FE chiefs reject pay proposals
- Further education leaders have rejected proposals by Education Secretary Michael Russell to introduce collective pay bargaining for college staff and a policy of no compulsory redundancies. The Principals’ Convention of Scotland’s Colleges said: “Staffing changes in colleges at the moment are a direct result of a significant reduction of 10.4 per cent of college funding, a decision taken by the Scottish Government.”
Call to get aboard results service
- Pupils and students are being encouraged to sign up for the MySQA service, allowing them to receive exam results by text andor email by 9am on 4 August. The deadline for registration on www.mysqa.info is 5pm on 15 July. Those who registered last year do not need to re-register, but should check their address details are correct.
Cash boost for Gaelic learners
- Funding of more than pound;1m for Gaelic education has been announced by the Culture Minister, Fiona Hyslop; pound;976,000 from the Gaelic Schools Capital Fund will enable the upgrade of facilities in four schools and the creation of a new Gaelic learning centre in Oban. Another pound;130,000 is being invested in adult language classes, a Gaelic learners’ website and drama in schools.
Scotland may be trafficking haven
- At least 80 children may have been trafficked into Scotland in 18 months without a single person being convicted, according to a new report by Tam Baillie, Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People and the Centre for Rural Childhood, Perth College UHI. Scotland: a safe place for child traffickers? reveals that even in the few cases where children have been identified as victims, the lack of successful criminal prosecutions makes Scotland a welcome place for traffickers.
Pupil injury prompts payout
- Scottish Borders Council has been ordered to pay pound;2,000 in damages after a nine-year-old pupil hurt her wrist while swinging from rafters in a playground shelter at Burgh Primary in Galashiels in 2007. A legal action by Abigail Wardle’s mother was originally dismissed by a sheriff after he heard the girl had been warned by the deputy head. But on appeal, Sheriff Principal Edward Bowen said the council had a duty of care, although he ruled there was 50 per cent contributory negligence on her part.
