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Scottish

Scottish schools ‘lacking’ mental health provision

by Rajdeep April 5, 2024

written by Rajdeep

Counselling

A lack of mental health provision for young people in Scotland is leaving them in distress and at serious risk, according to key children’s charities.

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition said urgent action was needed to improve support.

Scotland is the only UK country with no national strategy for school-based counselling services.

The Scottish government said some health boards had a “long way to go” on mental health provision.

Research suggests that half of mental health problems start before the age of 15.

The Scottish Youth Parliament, Penumbra, Place2Be and Children in Scotland are also supporting the call for support to be improved in all schools and in the community.

Local government body Cosla said budget cuts had led to a shortage of mental health workers and educational psychologists.

Psychologist shortage

A spokesman said: “Scotland’s councils take the health and well-being of the children in our schools very seriously indeed.

“Councils employ educational psychologists and these officers are shared across the local authority area – focusing primarily on the children who need them, wherever they are based.

“We have a shortage of educational psychologists in Scotland at the present time and we are working jointly with the Scottish government to consider solutions to the issue.

“The mental health of our young people is a priority for Cosla and we know that it takes a range of professional officers to support our young people.”

A fifth of children referred to NHS Scotland’s mental health counselling service, Camhs, are not seen within an 18-week target.

‘Not acceptable’

NHS figures show that between January 2015 and September 2016, a total of 30,639 children were seen by Camhs, with 6,745 patients seen after waiting more than 18 weeks.

During the same period, 708 had to wait more than 53 weeks to be seen.

Mental Health Minister Maureen Watt said it was up to every local authority to decide how to provide mental health services in each school, but admitted it was a “postcode lottery”.

She told BBC Scotland: “I have said that where there are long waiting times in health boards for Cahms and psychological therapies, it’s not acceptable.

“I have used part of the £150m to make sure that those health boards that are far away from meeting targets are given help to, where necessary, redesign their whole service and where they need more people, more psychologists more nurses that those are provided.”

She added: “We are beginning to see some improvement in some of the boards that we’re already working with, but in some boards there is a long way to go.”

[Source:- BBC]

April 5, 2024 0 comment

Education

Exclusive: High-stakes exams making a comeback, Scottish teachers warn

by Rajdeep April 5, 2024

written by Rajdeep

National 5 changes will lead to longer question papers for most subjects

New and expanded National 5 question papers represent a resurgence of high-stakes exams that risks undermining pupils’ educational prospects, teachers are warning.

Concerns are being voiced as a TESS analysis shows that 28 out of 42 National 5 subjects will require pupils to sit longer exams in 2017-18, while nine practical subjects will now have an exam where none previously existed. The five other subjects will have new or increased coursework to contend with.

There are also fears that a move designed to ease teacher workload may have the opposite effect, while many teachers have complained that the profession was not adequately consulted about the changes.

Education secretary John Swinney decided last year to scrap unit assessments – starting with National 5 and ending with Advanced Higher in 2019-20 – amid union protests that they added unnecessarily to teachers’ workload by duplicating swathes of coursework.

But the publication last week of Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) information breaking down what the changes could mean for each subject (see bit.ly/SQAinfo) has prompted an angry reaction from teachers and education experts.

‘Many people are unhappy’

Chris Mackay, president of the Scottish Association of Teachers of History, said “many people are unhappy” about the N5 changes.

“The implications for pupils are a concern,” he explained. “The changes in the weighting of the assignment and the external exam could make it more difficult for borderline pupils to pass.”

Lengthening the time of exams could also affect pupils who already required special support, he feared.

University of Edinburgh honorary fellow and former secondary headteacher Danny Murphy said there was already “too much pressure” and “too much assessment” at the end of S4, even before the changes.

Seamus Searson, general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association, said removing unit assessments remained the right thing to do, but that in the past week many members had contacted the union with workload concerns. There were also concerns that a greater emphasis on exams would disadvantage many pupils.

Mr Swinney told TESS that the new arrangements were “definitely not” a move back towards high-stakes exams, because the relative weightings of practical assignments and exams remained “roughly the same”.

An SQA spokesman insisted that the removal of units and the strengthening of course assessments would have a positive impact on workload for teachers and candidates, “while maintaining the integrity and credibility of the national qualifications”.

[Source:- tes]

April 5, 2024 0 comment

Education

Increase in free nursery hours at risk, warn Scottish councils

by Rajdeep April 5, 2024

written by Rajdeep

Government’s planned rise from 600 to 1,140 hours per year will bring ‘no better gains for children’, argue primary headteachers

The Scottish government’s “most transformative infrastructure project” in this Parliament is in jeopardy because of a failure to plan how it will work ﬁnancially and practically, councils have warned.

Local authorities are calling for the government to set out “a clear delivery plan” detailing how it will meet its ambitious target to increase free nursery hours from 600 to 1,140 hours per year by 2020.

Ministers claim the move will help to close the attainment gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children.

But without a clear programme of implementation, the councils’ umbrella body Cosla has told TESS, the SNP manifesto commitment is at risk.

Headteachers’ groups have also expressed concerns over the impact, in terms of ﬁnances and workload, on schools, many of which have nurseries operating on their sites.

They have warned that school leaders will need “additional and protected management time” to organise nursery staff shifts to cover extended hours during holidays, weekends and after school. Teachers and school leaders work a 35-hour week and the change must not rely on “goodwill”, they have told the government.

‘We don’t have a plan’

David O’Neill, Cosla’s president, said: “We need a plan and we don’t have a plan. The potential consequence is a manifesto commitment made to the public might not be delivered.”

The Scottish government recently announced in the draft budget that £60 million will be made available in the coming ﬁnancial year to pay for the additional workforce and infrastructure. But funding beyond 2018 has not been conﬁrmed, with the government yet to calculate how much the change will actually cost – although it has committed to fully funding it. The previous move from 475 to 600 hours has cost the government £329 million over the past three years up to 2016-17.

Frank McAveety, the leader of Glasgow City Council, has called on the government to “put their money where their mouth is”.

Primary headteachers’ organisation AHDS, meanwhile, has said that it is opposed to the increase in free hours. It is “a very expensive intervention” that will lead to “no better gains for children than part-time” and prioritises quantity over quality, the body said.

The school leaders also accused the government of planning the expansion of free nursery based on a low-paid, overwhelmingly female workforce. The government has said its hopes that workers in the sector will be paid the living wage of £8.25 an hour but there has been no commitment to funding the move.

The Scottish government said work had already begun on planning for the expansion but it needed to consult before taking “ﬁnal decisions on implementation”. A government consultation on the expansion closed this week.

[Source:- tes]

April 5, 2024 0 comment

Education

Scottish teachers and lecturers paid £600,000 in compensation

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

Teaching

Teachers and lecturers across Scotland were paid more than £600,000 in compensation for injuries – including from assaults and accidents – at work in the past year.

Payments to members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) union included £55,000 to a teacher assaulted by a pupil.

It was said to have happened when the teacher attempted to calm the pupil.

Many payouts were due to injuries caused by accidents.

They included £12,000 for a knee fracture caused by tripping over a metal door wedge and the same amount for a broken arm caused by slipping on black ice in a school car park.

Another award was £12,500 for back pain caused by carrying a heavy box without handles.

The total payouts to EIS members for the year reached £608,925.

‘Entirely avoidable’

EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said: “This year’s figure of over £600,000 in compensation for teachers and lecturers injured at work demonstrates that there is still a long way to go towards the aim of eliminating workplace injuries in our schools, colleges and universities.

“The most common cause of injuries continues to be accidents such as slips, trips and falls.

“These are also the types of incidents that are entirely avoidable with correct adherence to appropriate health and safety procedures in the workplace.

“Schools, colleges and universities will never be entirely risk-free but it is essential that all facilities are as safe as possible for learners and staff alike.”

Mr Flanagan denied the payouts were an indication of a compensation culture.

He said the compensation amounts would be reduced if insurance firms took less time to admit liability.

[Source:- BBC]

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Education

Scottish schools data published for first time

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

Pupils writing

Data about how well schools in Scotland do on reading, writing and numeracy has been published for the first time.

But the Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels information sets were made available with a warning.

The Scottish government said they required further development before their accuracy could be relied upon.

The statistics come as it was revealed that pupils do less well in reading, writing and numeracy through their primary years.

For example, in reading, 81% of P1 pupils achieved “Early Level”, 75% of P4 pupils achieved “First Level” and 72% of P7 pupils achieved “Second Level”.

However, the figures improve in secondary schools where the proportion of S3 pupils achieving Curriculum for Excellence Third Level or better is between 84% and 87% for each curriculum area which includes reading, writing, listening and talking, and numeracy.

ANALYSIS

By Jamie McIvor, BBC Scotland education correspondent

The data on Curriculum for Excellence attainment is being published for the first time.

Therefore it is impossible to say from these figures whether things are getting any better or worse.

The figures for S3 performance are bound to provoke some discussions.

The numbers reaching Level 3 – the basic level expected of an S3 student – are broadly in line with the number of primary school children reaching the levels expected of them.

But a relatively small proportion reach the more advanced Level 4.

Essentially this is a sign a youngster is academically able. It means that their work at the end of S3 would already be broadly equivalent to the standard required for a National 4 qualification.

The National 4 is the qualification, ordinarily obtained a year later in S4, by students who aren’t studying for a National 5 or even a Higher. It is broadly equivalent to a General level pass in an old Standard Grade.

This may highlight a key challenge – ensuring youngsters continue to make progress in secondary school. Problems, for example, ensuring boys keep on making progress once they leave primary school have been well debated for many years.

Another issue with the Level 4 data is that there are significant differences in the data from different part of the countries.

The government says there are inconsistencies in the way young people are assessed in different areas.

It argues the planned standardised assessments will ensure a far greater degree of consistency.

[Source:- BBC]

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Education

Scottish primary school stops setting homework

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

Boy doing homework

A school in the Highlands has stopped setting homework for its 175 pupils.

The decision was taken at Highland Council-run Inverlochy Primary in Fort William after the children and their parents voted to scrap it.

About 80% of pupils and more than 60% of their parents voted in favour of an end to homework.

Instead of homework, the children will be encouraged to read books and comics that interest them and to play.

Highland Council allows head teachers, staff and parents to make decisions on the running of schools.

A spokeswoman for the local authority said: “Highland Council has a devolved school management system in our schools.

“The authority does not have a Highland-wide ‘no homework’ policy in place – this is something that Inverlochy Primary School is trialling in their school.”

‘Independent learning’

Scotland’s biggest teachers’ union, the EIS, said the move at Inverlochy added to a long-running discussion on the setting of homework.

A spokesperson said: “There are a wide range of views and considerable debate within the educational community regarding the value of homework as a learning tool.

Analysis by Judith Burns, education reporter

Inverlochy Primary School is the latest in a lengthening string of schools around the world choosing to scrap traditional homework.

Earlier this year, a high school in Colchester told pupils that it was scrapping set homework in favour of a more independent approach to learning.

Since September, pupils at Philip Morant School and College have selected their own optional tasks with guidance from teachers.

They receive rewards for completed tasks.

Meanwhile, in Spain, “excessive” homework has sparked a rebellion, with pupils from 12,000 schools refusing to do any at weekends for the whole of this month.

Spanish pupils average more than six hours of homework a week, 11th on the global league table, but its pupils perform relatively poorly in international performance tests.

By contrast, pupils in top performing countries such as Finland do less than three hours homework a week.

There is “hard evidence” homework boosts results but there is probably an optimal amount that varies between individuals, Institute of Education experts say, quoting a study suggesting GCSE students who did between two and three hours on every school night were 10 times more likely than those who did none to achieve the government’s target of five A-C grades.

“Certainly, it is important that all pupils develop their abilities to study independently and homework is one – but not the only – method of supporting this type of independent learning.

“Ultimately, it is for individual schools and teachers to determine, based on teachers’ professional judgement and knowledge of their own pupils’ learning needs, how best to structure the delivery of all aspects of the curriculum.”

The spokesperson added: “Engagement with parents – such as through parent councils and forums – is also key in this process.”

[Source:- BBC]

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Education

Student numbers fall as Scottish colleges adjust to shake-up

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

More work is needed to gauge the demand for college courses, according to a spending watchdog.

Audit Scotland said there had been a “steep decline” in the number of part-time students following a shake-up which included mergers and funding changes.

It said it was unclear what impact the decline had on those students, in particular women and older people.

The Scottish government said it would consider the report’s findings.

Colleges have been told by the government to prioritise substantive full-time courses, which prepare students for employment, over leisure programmes and very short courses.

The report found:

The number of under-25s on full-time courses increased by 14% over the last eight years
There has been a fall in overall student numbers – the biggest falls were among women and the over 25s
Part-time student numbers fell by 48% between 2007-08 and 2014-15
Staff numbers fell by 9% between 2011-2012, and 2013-14, but increased by 5% the following year
The number of students who completed all or part of their course (retention rates) increased year-on-year from 59% to 66% between 2009-10 and 2013-14. It dropped to 64% in 2014-15
Attainment dropped in 2014-15, after steadily increasing since 2009-10
The sector’s financial health is “relatively stable” but four colleges face “challenges”

The annual review of colleges examined how reforms affected their finances, governance, staff and students.

Caroline Gardner, Auditor General for Scotland told BBC Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “The number of part-time students has fallen significantly over the last few years. That’s in line with the government’s commitment to increase the number of younger students and full-time students who are getting qualifications that will help them into employment.

“But we don’t fully understand the impact on people who had previously been able to go to college on a part-time basis – that’s particularly women and older students.”

She said it was currently impossible to say what the impact had been, but added: “It is possible that those people are finding their way into employment. It’s possible that they’re not doing that. But given the importance of Scotland’s economy at the moment, with the new financial powers coming along, and the first minister’s commitment to inclusion, it’s really important the government and the funding council have that picture.”

Several colleges merged as part of the reforms and in many parts of Scotland there is now a single college based on a number of sites.

But the changes – and how they were put into practice – were controversial, and in March college lecturers went on strike over pay.

Shirley-Anne Somerville, the minister for further and higher education, said the government had invested more than £550m in estates and maintained in excess of 116,000 full-time equivalent college places in 2007.

“Refocusing our resources on courses that will best prepare people to get a job was one of the major objectives of our reform programme,” she added.

“This report helpfully highlights what is working well and we will consider its findings, including the more challenging conclusions as we continue to deliver the job-focused learning that enables more of our young people to get the qualifications they need to get on in life,” she said.

Larry Flanagan, the general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), said the union was particularly concerned about the drop in older students.

And he said the mergers process had been a “very stressful time” for students and staff.

‘Utter mess’

“The EIS has repeatedly warned that the mergers process has sometimes been misused to provide cover for unnecessary cuts to staffing, courses and student places and this is reflected in today’s report which identifies significant cuts in each of these areas,” he said.

Labour’s education spokesman Iain Gray said the report showed the “complete and utter mess” the Scottish government had made of college re-organisation

Liz Smith, the Scottish Conservatives’ shadow secretary for education, said it raised serious concerns.

“In particular, it makes clear that the Scottish government’s severe cuts to college budgets are having a detrimental impact on the ability of colleges to maintain employee numbers, on staff morale, and on their ability to support students to develop the skills they most need in the workplace,” she said.

Colleges Scotland said it was encouraged by finding that 90% of students surveyed in 2015 were satisfied with their experience.

Chief Executive Shona Struthers said: “Colleges Scotland acknowledges that there are areas where further work is required. Activity is progressing and we are continuing to work with the Scottish government, SFC and other key stakeholders.

She added: “The Audit Scotland report, whilst emphasising the overall stability of the sector’s financial health, is clear that the college sector is showing signs that it is facing significant financial pressures.

“Colleges Scotland is committed to work with the Scottish government to ensure that colleges, as public bodies, are as financially stable and sustainable as possible”.

[Source:- BBC]

April 4, 2024 0 comment