Nursery fees in Scotland are increasing at almost double the rate of those in England, according to a new survey. The findings by Daycare Trust and Children in Scotland show that a full-time nursery place for a child under two is typically pound;146 a week - around a third of average earnings.
This represents a rise of 10 per cent on last year, compared with increases of 6 per cent and 2 per cent in England and Wales. But the cost in England is still higher than in Scotland, at pound;152 a week. Parents in the UK pay around 70 per cent of the cost of childcare, compared with parents in the rest of Europe who pay around 30 per cent.
Another tranche of Scottish Executive cash is heading for schools, this time a pound;5 million injection so they can buy resources such as books and DVDs to get the healthy eating message across. This is the second one-off payment for schools since Hugh Henry became Education Minister; it follows a pound;60 million package he announced last November for educational resources and building improvements.
Glasgow City Council and Dell this week announced a new pound;15.5 million contract in which the computer giant will run a managed ICT service for the city’s 170 primaries and 122 nurseries, supplying nearly 7,400 computers.
The deal includes a notebook computer for every full-time primary teacher and nursery head, and more access to technology for younger children. The new service will be phased in from April 1.
Allan Grieve, the former depute head of Falkirk High, has been struck off the register of the General Teaching Council for Scotland after being found in possession of child pornography. Mr Grieve, 46, had the images on a memory stick in his pocket. The period for appeals has lapsed.
A restaurant in Cardinal Newman High in North Lanarkshire, run in conjunction with Motherwell College, has been named Scotland and Northern Ireland restaurant of the year. The Snapdragon was selected by judges from Restaurant magazine as one of five UK regional finalists. The overall winner will be announced next month. Menus are judged on “passion, creativity and originality”. The restaurant is part of the junior hospitality academy for third and fourth year pupils at the school, widely seen as a model for the skills academies being promoted by the First Minister.
The new parent councils will have the same rights as the former school boards to be consulted on school closure plans. The necessary regulations will be amended, the Education Minister said in a parliamentary written answer.
