Category Archives: Social studies

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/

National Qualifications, Social studies

Aiming High in Higher Scottish History

November 20, 2012 User deactivated 2 Comments

Practitioners who are specialists in History may be interested in the following event:

Aiming High in Higher Scottish History:
a Conference for Teachers and Learners

Saturday 1 December 2012
University of Glasgow

Teachers and learners studying Scottish History topics at Higher level are invited to hear exciting new research on their topics from leading academics at the University of Glasgow. Simon Wood, Principal Teacher of History, will share advice on how to maximise exam performance.

The conference is free and spaces are limited: book now at http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/4606245404 Please book a place in the conference and choose a topical breakout session.

Location: Boyd Orr Building, University of Glasgow

10:15 Coffee, tea and juice available on arrival

10:30-10.40 Welcome and opening remarks, Boyd Orr Building, Lecture Theatre 1

10:50 -11:50 Session 1: breakout rooms in Boyd Orr
• Wars of Independence I with Professor Dauvit Broun
• The Age of the Reformation I with Dr. Steven Reid
• The Treaty of Union I with Dr. Karin Bowie
• Migration and Empire I with Professor Ted Cowan
• The Impact of the Great War I: An Archaeological Perspective with Dr. Tony Pollard

12:00-12:45 Plenary Session with Simon Wood, Principal Teacher of History

12:45-12:55 Website launch: University of Glasgow resources for teachers and learners in Scottish History

12:55-2:30 Lunch (own arrangements)
• Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery open (free admission)

2:30-3:20 Session 2: breakout rooms in Boyd Orr
• Wars of Independence II with Professor Dauvit Broun
• The Age of the Reformation II with Dr. Steven Reid
• The Treaty of Union II with Dr. Karin Bowie
• Migration and Empire II with Professor Ted Cowan
• The Impact of the Great War II with Dr. Irene Maver

3:30-3:45 Closing remarks, Boyd Orr Lecture Theatre 1

Travel information: the Boyd Orr building is located on University Avenue between Byres Road and the university’s main gate. The nearest underground stop is Hillhead station. For more information on the conference, contact Dr. Karin Bowie at karin.bowie@glasgow.ac.uk.

Early Years, Expressive Arts, Health and wellbeing, Languages, Mathematics, Religious and Moral Education, Responsibility of All, RME, Sciences, Social studies

BBC Class Clips

October 12, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

A group of Development Officers from Education Scotland worked with the BBC yesterday exploring BBC Scotland’s Learning Scotland website and the BBC Class Clips resource. It’s possible to embed BBC Class Clips in blogs and share links through social media. One handy feature for practitioners who are subject specialists is the ability to search for the clips used in BBC Bitesize. To find the clips, include Bitesize as a keyword along with your subject specialism.

CfE, CLD, Community Capacity Building, Literacy, National Qualifications, Religious and Moral Education, Religious Education in Roman Catholic schools, RME, Senior Phase, Social studies

Testimony (RME)

September 26, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

Testimony is Education Scotland’s new high quality resource to support learning and teaching in religious and moral education. It has been designed for use by both staff and senior phase pupils.

Testimony illustrates how faith, belief and values can influence how a person acts. It includes examples of religious and non-religious standpoints to show how people from around the world and in Scotland have been influenced by faith. The material includes the personal testimonies of some well-known individuals alongside the stories of ordinary members of faith communities.

It can be used to support learning within the new SQA award in Religion, Belief and Values and also supports the development of skills for learning, life and work.

Scott Duncan, Education Scotland’s RME Development Officer, was interviewed at this year’s Scottish Learning Festival about the Testimony resource – listen to a recording of the interview.

Find out more by visiting the Testimony web resource.

CLD, Community Capacity Building, Literacy, National Qualifications, Religious and Moral Education, Religious Education in Roman Catholic schools, RME, Senior Phase, Social studies

I Speak for Myself

September 26, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

At Amina MWRC we are passionate about empowering and inspiring women, spreading knowledge of women’s rights and promoting positive images of Muslim women. Last year 19 secondary schools across Scotland were visited to allow young people the opportunity to discuss Islam and Muslims. Staggeringly over 70% of secondary school young people associated words such as “Terrorist”, “Foreign”, “Oppressed” and “Uneducated” to Muslim women.

Responding to this, ‘I Speak for Myself’ was born.

From November 2011 until February 2012 we have engaged with over 300 Muslim women from Dumfries and Galloway to Elgin and all the major cities and towns in between. For more information about our Roadshow click here.

September 2012 will see the launch of our national campaign ‘I Speak for Myself’ at the Scottish Parliament. The campaign will exhibit over a hundred of the messages captured during our roadshow and aims to tackle misconceptions and common stereotypes about Muslim women, thus reducing inequality and sexual discrimination not only within the Muslim community but also in the wider society.

http://www.ispeakformyself.co.uk/

CfE, Senior Phase, Social studies, Technologies

Free CPD from Ellen MacArthur Foundation

September 20, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

Come along to these free CPD sessions by Colin Webster to learn more about the circular economy: a long-term, regenerative industrial system. The idea is taking off in boardrooms and in governments the world over. The only way to tackle the depletion of raw materials with their associated rise in prices and environmental after-effects, is to take a systems approach and design for disassembly.

Secondary school teachers of Design Technology, Business Management, the Sciences, Geography and other subjects will find the circular economy of great value to the curriculum. These interactive CPD sessions include a look at the free teaching and learning resources of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

Find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation at www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org.

In each case, teachers from the local authority should sign up for the CPD via the usual channels. Teachers from outwith the authority should contact colin@ellenmacarthurfoundation.org for more information.

Assessment, CfE, CLD, Early Years, Expressive Arts, Health and wellbeing, Languages, Mathematics, National Qualifications, Research, Responsibility of All, RME, Sciences, Senior Phase, Social studies, Supporting Learners, Technologies

Glow TV – Watch Again!

September 6, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

Have you read about an event in Glow TV and wanted to join in live but were unable to because of other classroom commitments or timetabling? Do you want the ability to view exciting or interesting pupil focused Glow Meets at a time that is convenient to you? Do you want to enhance your Professional Learning at a time that suits you? Well you can in Glow TV’s Watch Again facility!

All Glow TV events are recorded so if the time of the live event isn’t suitable for you and/or your class to join in you can still have the opportunity to watch the recorded version at a time that suits your timetable or other classroom/personal commitments.

Watch Again is available in Glow TV and you can filter all the recordings that have taken place over the past 17 months either by name or by the programme category eg Literacy and English, CPD etc or by the programme tags.Once you have found what you want to watch simply click the Watch Again link which will take you to your chosen programme (and all the others in that channel category too!) and you can then view the recording at your leisure. You can also have the opportunity in our Watch Again Feedback Forum to let us know how useful you found the recording and if/how it enhanced your or your classes learning.

So why not take part in Glow TV when it suits you? You may not be able to ask questions in a live environment but you will still be able to see and listen to experts in their field and have fun in our numerous interactive Glow TV events.

Expressive Arts, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Literacy, Mathematics, Social studies

Dennis the Menace becomes a global citizen

August 17, 2012 User deactivated 4 Comments

Who’d have thought it? Dennis the Menace becoming a global citizen and the Bash Street Kids growing their own vegetables and getting their 5-a-day!

In the forthcoming special edition of the Beano, primary school pupils will get to see a very different side of their favourite characters. Scottish Business in the Community, a charity that actively encourages businesses from all sectors to improve their impacts on the economy, environment and society, has teamed up with one of its members, DC Thomson, to support the creation of a special edition Beano designed to engage young people in environmental and societal issues in a positive and fun way.

Sent to every primary school pupil in Scotland, the free special edition Beano will incorporate the key themes core to SBC and central to creating a sustainable future for Scotland including:

Environment / visioning the future
Health & wellbeing / growing your own veg
Employability and soft skills
Responsible citizenship and community

This special edition Beano is supported by a teachers information pack linking to Curriculum for Excellence.

Dr Alasdair Allan, Minister for Leaning, Science and Scotland’s Languages, is very supportive of the initiative saying, ‘I welcome the opportunity afforded to schools to use resources such as this to engage the children in positive and more importantly, fun learning experiences.’

Comics will start arriving in schools towards the end of August.

Assessment, CfE, CLD, Early Years, Expressive Arts, Health and wellbeing, Languages, Mathematics, National Qualifications, Responsibility of All, RME, Sciences, Senior Phase, Social studies, Supporting Learners, Technologies

Schools IT Excellence Group set up

July 5, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

The Scottish Government has announced that Education Secretary Michael Russell has appointed the Chief Scientific Adviser Professor Muffy Calder to convene an ICT Excellence Group to consider the future development of the schools’ intranet ‘Glow’.

The new ICT Excellence Group will draw on the experience and expertise of end-users, and educational technology experts to scope the long-term user-centred future of Glow.

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Michael Russell said:

“It is crucial that the next generation of Glow allows schools to harness the power of technology for learning, to keep pace with rapidly evolving developments and speak the language that young people speak online.

“Professor Calder’s group will have the challenge of imagining a future for the service that can be customised to the individual requirements of our young people, is dynamic and can remain relevant for years to come. I look forward to receiving their advice later this year.”

The group members are now announced as follows: Prof Muffy Calder, Prof Ian Sommerville, Prof Mike Sharples, Mr Ewan McIntosh, Mr Charlie Love, Prof Bill Buchanan, Mr Hamish Budge, Prof Jeff Haywood, Mr Neil Winton, Mr Tony Rafferty, Mr Fraser Speirs, Ms Jaye Richards Hill and Mr Martin Dewar who will facilitate the involvement of two school pupils in the group.

See announcement on Engage for Education.

Health and wellbeing, Literacy, Research, Responsibility of All, Sciences, Social studies, Technologies

SLF 2012: Forensic Rookies, Transition and the AstraZeneca Science Teaching Trust: Scottish Islands and Mainland ICT and Science project

June 16, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

We’ve been keeping you up to date with this inquiry based science project since last December and we are delighted to confirm that you can find out more by joining us at session N1A at SLF 2012, presented by Professor Susan Rodrigues and Neil Taylor.

The workshop will share the findings of a recent project involving 3 pairs of primary & secondary schools from several different local authorities, and the sustained impact in those local authorities where this project is being rolled out further. Learners and practitioners views and feedback will be shared. This project was supported by funding from AstraZeneca Science Teaching Trust and led by Professor Susan Rodrigues and Neil Taylor as part of the suite of ‘Partnerships in Primary Science’ (PIPS) CPD projects.

The workshop will include an opportunity for delegates to have hands on experience of the six investigative tasks, using the kit provided to schools, funded by AstraZeneca Science Teaching Trust. There have been a series of videos made using learners and practitioners which will be used within the session, and these will also be available via YouTube after the session for delegates to follow up.

Visitor registration for SLF 2012 is now open!

Cabinet Secretary announces positive future for Glow

June 8, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

Mr Michael Russell, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, made an announcement today on the immediate and long-term future of Glow.

You can read full details of Mr Russell’s announcement on Engage for Education.

CfE, Religious and Moral Education, Religious Education in Roman Catholic schools, RME, Sciences, Social studies

Join our Glow meet from Rio

June 7, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

11am – 12pm Tuesday 19th June 2012

WATCH again: See our Glow meet live from Rio+20 where young people from across Scotland put questions to Stewart Stevenson MSP, Minister for the Environment and Climate Change.

What are your green dreams for the future?

What message will you send to world leaders?

How can Scotland become more sustainable?

What can we expect from this globally important event?

Over 150 heads of state and world leaders will gather in Rio de Janeiro from 20-22^nd June 2012 for crucial talks at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. Stewart Stevenson MSP, Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, will be one of those travelling to Rio as part of the official UK delegation.

Education Scotland, through Glow, is giving you the chance to link with the Minister live from Rio to learn more about the event and the hopes and expectations of the UK delegation.

The conference, referred to as Rio+20, will mark 20 years since the historic Earth Summit in the same city in 1992 which put issues such as climate change and the protection of biodiversity on the map and gave birth to Agenda 21 – an action plan for a sustainable future which was adopted by national governments, cities and local authorities across the world. Rio+20 will focus on seven priority areas including: decent jobs, energy, sustainable cities, food security and sustainable agriculture, water, oceans and disaster readiness.

Rio+20 provides an opportunity to move away from business-as-usual and to take bold steps to end poverty and address environmental destruction.

This will be an interactive Glow meet so get your questions, messages, ideas and green dreams ready for Rio!

What is Scotland doing to protect the environment and promote sustainable development? What more could we be doing?
What are your green dreams and ideas for the future? What should we have achieved by the time Rio+40 comes around?
What messages would you like the Minister to pass onto other government officials and world leaders when he meets them for discussions?

This Glow meet will be suitable for learners in primary and secondary schools.

Free Rio+20 resources are available at: http://bit.ly/JxZr5G

CfE, Sciences, Social studies, Technologies

Get Ready for Rio+20 – UN Conference on Sustainability

May 30, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

WATCH again: See our Glow meet live from Rio+20 where young people from across Scotland put questions to Stewart Stevenson MSP, Minister for the Environment and Climate Change.

What are your green dreams for the future?

Between 20-22 June 2012 world leaders will gather in the Brazilian city of Rio for crucial talks at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. The conference, referred to as Rio+20, will mark 20 years since the historic Earth Summit in the same city in 1992 which put issues such as climate change and the protection of biodiversity on the map and gave birth to Agenda 21 – an action plan for a sustainable future which was adopted by national governments, cities and local authorities across the world. The establishment of the international Eco-Schools movement was another practical outcome of this process.

The 1992 Earth Summit achieved much but clearly there are still many challenges to be addressed if we are to build a safer, more equitable, cleaner, greener and more prosperous world for all.

The hopes and expectations for Rio+20 are high and the preparations have highlighted seven priority areas including: decent jobs, energy, sustainable cities, food security and sustainable agriculture, water, oceans and disaster readiness. Rio+20 is a chance to move away from business-as-usual and to take bold steps to end poverty and address environmental destruction.

Sustainability in Scotland

The document, A Flourishing Scotland, produced for Rio+20 outlines the many achievements we should celebrate with regards to Scotland’s success in promoting sustainable development education. IN the context of the Rio Summit it may be of interest to note that Chapter 36 of the Agenda 21 document, which focussed on education, was written by a Scot – Professor John Smyth.

However, other key achievements nationally include: the embedding of sustainable development education, global citizenship and outdoor learning within Curriculum for Excellence; we also have one of the most successful Eco-Schools programme in the world with over 98% of local authority school registered; and Scotland has shown leadership on a world stage by introducing ambitious targets on climate change and in planning for our transition to a low-carbon economy. By 2020 it is estimated that 130,000 people will be employed in low carbon and green industries in Scotland and that renewable energy will provide 100% of our energy needs. Scotland is also the only county in the world to have debated the issue of climate justice in its parliament.

Whilst much has been achieved, there is still work to be done. Nevertheless, there is a real opportunity for Scotland to show leadership on a world stage with regards to its commitment to sustainable development and to set an example for other nations to follow.

What you can do

Our ambition is that every learner in Scotland recognises themselves as a global citizen; has a strong commitment to living sustainably and has an enthusiasm for the outdoors and nature.

You can help by ensuring that global citizenship, sustainable development education and outdoor learning are on your school improvement plan and embedded in your curriculum. Make these areas the responsibility of everyone in your school, not just the eco-warrior or group, so your school can adopt a successful whole school approach and make an impact on every learner.

Professional learning – read Learning for Change: Scotland’s Action Plan for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development and make use of our resources on sustainable development education, global citizenship and outdoor learning.

Join our online community to share practice and ideas with other practitioners around Scotland and engage in professional dialogue.

Activity ideas

Raise the profile of the conference in your own school or community – organise your own version of the Rio+20 conference.

Invite learners to develop their green dreams – what is their vision of a more sustainable future? What would they like to see happen in the next 20 years? What would their message to world leaders be?

Web links

Official website of the Rio+20 Summit

Twitter – follow the conversation at #Rioplus20

My green dream – add your voice and dream to thousands of others

Education Scotland Online

Sustainable development education pages and videos

Global citizenship resources

Outdoor learning resources

Weather and Climate Change

Exploring Climate Change

Schools Global Footprint

Resources

Keep Scotland Beautiful and the Scottish Sustainable Development Forum have created a Rio+20 resource pack for schools and youth groups. This resource pack can be downloaded from the Eco-Schools Scotland website. Hard copies, plus the accompanying DVD, can be ordered via email: kelly.johnstone@ksbscotland.org.uk

WWF has produced a free Rio+20 teaching resource and associated competition for young people aged 11-14 years. Download for free at: www.wwf.org.uk/futures

Download the special edition Living Planet Report – On the Road to Rio produced by WWF.

Stop Climate Chaos has produced Rio+20 resources for students and teachers. Download from: http://www.stopclimatechaos.org/rc-youth

CfE, Early Years, Expressive Arts, Gaelic Learners, Health and wellbeing, Languages, Literacy and English, Literacy and Gàidhlig, Research, Responsibility of All, Sciences, Social studies

Learning about Scotland in the Early Years

May 21, 2012 User deactivated 2 Comments

Saturday was a very inspirational day for the Early Years team at Education Scotland. Our Saturday Conference, Learning about Scotland in the Early Years was a great success. There was singing, poetry writing and even a competition!

If you would like to follow up on any interesting discussions from the day or revisit and reflect on the presentations then visit our Early Years CPD community. The presentations are within the Early Years Saturday Conference mini CPD site.

If you have not joined our community yet, then please do. We had a queue of enthusiastic delegates who couldn’t wait to join on Saturday and you can meet them (virtually!) when you do.

Well done to Sharon from South Lanarkshire who won the well deserved prize of two Scots books to share with her establishment.

Thank you

The Early Years Team

Early Years, Mathematics, National Qualifications, Sciences, Social studies, Technologies

STEM Central and The James Hutton Institute’s Water Works

May 6, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

Earlier this year, we blogged about this exciting opportunity which can be used in many contexts, including to enrich the STEM Central water context.

A trickling burn, a flooded street, a horse’s trough or a grand Scottish loch – no matter what comes to mind when you think of water the Water Works competition wants your photographs. The James Hutton Institute has now announced the March winner of the competition, John Smith, Age 8, from Orkney. His picture, shown above, is called “The Flood at the Pumping Station” and shows his local pumping station at North Stronsay, flooded due to the nearby loch overflowing.

The James Hutton Institute’s Facebook page has more information on the March entries and how you can take part in May’s competition.

Need some more inspiration on water?

Whether you are working with the STEM Central Flood Management learning journeys in the context of social sciences, technologies or maths, or planning learning and teaching around themes of sustainability for new National Qualifications, this article published in The Telegraph, by James Dyson “Engineering can save us from drought” might provide information or inspiration. Perhaps you could use this year’s Dyson Challenge as a basis for learning, maybe your learners hold the key to saving water for a more sustainable future?

If your learners are considering the current drought and flood situation in large parts of England, why not use it as an opportunity to explore the role of engineers in sustainability? We would love to hear your ideas on our STEM Central in Motion blog.

Or try using the mindmap tool in Glow Science to kickstart thinking for you or your learners.

The James Hutton Institute via the Centre of Expertise for Waters are running a year long competition aimed at raising awareness of water and water-related issues across both primary and secondary ages. The competition, with monthly prizes, aims to encourage learners to think about the natural environment and make the link between CfE curriculum areas Sciences, Technologies and Expressive Arts. The competition page gives background on the competition and entry instructions.

Mathematics, National Qualifications, Sciences, Social studies, Technologies

STEM Central Water water everywhere…engineering solutions needed!

April 30, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

CfE, Expressive Arts, Literacy, Senior Phase, Social studies

Take One Action Film Festival

April 24, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

Are you aged between 15 and 21 years? Interested in great films that make a difference in the world? Would you like to organise inspiring film screening events in your local community? If so, here is your chance to take action!

Take One Action – Scotland’s global action cinema project – is organising it’s second Young Action Heroes Project for young people and their educators/youth workers at the Macrobert Centre in Stirling in late August 2012. We are keen to hear from schools and youth groups who want to take part in the residential and then screen a film to inspire action in others!

Application information is available to download from www.takeoneaction.org.uk/youth

THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS FRIDAY 25TH MAY, but if you have questions before then email youth@takeoneaction.org.uk or phone Andy at 0131 5536335.

Additional Support for Learning, CLD, Early Years, Health and wellbeing, MCMC/16+LC, Research, Responsibility of All, RME, Social studies

Materialism

April 5, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

Listen to an interesting talk by Carol Craig from the Centre for Confidence and Wellbeing on how materialism has undermined our wellbeing in scotland.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQel6t784W0&list=PLD653EAC9A01E75E6&index=6&feature=plpp_video

Expressive Arts, Religious and Moral Education, RME, Sciences, Social studies, Technologies

National challenge: Design a billboard for Scotland

April 5, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

Education Scotland has launched a national challenge for learners to design a double-sided billboard to be seen by people entering and leaving Scotland.

The challenge is aimed at those working within second, third and fourth curriculum levels.

The challenge can be incorporated into planning for a number of curriculum areas including art and design, social studies, religious and moral education, technologies and sciences, and the themes of sustainability and global citizenship.

To find out more about the challenge click here.

CfE, Religious Education in Roman Catholic schools, Social studies

School Open Day – St Paul’s High School, Glasgow

March 23, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

9:30am – 3.00pm, Thurs 10^th May 2012

Theme: Sustainable Development Education and Education for Citizenship

St Paul’s High School is an inspiring example of a school that has adopted a whole school approach to global citizenship. The school’s achievements in this regard have earned it national recognition as a finalist in the 2011 Scottish Education Awards (Sustainable School Category) and as a winner of the 2009 Scottish Education Awards (Active Citizenship Category).

The school’s approach and vision for global citizenship has made an identifiable impact on learners, helping them grow in confidence and providing them with real-life opportunities to develop their skills and transform their local community. The school has supported a wide range of activities to achieve this, most notably:

Dedicated time within the social studies curriculum for learners to choose and engage with local community projects and tackle anti-social behaviour in the wider community
A strong school ethos which puts respect for others and service to others at the heart of school life and the curriculum
A sustained commitment to learner voice and a well-established school parliament that provides learners with decision-making powers and a budget to make things happen
A diverse range of activities and initiatives which support a whole school approach including a Fairtrade group, Eco-Schools group and pupil campaign group
Planned opportunities for personal achievement through S1 electives, S2 citizenship and S3 skills academy.

This CPD event offers practitioners and school leaders from across Scotland the chance to visit St Paul’s High School to meet with the Head Teacher, staff and learners and also tour the classrooms, buildings and grounds.

Those participating in the open day will also have time to reflect and share their own experiences.

Download Programme for St Paul’s Open Day >>

How to book

To book, please email: globalcitizens@educationscotland.gov.uk or Tel. 0141 282 5172.

Places are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment. This is a free event!

CfE, Expressive Arts, Health and wellbeing, Health and wellbeing, Languages, Literacy, Literacy and English, Mathematics, Modern Languages, Religious and Moral Education, Responsibility of All, RME, Sciences, Social studies, Technologies

School Open Day – Bo’ness Academy, Falkirk Council

March 23, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

School open day – using international education to develop a whole school approach to global citizenship

Venue: Bo’ness Academy, Falkirk

9:30am – 3.00pm

Thursday 17th May 2012

Note: this event was due to place at an earlier date in the year but has now been rescheduled for the date above.

Theme: International Education

This CPD event offers practitioners and school leaders an exciting opportunity to visit Bo’ness Academy and attend Falkirk Council’s Global Citizenship Showcase Event.

Bo’ness Academy is an inspiring example of a school that has used international education as a vehicle to engage the whole school in global citizenship activities. Through the Comenius Programme and other well established links the school has developed a rich international programme connecting it to countries across the world including: The Gambia, The Netherlands, China, France, Germany and The Czech Republic.

A focus of the event will be to identify and share the practical lessons and ideas that have helped the school move forward on its journey including:

Making global citizenship a key priority in the school and a focus for the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence
Using international links to explore important issues in a global context and to create engaging, meaningful and challenging learning experiences
Developing strong international partnerships which can be sustained and which have made an impact on every learner.

Participants will have the opportunity to meet and talk with the Head Teacher, International Coordinator, staff and learners and also tour the classrooms and school. Time will also be set aside for participants to reflect and share their own experiences.

Download Programme for Bo’ness Academy Open Day 17May12

How to book

To book, please contact Megan Farr, Policy Officer, Falkirk Council. Email: megan.farr@falkirk.gov.uk or Tel. 01324 506671.

Places for the open day section of the event are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment. This is a free event!

CfE, Community Capacity Building, Literacy, National Qualifications, Religious and Moral Education, Religious Education in Roman Catholic schools, RME, Senior Phase, Social studies

Resources to support the teaching of Judaism in schools

March 7, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

The Scottish Council of Jewish Communities website provides a wealth of information that can be used to support the teaching of Judaism in schools. The Resources section of the website has many useful documents including “Scotland Jews”. Their quarterly magazine “Four Corners” contains many useful articles and sources from people around the country that well help bring alive the message of what it means to be Jewish in Scotland today.

Many of the articles on the consultations pages will show you how Judaism in Scotland has reacted to many current moral and ethical issues that the Scottish Parliament has been discussing.

Please visit the website and browse this useful and engaging website full or articles and resources.

www.scojec.org.

Early Years, Expressive Arts, Health and wellbeing, Languages, Mathematics, Responsibility of All, RME, Sciences, Social studies, Technologies, Young people, children & families

Wanted! Creative teachers and CLD staff

March 5, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

Are you creative in the classroom? Do you empower creativity in your young people?
Education Scotland is looking for teachers and CLD staff who use creativity in their work to speak up and share their creative learning and teaching approaches with the rest of Scotland through a series of very short online film clips.

Creativity in its purest sense involves generating original ideas that have value and crosses ALL areas of the curriculum (not just the arts) and we are looking for examples from subjects as diverse as PE, Languages and Maths. It could be the young people learning creative skills or an approach to lesson planning that is particularly creative. What creativity might involve can be found here: http://glo.li/xGyO32

Here are the questions we would like to put to you:

• What is creativity (to you)?

• Why be creative in your teaching?

• What happens when the young learners are engaged in a creative activity?

• What did you and your young learners do that was creative?
You might explain an example of what creativity looks like in your classroom or group.
You might detail day-to-day creative approaches or else explain a specific project, topic or development.
How did this specifically benefit you and the young people?

You will be filmed by a professional film company (they really put you at your ease) who will come to you, fit around your timetable, and the whole process of setting up and filming will take less than half an hour. Ultimately we are capturing just 3 minutes of glorious quality footage from you that will be shared through the Creativity Portal. This is a great opportunity to showcase your creativity to a national audience.

The filming will be arranged to suit you some time in the next three weeks.

It takes moments to offer your experience or suggest a colleague who you think would fit the bill:
Go to: http://glo.li/z0Mi3s
Email: Stephen.bullock@educationscotland.gov.uk
Phone: 0141 282 5194

CfE, Literacy, Religious and Moral Education, Religious Education in Roman Catholic schools, RME, Sciences, Senior Phase, Social studies, Technologies

Church of Scotland Leaflets on Moral and Ethical Issues

February 24, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

The Church of Scotland has published a series of leaflets about current moral and ethical issues. These leaflets link to the teachings of the church and the position that the Church takes on these issues. There are also reflective questions to help in your thinking about these issues.

These leaflets would be an ideal source of information for those teaching Senior pupils and in particular for NQ courses looking at moral issues.

Climate Change leaflet (1)

Synthetic Biology leaflet

Poverty leaflet

Stem Cells leaflet

Nuclear Weapons leaflet

Mental Health leaflet

Internet leaflet

Human Cloning Ethical Issues leaflet

Fair Trade Leaflet

End of Life Issues leaflet

Cloned Embryo Research leaflet

CfE, Mathematics, Sciences, Social studies, Technologies

Developing global citizens through sciences, social studies and technologies

February 9, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

Developing global citizens through sciences, social studies and technologies

Interdisciplinary learning for a low carbon and zero waste future

CDP event for practitioners in secondary schools

Menzies Hotel, Washington Street, Glasgow G3 8AZ

9:30am to 3:30pm, Friday 30st March 2012

Target audience: Practitioners, Principal Teachers and Faculty Heads of Technologies (e.g. CDT, Food and Textiles, Business and Enterprise), Sciences and Social Studies. Also local authority coordinators and QIOs.

Aim of the event:

This CPD event provides an exciting opportunity for secondary school practitioners to discover how cradle to cradle technologies and a circular economy can be used as a rich and stimulating context for interdisciplinary learning relating to sustainable development education and global citizenship within Curriculum for Excellence.

The Scottish Government is committed to a low-carbon and zero-waste economy, and the development of enterprise, creativity, STEM (Sciences, Technologies, Engineering and Maths) and higher order thinking skills in young people are essential if we are to realise these ambitious plans for the future. The circular economy concept proposes the use of sustainable technologies, innovative design and production methods and systems thinking to minimise waste and reduce the exploitation of the Earth’s precious resources. This event will draw on practical and exciting developments within industry which are set to transform the way our economy operates in the decades ahead.

Education Scotland is working in partnership with The Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the University of Edinburgh to develop strategies for professional development around sustainable development education and the circular economy to encourage the setting up of communities of practice among practitioners in Scotland. These will provide opportunities for ongoing, localised support and collaboration.

To find out more about the circular economy visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCRKvDyyHmI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

How to book

To book, please email: globalcitizens@educationscotland.gov.uk or Tel. 0141 282 5172. Places are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment. This is a free event!

Download CPD event flyer and programme >>

Social studies, Technologies

Schools TV from Dumfries & Galloway

February 9, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

Schools across Dumfries & Galloway are giving every other school in Scotland the opportunity to join them as they broadcast lots of fantastic outdoor activities through GlowTV.

So what’s planned:

Monday 20th of February @ 9:30 – 10:15
Photography can be done by anyone, anywhere. What’s around your school? In this session, live from their local environment, the pupils from the Gatehouse Primary School camera club & the Forestry Commision will show you how.

Tuesday 21st of February @ 9:30 – 10:15
What’s around your school? What’s the space used for? Join St Mungo Primary in their outdoor classroom. Find out how they use their space and what activities they enjoy. You will have the opportunity to post your comments and questions.

Thursday 23rd of February @ 09:30-10:15
Join the pupils of Shawhead Primary learning how to encourage birds to come to their school grounds. Find out some amazing facts about the birdlife in their environment and learn how to build your very own nestbox.

Friday 24th of February @ 09:30-10:15
Do you enjoy playing board games? If so, why not join Tom, Liz and the pupils from Loreburn and Applegarth as they find out which environmental or wildlife themed board game will earn their school the title of ‘The Dr Finlayson Challenge Winners 2012′.

Monday 27th of February @ 9:30 – 10:15
Podcasting can be done by anyone, anywhere. If you have listened to the radio and wished you could have a go, you can! Ae Primary are going to demonstrate how they would report on the environment around their school. What’s around your school? What’s the space used for? When you’ve seen a live demonstration from a BBC Producer, you will have the opportunity to create and share your own podcast.

Tuesday 28th of February @ 9:30 – 10:15
The epic journey of the goose. The answers are –

1.Svalbard
2.48hours
3.Stormy weather

But what are the questions?

Join Wigtown Primary, Caerlaverock Primary and Longyearbyen Skole in Norway in partnership with Brian Morrell WWT Caerlaverock and Elizabeth Tindall D&G Ranger Service.

Wednesday 29th @ 9:30 – 10:15
Review & Share Time. If you have taken part in previous programmes of this series come and join in with the review and sharing.

So sign up to join in and find out more here

CfE, Expressive Arts, Health and wellbeing, Languages, Mathematics, Responsibility of All, RME, Sciences, Senior Phase, Social studies, Technologies

Falkirk – global citizenship showcase and school open day

February 9, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

Falkirk Council global citizenship showcase and school open day

Venue: Bo’ness Academy, Falkirk

9:30am – 3.00pm

This event will now take place on Thursday 17th May 2012

This CPD event offers practitioners and school leaders an exciting opportunity to visit Bo’ness Academy and attend Falkirk Council’s Global Citizenship Showcase Event.

A focus of the event will be to identify and share the practical lessons and ideas that have helped the school move forward on its journey including:

Making global citizenship a key priority in the school and a focus for the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence
Using international links to explore important issues in a global context and to create engaging, meaningful and challenging learning experiences
Developing strong international partnerships which can be sustained and which have made an impact on every learner.

Following the open day event, participants will also have the opportunity to attend Falkirk Council’s Global Citizenship Showcase event which will also be taking place in Bo’ness Academy from 4pm – 6pm. This will feature exhibitions and displays from leading organisations such as Eco-Schools and British Council and will showcase innovative global citizenship practice from many Falkirk schools.

How to book

To book, please contact Megan Farr, Policy Officer, Falkirk Council. Email: megan.farr@falkirk.gov.uk or Tel. 01324 506671.

Places for the open day section of the event are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment. This is a free event!

Download programme for Bo’ness Academy Open Day >>

CfE, Mathematics, Sciences, Social studies, Technologies

SCIPD Group Study Visit to the Netherlands

February 3, 2012 User deactivated Leave a comment

SCIPD Group Study Visit to the Netherlands

6th – 10th March 2012

Theme: The Circular Economy – Sustainable technologies, design, economics and production for the 21st century

Education Scotland is inviting applications from secondary teaching staff for a group study visit to ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands to investigate how cradle to cradle technologies and a circular economy can be used as a rich and stimulating context for interdisciplinary learning relating to sustainable development education and global citizenship. This visit has been arranged in partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

The Scottish Government is committed to a low-carbon and zero-waste economy, and it is important to develop enterprise, creativity and STEM (Sciences, Technologies, Engineering and Maths) skills in young people to ensure the realisation of these ambitious plans for the future. The circular economy concept proposes the use of sustainable technologies and innovative design and production methods that minimise waste and reduce the exploitation of the earth’s precious resources. Industrial companies in the Netherlands are at the forefront of developing products that mimic natural processes and that are designed for disassembly and reuse.

Education Scotland, in collaboration with The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, is developing strategies for professional development around sustainable development education and the circular economy to encourage the setting up of communities of practice among practitioners in Scotland. These will provide opportunities for ongoing, localised support and collaboration as recommended by Teaching Scotland’s Future.

It is expected that the visit to the Netherlands will include:

– Orientation sessions with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the Dutch curriculum agency SLO, to introduce participants to the model of the circular economy and brief them on the structure of the Dutch school system and curriculum

– Visits to businesses which have adopted cutting-edge approaches to circular economy principles

– Visits to schools to see how learning relating to the circular economy is being used as a theme for interdisciplinary learning around sustainability

Travel to the Netherlands will be on Tuesday 6th March, with three working days in the area, followed by return to Scotland on Saturday 10th March.

SCIPD funding will cover return flights to the Netherlands, airport to hotel transfers, and overnight hotel accommodation in ‘s-Hertogenbosch on a bed and breakfast basis.

Participants will be offered a pre-visit preparatory meeting, and a post-visit meeting to support follow-up activity and encourage wider impact.

This study visit is targeted at education professionals in Scottish secondary schools, particularly teachers of sciences, technologies, mathematics, business studies, economics and geography.

Expected learning outcomes

Participants will have an opportunity to:

Increase their knowledge of the circular economy concept, its implementation in industry, and its impact on education for sustainability
Investigate and discuss Dutch educational practice for sustainable development and its place in the curriculum
Share professional dialogue and reflection with their hosts and with colleagues in the group.

Upon returning from the study visit, participants will be expected to:

Produce reports for Education Scotland which demonstrate the impact on their professional practice of the study visit experience
Disseminate findings, share ideas and new approaches within their own establishment and beyond
Make changes to learning and teaching practices in their own professional context.

Applicants may wish to use the experience of the study visit towards professional recognition by GTCS or simply to enhance their professional understanding and practice.

Applications are invited from suitably qualified members of Scottish school or authority staff, who should complete the Netherlands group application form available below or by email from Nick Morgan at nick.morgan@educationscotland.gov.uk

The closing date for applications is Tuesday 21st Feb 2012

SCIPD Netherlands application form

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A training blog for PLSuperheroes