Once again there was no lull over the festive season with 2017 continuing at pace, ready to throw everything at the learning & skills landscape. Words of the year are already emerging: ‘equity’, ‘learner journey’, ‘streamlining’, ‘quality’ – and ‘challenging’! You could be forgiven for having a sense of déjà vu, with the National Improvement […]
Here’s our fourth annual list of Learning & Skills ‘Hot Topics’ that made it onto the cover of Informed Scotland over the past year: 1. Digital & tech sector skills (=2 in 2015) 2. Science, technology, engineering & maths (STEM) (=4) =3. Apprenticeships (=9) =3. Enterprise (=2) =3. Gender balance & gaps (=9) =3. Teacher […]
2016 has been another busy year, so it’s a good time to take stock and say thank you! As education moved onto the political centre stage, we’ve been working hard to keep Informed Scotland subscribers up to date with learning & skills matters. As well as the monthly digests, we published a Scottish Parliament Election […]
The phrase of the month was ‘call to action’, with campaigns and action plans right across the landscape. The main publication was the Scottish Government’s consultation on a draft Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths (STEM) Strategy for Education and Training. The main proposed actions are included in an annex as a handy reference for our […]
In terms of learning & skills, October felt less frantic. The main items this month were the Scottish Government’s Enterprise & Skills Review Report of Phase 1, and plans for apprenticeships following a consultation of views in Scotland of the UK Apprenticeship Levy. In both cases this is unfinished business. For the former, the focus shifts […]
With the Scottish Government once again placing education as top priority in its programme for the year, and Education Scotland’s annual Scottish Learning Festival drawing the crowds, it has been another month of high profile activity. There was a significant announcement about reducing the workload in school assessments and qualifications at National 5, Higher and […]
by Angela Brunton, Managing Director, Be Personnel Ltd. Continuing our guest blog series featuring Informed Scotland subscribers writing on the theme Making connections across the learning & skills landscape. I started my recruitment business ten years ago with the objective of providing the best service and experience possible, for clients and candidates alike, through partnership working. […]
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 […]
The fourth annual Informed Scotland Organisations & People Special has just been published to coincide with the start of the 2016–17 academic session. It provides a snapshot of an ever-changing landscape. Each year we add more items – this year there are links to over 280 organisations, up from 150 in the first edition in 2013. […]
by Kenneth Muir, Chief Executive, General Teaching Council for Scotland. Continuing our guest blog series featuring Informed Scotland subscribers writing on the theme Making connections across the learning & skills landscape. STV’s Scotland Tonight programme recently asked the question ‘What makes a good teacher?’ The programme reminded me of a visit I made a few years […]