Parents at a Highland primary have voted to bring an end to homework. Pupils at Fort William’s Inverlochy Primary will be encouraged to read and play instead. TESS has also learned of other schools pursuing similar plans. Experts have clashed over the impact: some argue it will damage attempts to close the attainment gap, while others say it will create more level playing fields.
Rising numbers of shared headships in primary schools have led to a call to ensure that such moves are not purely financially driven. The annual conference of primary school leaders’ body AHDS last week heard that some headteachers may work across as many as five schools. Education secretary John Swinney, who spoke at the event in Dunblane, said joint headships may be appropriate at times but only in “the correct circumstances”.
Primary schools have been invited to join what is described as Scotland’s biggest “glee choir” challenge. Some 80 schools and 2,500 children from seven local authorities are expected to take part in heats. They will perform two songs in front of a live audience: Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling and a choice of their own. The final is in Perth next June. For details click here.
A West Dunbartonshire primary has become home to the first “science hub” of its type in Scotland. The base at St Patrick’s Primary School in Dumbarton was inspired by Glasgow Science Centre. Scientists from the centre led the design of what was previously an open space between classrooms. It has interactive areas with a science lab, a social space shaped like a tree, a “cave” for smaller group work and a digital screen linked to tablet computers.
