February 07 – In the Press
- Behaviour
- Families
- Young people looked after
- Schools
- Substance misuse
- Childrens services
- Additional support
- Young peoples' voices
Behaviour
In this section you will find press stories which highlight current opinions in respect of Scotland’s education system.
Minister comments on exclusion stats
New figures show small increase in the number of exclusions from local authority schools.
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Beaten, but not bowed
The Borders head filmed during an alleged assault by a pupil addressed a group of aspiring heads on the joys and perils of leadership.
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Families
In this section you will find new stories relating to the issues of families and young people who are disaffected or excluded from school.
Alcohol vs Drugs: How does parental use affect children?
More attention needs to be given to the 100,000 Scottish children affected by parental alcohol use to match the level of activity, that quite rightly, has been devoted to children affected by parental drug use. That is the conclusion of the second Think Tank organised by Aberlour Child Care Trust and the Scottish Association of Alcohol and Drug Action Teams.
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Young people looked after
In this section you will find press stories relating to the education of young people who are looked after away from home.
Education for care children tops the agenda
The Scottish Cabinet will get regular reports on how looked after children perform at school as part of new actions to improve education for these youngsters. A national 'champion' will also work with councils to make sure they are providing the best possible education for children in care.
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Action speaks louder than words
"The harsh reality is that many looked-after children and young people are simply not achieving their potential or getting the quality of care, protection and support that they need."
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Insight into residential school
The head of a residential school for boys said he hoped a new insight into the establishment would help dispel the myths surrounding it.
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Schools
In this section you will find press stories which highlight current opinions and developments in respect of Scotland’s education system.
A whole new dimension
Pupils and teachers could benefit from a mix of the vocational and the academic in a transition year the Irish concept of the "transition year", where pupils take time out to gain a broader experience before studying for their most important exams, is being scrutinised in Scotland.
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Hop, skip and jump
A Glasgow school is holding 45-minute exercise sessions every morning and seeing big improvements in pupils' concentration, self-esteem and respect for each other.
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Explorations of the mind
The finding of a study in Clackmannanshire schools found that giving 177 P6 pupils an hour of philosophy a week over 18 months improved their thinking and reasoning abilities by the equivalent of 6.5 IQ points. It also led to improvements in their social and emotional development.
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Executive drops class size pledge
A Scottish Government pledge to cut some secondary school class sizes has been dropped.
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Use of mobile phones in schools
Scotland's councils have been urged by Education Minister Hugh Henry to make sure every school has clear and effective guidelines about the use of mobile phones on their premises.
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Extra helping of cash for school meals
Councils across Scotland will benefit from £5 million of new funding to promote healthy eating in schools. The extra money can be used to buy resources - like books or DVDs - to teach pupils about healthy eating, promote healthy school meals, put in place systems for anonymising free school meals or train staff about teaching health issues.
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Music tuition pledge hits the right note
Every school pupil in Scotland has been offered a year's free music tuition before they reach primary six, according to a report published by the Scottish Arts Council.
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School building and refurbishment
The Scottish government has marked the achievement of its promise to refurbish 200 schools in the country's largest ever school building programme.
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Substance misuse
In this section you will find current stories relating to the issue of substance misuse and young people who are disaffected or excluded from school.
Coalition urges Executive to combat alcohol use during pregnancy
A coalition of charities and expert groups is urging the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government to prioritise research and action to deal with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
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Children’s services
In this section you will find news about the development of children’s services in Scotland.
Voluntary sector in ‘hostile era’
Scotland's voluntary sector is living a "hand to mouth" existence, Holyrood's education committee has been told.
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Children 1st welcome’s decision on the protection of vulnerable groups bill
Children 1st has welcomed Ministers’ decision to remove Part 3 of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups Bill and put proposals for retrospective barring of all adults involved with children out for further consultation.
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Child protection info line launched
A one-stop-shop - designed to complement Scottish child protection services – has been launched. The 24-hour child protection information line will give people easy access to child protection services and allow them to share concerns about a child with the most appropriate local agency.
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Cash for voluntary groups
It has been announced that more than 70 organisations across Scotland will receive a share of £1.3m from the Voluntary Sector Development Fund. The cash boost will help these organisations increase the standard and variety of staff training - helping them to improve the service they offer to clients.
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Aberlour: Major expansion in Dumfries and Galloway update
Aberlour Child Care Trust has been asked to establish additional provision for young people at risk of exclusion. Crannog Plus is the title of the resulting development phase which will achieve an extended Crannog service across Dumfries & Galloway by April 2007.
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New Children 1st bfriends centre
A £100,000 donation from rugby charity Wooden Spoon has helped Children 1st kick off a brighter future for young people in Edinburgh. Thanks to the generosity of Scottish rugby supporters, two run-down units in a Craigmillar industrial estate have been transformed into a new home for our bfriends service.
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Scots facing higher nursery fees
Nursery fees in Scotland are increasing at almost double the rate of those in England, a survey has found.
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Cash for free books scheme
Funding of £1.5 million to expand what is believed to be the world's first baby book gifting scheme over the next two years has been announced.
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Additional support
In this section you will find press stories which consider issues surrounding young people with additional support needs and approaches which are being implemented to improve and enhance their experience of school.
Football clubs to help disaffected youths
All 12 Scottish Premier League clubs have teamed up with the Executive to 'Kick Start' a new initiative to help young Scots who are not in employment, education or training (NEET).
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Coming back from the edge
A year-long self-development programme in the Borders offers socially excluded youth the chance to turn their lives around.
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Tycoon in vocational course call
Youngsters should be given more freedom to choose the vocational courses they want to follow, a top businessman and philanthropist has said.
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ProjectScotland
Less than one in 10 young people that complete a ProjectScotland placement fail to find full-time employment. Around 20% of volunteers are classified as not in employment, education or training (NEET) when they begin volunteering with ProjectScotland. More than eight in 10 volunteers who complete placements also report increased confidence, improvements in their ability to take responsibility and improvements in people and relationships skills.
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Boost their chances
Scottish children should benefit from a world-class education, but too many inequalities prevent them from achieving their full potential. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds should be given booster lessons to bring them to the same level as their peers, according to a senior academic.
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‘My child has a new lease of life’
Oliver Baines used to spend every day either lying on the floor or strapped into his chair.
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Going wild
Aspiring young survivalists keen to emulate television's Ray Mears will be able to test their outdoor skills, thanks to a grant of £57,200 from Scottish Natural Heritage.
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A new world built on access
Glasgow's groundbreaking strategy on inclusion aims to make disabled people part of every workplace and social situation. A company using trainers with a range of disabilities to instruct headteachers about equality issues is helping to turn this vision into reality
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Top of page
Young people’s voices
In this section you will find current stories reflecting young people’s opinions about issues which affect them.
Make the news in your school
BBC News School Report gives students from UK schools the chance to make their own news at school and to "broadcast" it via the internet. During the 2006/7 pilot year of the project, School Report is offering this opportunity to 12- and 13-year olds in 100 schools around the UK.
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