Which areas of education do you want to discuss?
Engage For Education is an online initiative by the Scottish Government, designed to enable direct conversation between ministers and parents, children & young people, teachers & school staff to discuss issues relating to learning and education.
Is there anything that you would like to see discussed on Engage?
Following our recent week talking about issues pertinent to the National Parent Forum of Scotland and their conference, in the coming months we will be focusing discussion around other areas or aspects of learning and education and want to know what you would like to talk about.
For example, should we have a week focusing on discussion around CfE or the learning support provision for those with additional support needs? Would you like to see a week on the next version of Glow with contributions from the ICT in Education Team?
As well as the Engage community, are there any government or external agencies you think should also contribute to that discussion, or do you yourself represent a body who would like to be involved?
Submit your suggestions in the comments below for anything you’d like to discuss on Engage. Thanks in advance for contributing.
Andy Thomson, Engage Community Manager
15 comments
I would like to see the Scottish Government tackle the attitude of Local Authorities that Education Provision is a burden to them and adopting more of the attitude displayed in Nordic counntries that Childrens’ Education is an investment, not an expense.
Whenever economic demands are high, the first thing to get chopped is always Education. We’re heading back to the fifties here with the amount of cuts we’re seeing now, and yet Councils waste millions of pounds on unnecessary management posts and expenses.
This attitude needs to be tackled so that Education in Scotland can thrive and prepare our children for the future.
‘Music in early years learning’ suggested by @angienic on Twitter.
http://twitter.com/angienic/status/129222678711250940
I would like the ICT in education team to discuss which tools they are proposing to use in the next version of glow and how/when these will be piloted (e.g. google apps for education, Microsoft live @ edu, moodle etc…).
I think we might need more than a week to discuss issues such as:
*The practicalities and realities of what SQA is cooking up for National 4, 5 and beyond
*The role of COSLA and its members in driving the curriculum
*The balance and impartiality (or lack of it) demonstrated by some civil servants in working with Government and its Ministers in the education sphere
The role of the school health service and the lack of parental consultation from that area.
Adult education in Scotland.
If we value the contribution adult education makes to Scotland and its people, and want to see a brighter future for our country, we must invest in adult education. We want to have a national conversation about how we can make adult education the best it can be, and ensure that opportunities exist for people of all ages.
What will Scotland’s future look like without a comprehensive offer to adult learners?
Jayne Stuart – Supporting Learning Link Scotland’s #BestEd campaign
It would be good to discuss the progress that is being made with the implementation of the Donaldson Review. How are Universities viewing their taking a coherent and consistent role in the continuing professional development of teachers? Are we going to see training schools, linked with Universities?
I would like to see something along the lines of an ‘Engage with your heritage’ program to involve young folk in local heritage projects. So much of Scotland’s past has been consigned to rubble in the recent past yet a common heritage is what holds a community together. Involving younger Scots side-by-side with older folk in a creative learning environment with a concrete project at the end of it would ensure that this bond is strengthened with time rather than dissipated and lost to future generations and it is a great way to learn history!
Would it be possible to survey and analyse how many independent fee paying schools in Scotland, with their long traditions of academic achievement, are embracing CfE and the emerging qualifications from the SQA? Surely if they are all going down this route then the Scottish Government and the SQA MUST have it right?
I would like to see discussed the involvement of Corporate IT in education networks. Why is that Corporate IT departments think that they know what is best for schools in terms of ICT in the curriculum and what curriculum software is appropriate in our classrooms. Why do they consider that thin clients are a better model rather than moving forward to a one per pupil model where the children can take home their device and still have access to all their work. In the current age of cutbacks, why are corporate IT departments so scared of ‘Bring your own device’ (BYOD) models – are not antivirus and security measures already in place? If higher education establishments can cope with it, then why cant this be a model incorporated into schools?
Why hasn’t the SQA been able to provide assessment details for proposed National 4 and many National 5 courses yet? It would appear they can’t even keep to their own belated deadlines.
As it’s been over a month since suggestions were invited for discussion topics (hope there’s some action on that sooner rather than later) let’s have a mass debate about the utility or otherwise of the monopoly exercised by the august body that is the SQA.
Assessment for Curriculum for Excellence actually needs to be tighter, more rigorous and therefore more helpful than was the case for the 5-14 levels. We need to address to issue of pupils passing higher maths yet needing a calculator to do 6×5, then some going onto university to gain a maths degree unable to mentally add four simple cheques, and then some going onto become investment bankers. There are a number of numeracy weak links, that if collectively addressed, would make the whole chain stronger.
Hello @AnActualTeacher
I have checked with my colleagues and more detail on the assessment at National 4 and 5 was published on the SQA website on Monday (28th) in keeping with the schedule, it can be accessed at: http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/47993.html
We are continuing to work on future discussions based on the feedback. One topic that has been mentioned by several people/groups is ICT. There will be second update from the ICT Programme Team on the next phase of the project shortly and as ever comments and questions will be welcome.
All the best,
Andy, Engage
Hello Andy Thomson
As ever it’s half or less of the story. Most National 5 assessment PROVISIONAL info is available, primarily because for most subjects it is a direct transcription of Intermediate 2 (hope people at SQA haven’t been paid lots of extra money to re-invent/re-package the wheel there!?), and I never said otherwise. However, a lot for National 4 HAS NOT and so the SQA HAS missed its own generous deadline leaving teachers struggling to plan.
Clearly your colleagues have not fed you all the current information.
Hello again Andy Thomson
With regard to your statement “One topic that has been mentioned by several people/groups is ICT” and so another update from the ICT Programme Team. Tom Renwick clearly had a point about simple mathematical processes. On this thread issues such as:
*Heritage;Music;School Health Service; Adult Education;Donaldson review; the role of civil servants like your good self have appeared ONCE
*ICT; Local Authorities/COSLA have appeared TWICE
*The SQA has appeared FOUR times
I think your agenda has been set along the lines you requested back in late October- clearly you will need to speak to your colleagues over at the SQA again and encourage them to enter into some fun and full discussion.