning experiences and activities including:

  • Implementing a highly effective pupil participation strategy
  • Developing international education programme through the ‘Connecting Classrooms’ programme (British Council) and links with other foreign schools.
  • Forging strong partnerships with parents and a wide range of local community groups and businesses.
  • Establishing a whole school ethos based on justice, fairness and human rights agenda leading to Rights Respecting Schools accreditation and peer assessor status.

 A focus of the event will be to identify and share the practical lessons and ideas that have helped the school move forward in its journey, and also to reflect on the challenges encountered along the way.  Time will also be set aside for some professional dialogue and exchange of ideas.

 For more information see attached document: Mearns Primary Open day

How to book

To book, please email: globalcitizens@LTScotland.org.uk or

 Phone  0141 282 5172.

Places are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment. 

     This is a free event!

Curriculum for Excellence Action Plan – details announced at #SLF11

This Scottish Government Action Plan details the priorities for the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence for 2011-2012. Details of the plan were announced in the keynote speech by Michael Russell, Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, at the Scottish Learning Festival on 21 September, 2011.
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/resources/c/cfeactionplan2011.asp

#SLF11 Planning for…CfE in Sciences!

George Eliot is quoted as saying “Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together”. The great things showcased in an #SLF11 seminar “Learning, Teaching & Assessment – Making the Connections” by inspiring practitioners and learners from the Bearsden Academy cluster started with small things.  The cluster comprises Bearsden Primary, Baljaffray Primary, Castlehill Primary Mosshead Primary and Beasden Academy. The small steps? Practitioners within the cluster talking together about transitions, about improving literacy in science. The end result? The wordle shows all that this piece of cluster work encompassed. And the impact? The learners shared with delegates the impact on their wellbeing resulting from understanding more about secondary science, more about expectations of learning in secondary and having already been welcomed into the school community. Evidence of how assessment within sciences truly can enhance learning and teaching.

#SLF11 Marks on the Landscape – Creativity and Sciences

The Marks on the Landscape web resource which focuses on inspiring creativity across the curriculum was launched at the #SLF11. Charles Jencks, Landscape Architect & Designer of the Fife Earth Project, is interested in human life and frequently uses ideas from biology, such as DNA and cells, as an inspiration for his landforms, gardens and sculptures.

You’ll find on the resource: opportunities to use Marks on the Landscape to inspire creativity in science; and a design challenge which extends the scientific theme encouraging learners at fourth level to study different types of enzymes and consider their qualities, shapes and functions to design a brainteaser puzzle.

New Book – Kurt Hahn – Inspirational, Visionary, Outdoor and Experiential Educator

For many outdoor educators, Kurt Hahn is considered to be one of the greatest influences on the development of outdoor learning as we know it today.

This book will be of interest to those wishing to understand more about Hahn’s influence on the development of outdoor education, Outward Bound and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and its equivalents across the world.

Price: £25.00.

Published by: Sense Publishers, 2011. All profits will go to Maggie’s Edinburgh and the National Hospital Development Foundation.

French resources to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day – Jan 27th 2012

Based on the Louis Malle film “Au Revoir Les Enfants” and the Joseph Joffo novel “Un Sac de Billes”, these engaging resources have been added to the Modern Languages National Glow Group.  They encourage learners to explore the plight of Jewish people in France under the Nazi occupation.  Click here to access resources

Health and Wellbeing

New HWB and OL Team are now all in place and looking forward to the work ahead in continuing to support the embedding of HWB, and the promoting of OL, within Curriculum for Excellence.

Last week the team delivered 2 joint events, one with the SCYP team and one with SCYP and the Positive Behaviour team, to lecturers from the Teacher Education Institutes and the FE colleges. Both events were very positively evaluated and a real step forward in terms of partnership work with the colleges and the universites.