The Scottish Catholic Education Service and the Archdiocese of St. Andrews & Edinburgh have been working in partnership with Scottish Borders Council to develop an integrated approach to leadership development for aspiring and present Catholic school leaders through the formation of a Catholic School Leadership programme.

 

This network will offer a framework for identifying, nurturing and developing future and present Catholic leaders within Scottish Borders Council and will feature two aspects: accompaniment and encounter.

 

1. Accompaniment Sessions (dates agreed by Facilitators locally)

 

There will be 4 on-line accompaniment sessions which will be facilitated by middle and senior leaders. At these sessions you will use materials prepared by the Scottish Catholic Education Service as part of their Good Shepherd Leadership Pathway programme to consider middle leadership in a Catholic school.  The sessions will involve the Facilitators directing you towards reading and use of video clips to encourage discussion, sharing good practice and reflection on the role of the middle leader in a Catholic school.

 

2. Diocesan Encounter Sessions

 

These in-person sessions will involve all the participants taking part in the Catholic School Leadership programme from across the Archdiocese of St. Andrews & Edinburgh and will be hosted by the RE Advisors.  These sessions will involve a presentation from a Catholic leader, spiritual activities followed by an opportunity to network with colleagues across the Archdiocese.

 

This network is intended to be supportive and encouraging.  The framework will offer colleagues opportunities to connect and reflect.

 

We know that the Council has excellent leadership programmes to support those considering all types of leadership, in both the denominational and non-denominational sector.  This programme is intended to meet the needs specifically for Catholic school leaders. It would, therefore, be important to note that this offering is intended to support those who meet the requirements to be appointed (at the appropriate time) to the post of a middle leader in a Catholic school.

 

If you’d like more information on this new programme, please get in touch with Margaret Barton, the Secondary School RE Advisor at margaret.barton@staned.org.uk or Melissa Gavan, the Primary School RE Advisor at melissa.gavan@staned.org.uk

Primary – Introduction to Meta-Skills

Available sessions (all 4-5pm):

2 March 2026

19 March 2026

28 April 2026

6 May 2026

 

An interactive workshop exploring the Skills 4.0 meta-skills framework and how these can be integrated into everyday classroom practice

• What meta-skills are and how they fit within the skills landscape
• Why meta-skills are important
• The benefit of a shared skills language
• How meta-skills can be brought into focus for learners and how these can be developed

Target audience – all Primary Staff

 

Secondary – Meta-Skills – Skills and Profiling

Available sessions (all 4-5pm):

4 March 2026

17 March 2026

30 April 2026

 

An interactive session looking at the importance of skills, ways to embed skills and how the profiling tool can be used to support learners capture their skills and achievements.

• Why are meta-skills important, what are they and how they fit within the skills landscape
• How meta-skills can be brought into focus for learners and how these can be developed
• How can the profiling tool be used to support learners build their awareness of their skills and achievements

Target Audience  – all Secondary staff

 

Please book through Business World

 

This online workshop provides an introductory tour of the new Practitioner Toolkit for educators and other professionals working with Gypsy/Traveller and Roma communities. For those of you who may be familiar with the toolkit, this session offers a useful a refresher with space to ask questions about implementation into your practice.

Event Name: An educator’s guide to the STEP Practitioners’ Toolkit 2026
Event Date: 11th March 2026 3:30 Pm – 4:30 Pm
Link: https://www.step.education.ed.ac.uk/events/an-educators-guide-to-the-step-practitioners-toolkit-2026/

Susan Jordan, Child Protection Education Officer will be hosting a Child Protection Annual Update session for all staff who have been unable to attend a session within their setting this year. The session will take place on 2 March at 4:15pm.

 

It is mandatory for all education staff to complete the Child Protection Update on an annual basis so we would ask that any staff who have not already attended one of these sessions try to ensure they can attend this opportunity.

 

The link to join the session is below:

Join the meeting now

Rollout of the New MyGTCS Platform

 

GTCS is preparing to transfer all fully registered teachers onto the new MyGTCS platform before the Summer break. You will receive an email around two weeks before your group is moved, with clear instructions on next steps.

 

The rollout will take place in staged Professional Update (PU) groups, with 2025–26 PU teachers being the first to transition. To avoid duplication, PU sign‑off in MyPL will close shortly before your transfer date, and you will complete your PU on the new platform once both you and your reviewer have access.

 

A new MyGTCS help area and FAQs are now live, and GTCS will continue to add updates as rollout progresses.

Please ensure all your MyGTCS personal details are up to date to support a smooth transfer. This includes:

• Surname
• Work email address
• Local authority
• Base school

 

GTCS do not anticipate any issues transferring your information. However, if you log into the new portal and notice anything missing, please report this to GTCS as soon as possible using gtcs@gtcs.org.uk or the online contact form. Remember to include your GTCS number and full name in all correspondence.

This professional learning opportunity is open to all promoted education staff in Scottish Borders schools who are looking to further develop their leadership experience and skill set within another school, cluster or across SBC. This could include head teachers who may wish to move within or beyond the cluster. This is on a secondment basis only and current terms and conditions of employees will not change. 

 Aim 

Overall, the Leadership Exchange programme provides a structured and supportive environment for SBC education staff to grow professionally and personally as aspiring, emerging and developing leaders of the future.  

Benefits 

Participating in a Leadership Exchange programme offers many benefits for education staff. Including: 

 Professional Growth and Development 

Enhancing leadership skills by engaging in different leadership roles and opportunities across various settings/schools will help promoted staff develop and refine their leadership abilities and skills, making them more effective leaders. By exposing staff to diverse educational environments and challenges, they will broaden their experience and understanding of different leadership styles, remits and strategic thinking. Gaining additional leadership experience can enhance career prospects and open up opportunities for promotion and advancement within education by developing the leaders of the future. 

Networking and Collaboration 

Participating in the exchange allows staff to build relationships with colleagues from different schools, clusters and departments, fostering a collaborative professional network where staff can share best practices, innovative ideas, and successful strategies with their peers, contributing to the overall improvement of educational practices which they can take back into their own school/context 

Personal Development 

Taking on new leadership challenges can boost staff confidence and self-esteem, empowering them to take on more significant responsibility. Working in different settings/schools or remits will enable staff to become more adaptable and resilient, better equipped to handle change and uncertainty. 

Organisational Benefits 

The programme supports SBC succession planning by preparing staff for future leadership roles, ensuring a smooth transition and continuity in leadership. 

By developing a pool of skilled leaders at all levels, education can benefit from improved management and performance, ultimately enhancing student outcomes. 

Eligibility 

• Full-time or part-time permanent staff who have been in their current post for a minimum of 3 years. 

• This is a secondment opportunity for professional development and current terms and conditions will remain the same during the agreed exchange period 

• Approval is required from line managers or head teachers 

• Submission of an application does not commit Scottish Borders Council to a contractual change. 

• No additional travel expenses will be paid for the exchange as this is a self selected professional learning opportunity 

• Should be agreed as part of the PRD/appraisal process 

 Application Process 

Complete the Leadership Capacity Exchange MS Form, ensuring the application is linked to the Professional Review and Development (PRD) process which identifies strengths and areas to develop 

Dates 

Applications for the new academic session should be submitted by Friday 9th March for the exchange period starting Mon 20th April onwards. 

Timeframes 

Staff can exchange for minimum of one school term (approx. 10 weeks) to a maximum of 23 months within their own school cluster or SBC wide as a secondment opportunity.  

Below I have included links from Tourette Scotland about upcoming Tourette Awareness Training webinars, which may be of interest to staff and partners:

• Thursday 26 February 2026 Tourette’s Awareness Training – February | Tourette Scotland
• Wednesday 6 May 2026 Tourette’s Awareness Training – May | Tourette Scotland

These sessions support greater awareness and understanding of Tourette Syndrome and how best to support people in services and communities.

Education Scotland’s Professional Learning and Leadership team have an exciting calendar of  professional learning sessions for educators this spring. Places at these sessions are in high demand, so early booking is advised.

Tuesday 24 February, 4pm to 5pm

Leadership+ with Jennifer Abrams. Stretching your collaborative edges: Growing (up) at work

Click here for further information and to register

 

Wednesday 04 March, 4pm to 5.30pm

Coaching in Education: Introductory Session

Click here for further information and to register

 

Tuesday 10 March, 4pm to 4.45pm

Middle Leaders Leading Change: Completion Session

Click here for further information and to register

 

Tuesday 17 March, 4pm to 5.30pm

BRL+ Alistair Heather (Historic Ally) on Scotland’s Hidden Colonial History

Click here for further information and to register

 

On behalf of our colleagues in the Inclusion, Wellbeing and Equalities team, we’d like to share this offer which is open to all educators and may also be of interest.

Monday 09 March, 4pm

Responding to Racist Incidents: Launch of the new Whole School Approach

Click here for further information and to register

17 March – 9 June 2026

Target audience – anyone working with ELC 2s, including Managers and EYOs in settings with ELC 2s.

A series of six one hour-long collaborative sessions where we will come together to reflect on the joys and unique challenges of working with ELC 2s. Each session will include a short learning input from the Early Years Teacher Team followed by professional discussion and reflection; come prepared to share!

At the end of each session, you will be given the opportunity to develop an area of your practice based on the content of the session in a way that’s meaningful for your setting and children.

To ensure that our ELC 2s are supported to thrive through developmentally appropriate practice. We will support practitioners in this by providing key messages around early child development, schematic play, slow pedagogy, essential documentation and planning with and for ELC 2s. the CoP also provides a space for developing self-reflection, peer conversations and sharing of best practice.

These sessions will delivered on MS Teams from 5pm-6pm on the following dates:

17 March 2026 – Enhance your understanding of early child development to support your ELC 2s in practice

31 March 2026 – Explore the essential documents that all ELC2 practitioners need to know about, including UNCRC

28 April 2026 – Develop your understanding of tuning into and working with schematic play

12 May 2026 – Introducing the Froebelian concept of slow pedagogy and how this could work with ELC 2

26 May 2026 – Explore a variety of ways to plan with and for your ELC 2s

9 June 2026 – Use technology to share your practice and take time to reflect on the impact that your learning in the last five sessions has had on experiences and outcomes for your ELC2’s

Dates and timings:

Teacher training: 2.30-4.00pm Monday 23 February

Pupil workshops: 11.00-11.30am Wednesday 25 February, 4 March and 11 March.

 

Climate Ready Classrooms for Primary Schools is a series of workshops and activities, delivered on a local authority basis. By taking part, pupils will gain an understanding of the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis and take action to address these issues. It is delivered as a series of three workshops spread over three weeks with classroom activities to take part in between sessions. The final output is an Action Plan, shared with your local authority, which includes actions that pupils would like to focus on in their school.

If your class would like to take part please email CLPL@scotborders.gov.uk by Friday 6 February to confirm.