Threat to pull out of probationer places
- Dumfries and Galloway has become the first authority to threaten to pull out of the probationer induction scheme unless improvements are made. The council’s education committee backed a report by officials that effectively acknowledged the authority had lost control of its ability to appoint new teachers. The council has already complained to the Scottish Executive after the matching exercise that allocates probationers to education authorities went disastrously wrong.
Smart card schools for the laptop city
- Edinburgh is looking at a massive investment in information technology that could revolutionise its services. The authority has been running pilots with cordless computers, wireless technology and video- conferencing. It is also using smart cards for the new state-of-the-art building for St Thomas of Aquin’s, set to open in August.
Baroness supports `uncool’ recorder
- Arts minister Baroness Blackstone defended the humble recorder this week after new research showed that pupils regard it as “boring” and “uncool”. The survey of 1,209 pupils, conducted by academics at Keele University, discovered that children would prefer to play instruments associated with pop stars or musical role models.
Research `coup’ for Glasgow
- More than 70 years of independent existence as one of the world’s foremost bodies in its field is to end for the Scottish Council for Research in Education. It has announced plans to merge with the faculty of education at the University of Glasgow. The research council, founded in 1928, is to have its core government funding withdrawn next March, after which it will have to earn all its own keep.
Why did it all end in tragedy?
- Largs Academy remained open into the summer break for children and parents who sought counselling after the coach crash in France which claimed the life of a 15-year-old pupil, Katherine Fish. The tragedy has led to renewed calls for schools to consider budget airlines instead of risking lengthy road journeys to Europe.
