An Edinburgh headteacher has appealed to parents to help with a shortage of maths teachers. Bryan Paterson, of Trinity Academy, asked for help in filling two vacant maths teacher posts, blaming a “national shortage”. In the letter, Mr Paterson said teachers of other subjects with “a mathematics background” could help plug the gap.

This week Scotland’s Armed Forces children’s charity, the Royal Caledonian Education Trust (RCET), kicked off a series of three conferences. Secondary pupils are given the chance to speak about the highs and lows of growing up in the forces, which can result in pupils changing school regularly with knock-on effects on attainment. Feedback will influence the development of RCET materials and online resources for education staff.

A Scottish teacher has written a damning open letter to Nicola Sturgeon, warning that Curriculum for Excellence is “utterly failing the children in our care”. On his blog, Mark Wilson, a Fife biology teacher who said he had voted SNP in the past, urged the first minister to “save our education system”. A government spokesman said it had committed to tackling bureaucracy and addressing teacher workload.

Calls have grown for a ban on the controversial “mosquito device” at Hamilton Central train station. A sound-emitting device designed to stop young people loitering, its installation came after reports of anti-social behaviour. The Scottish Youth Parliament has criticised the move, as has Scotland’s children’s commissioner, Bruce Adamson and Christina McKelvie, convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities and Human Rights Committee.