Independent analysis shows there have been cuts of more than £400 million to education spending since 2010, Scottish Labour has said. The research, commissioned by Labour and conducted by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, reveals that local authority education spending decreased from £5.3 billion in 2009-10 to £4.9 billion in 2017-18, (a fall of 7.5 per cent), despite Pupil Equity Funding being factored in for 2017-18. The government, however, insisted that the latest official figures, for 2016-17, show a real-terms increase in education spending.
A cybersecurity expert has called for schools to lose funding if they neglect computing science. Professor Bill Buchanan, head of the Cyber Academy at Edinburgh Napier University, has analysed data on computing science at National 5 and Higher and, in an online article, describes computing science in school as being “an unfocused mess with a complete lack of proper investment”.
All newly qualified teachers in Scotland in 2018 and 2019 will be given a new poetry anthology. To Learn the Future: poems for teachers aims to foster resilience, compassion and wellbeing. An introduction by Jackie Kay, Scotland’s makar, reads: “These poems are not teaching aids, but life aids; not set texts, but subtexts. This gift is not homework, but heart work.”
An event in Edinburgh will attempt to map out how to rid the world of violence against girls and women. Zero Tolerance: Leadership for Prevention on 11 October will bring together professionals from various sectors. Sign up at bit.ly/ZeroEdin, or get more details by calling 0131 556 7365 or emailing: jenny.lester@zerotolerance.org.uk
