New resources chief appointed

- South Lanarkshire Council has appointed Jim Gilhooly as executive director of education resources. He will take up his post next January, following the retirement of Larry Forde. Mr Gilhooly, a former head at St Stephen’s High in Inverclyde, has worked as depute director for the last five years, and has been with South Lanarkshire Council for eight. He said he was “delighted to have been trusted with progressing the educational hopes and aspirations of the people of South Lanarkshire”.

Griggs steps down as chair

- Professor Russel Griggs (below), author of the national review of college governance, has stepped down as chair of Ayrshire College region only months after his appointment. Education secretary Michael Russell said Professor Griggs had taken the decision “with the long-term interest of the region in mind”. He has appointed Stephen Brannagan, chair of the board at Kilmarnock College, to take up the role. Professor Griggs will remain chair of Dumfries and Galloway College.

Criticism over headteacher post

- Highland Council has been criticised for its plans to appoint a non- native Gaelic speaker as headteacher of Inverness Gaelic School. Comann nam Parant Inbhir Nis, which represents parents at the school, says the appointment of a non-Gaelic speaker would undermine their efforts to support the language’s survival. The acting head is Swedish, and the council has been unable to persuade a suitable native speaker to apply for two years. Opening up the post to learners of Gaelic produced two applicants, although one had withdrawn.

Dundee nursery worker charged

- A nursery worker from Dundee has been charged with possessing indecent images of children. The 20-year-old was detained by Tayside police officers last week and has been suspended from his job at Oranges and Lemons nursery. A police spokeswoman said thorough inquiries were continuing to establish the circumstances, and computer equipment had been forensically examined. A spokesman for the nursery said the allegations against the staff member had come “as a great shock”.

Correction

- Owing to a production error, the last few words of our 12 October interview with Matthew Fitt were missing. The last sentence, in full, was: “Burns and other writers would become artefacts rather than texts that are living.”