Informed Scotland July/August 2016 – Was anyone on holiday?

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Curriculum for Excellence is back as a hot topic after being absent from the Informed Scotland front cover since the first issue in May 2012! New ‘streamlined’ guidance has been published to ‘liberate the teaching profession from unnecessary bureaucracy’, reigniting some old debates and initiating new ones.

In contrast, widening access and increasing diversity, and digital skills gaps and shortages continue to feature as recurring themes, affecting sectors right across the landscape.

It was pretty much business as usual throughout the summer, making for a bumper edition packed with studies, surveys, audits, statistics, exam results and consultations. In fact the Scottish Government’s Enterprise & Skills Review call for evidence and consultation on its Response to the introduction of the UK Apprenticeship Levy both started and finished over the holiday months.

There are numerous research reports to consolidate knowledge and enlighten or even surprise, including the UCAS Through the lens of students survey of how perceptions influence university applications, the Prince’s Trust’s 40 Life-changing Years report with a survey of 16–25 year-olds and a report on cybersecurity skills from Robert Half.

The word ‘new’ appears almost 50 times in this issue, including a new Network for Curriculum Studies at University of Stirling, a new Gaelic education e-Sgoil in the Western Isles, a new Gender Action Plan from Scottish Funding Council, a new website for Children’s University Scotland and several new courses, from Robert Gordon University’s online Strategic Leadership & Planning accredited by CMI, to Queen Margaret University’s MSc Play Therapy developed with With Kids.

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