The UK government’s controversial Prevent counter-radicalisation strategy is to be toughened up rather than scaled back, despite criticism. The Home Office has confirmed that an internal review of Prevent - ordered earlier this year by Theresa May when she was home secretary - has concluded that the programme “should be strengthened, not undermined”. The EIS teaching union, Scotland’s largest, is opposed to Prevent. A representative told TESS earlier this year that the union believed counterterrorism training for teachers was harmful, rooted in Islamophobia and likely to lead to an increase in racist incidents in schools.
The Scottish government has agreed to put on hold the publication of a refreshed anti-bullying strategy for schools, so that it can consult more widely. The move comes after academics reported that racist and discriminatory language was becoming more acceptable inside Scottish schools in the wake of the Brexit vote. The researchers from the University of Edinburgh’s Moray House School of Education made the claim in evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities and Human Rights Committee. They also called for a national scheme to record bullying in schools.
HM Revenue and Customs has been asked to investigate allegations that Scottish exam invigilators could be being paid less than the minimum wage. Daniel Johnson, a Labour MSP, wrote to HMRC after invigilators complained that their pay left them earning below the £8.25 per hour national living wage and, in the worst cases, less than the minimum wage of £7.20. An investigation by The Guardian revealed that more than 6,500 invigilators received fixed fees of £54.30 a day or £27.15 for each half-day, regardless of how long they worked.
A scheme that allows senior pupils to study for school qualifications at university has been awarded a prize. One of the winners at last week’s Scottish Qualifications Authority Star Awards was the Advanced Higher Hub, a partnership between Glasgow City Council and the city’s Caledonian University, which uses senior teachers to deliver seven Advanced Highers to pupils who would not otherwise have access. The 2015-16 cohort of hub students achieved a 91 per cent pass rate.
@Emma_Seith
