Adam Ingram, the Minister for Children and Early Years, has announced plans to extend the entitlement to free school meals to families in receipt of maximum child and maximum working tax credits. The proposals were dependent upon discussions with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.
Children’s charities joined together last week to lobby the SNP annual conference on child poverty. John Dickie, head of Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, said: “Improving educational opportunities for Scotland’s poorest children and boosting family incomes must go hand in hand if commitments to end child poverty are to be met. The attainment gap in education will exist as long as child poverty does.”
Exiled Burmese educationists visited Forthview Primary in Edinburgh last week, where pupils have raised pound;4,000 for the HIe Bee School for Burmese refugees on the ThaiBurmese border by selling their handmade saffron ribbons. The delegation addressed Edinburgh City Council and met senior pupils and staff of James Gillespie’s High on United Nations Day, the 12th anniversary of the house arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Students from Torry and Dyce academies in Aberdeen have taken part in a ceremony at HM Treasury in London for charity work in the Giving Nation Awards, organised by the Citizenship Foundation to celebrate young people’s achievements for charities and local communities. Both schools won pound;1,000 to put towards charity action or a cause of their choosing.
Two primary schools in Highland have been told by HMIE that they have not made sufficient progress in meeting targets. Kyleakin Primary on Skye has made “weak progress” in addressing two main points for action identified by inspectors - setting appropriate and challenging tasks, and meeting pupils’ learning needs - a follow-through report said. Miller Academy Primary in Thurso also made “weak progress” in self-evaluation procedures and planning of pupils’ learning.
Jewel and Esk College’s pound;53 million e:volve project is a UK first. The college is using redundant equipment to support schools and improve the lives of people in some of the world’s poorest areas. Around 65 tonnes of items will be recycled, re-used or repaired before being shipped in 40ft containers. The items come from the Milton Road campus, which is being refitted and partially rebuilt.
