Latest news with #JamesDalgleish
Edinburgh Live
3 days ago
- General
- Edinburgh Live
First look at new Edinburgh high school with swimming pool and dance studio
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info The new Currie Community High School has now been completed with students returning for the new academic year. Edinburgh council have branded the space as a 'state-of-the-art learning and community campus.' Those behind the building have said the school has been designed with the interest of learners at heart. The school includes a four-court sports hall, a gym hall, fitness suite, dance studio, a Passivhaus four lane swimming pool and a 3G pitch. The main entrance foyer includes the school library alongside informal social and meeting spaces for the community to use. These facilities include a wellness centre, meeting room and café area which has been included with the aim of providing refreshments for community users in the near future. Currie Community Hihh has been built to Passivhaus standard, minimising energy consumption and with a green focus in mind. The school also containes two easily accessible large open plan learning plazas on all three floors. Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sentstraight to your messages. Designed with inclusion of all learners in mind, along with classrooms in an Integrated Support Zone, there is a sensory room and nurture room. Breakout and retreat spaces throughout the school offer pupils choice on where they want to work, socialise or take time out. Children, Education and Families Convener, Councillor James Dalgleish, said: 'The handover of Currie High School marks a new era for staff and pupils alike, as well as the local community, and it's fantastic to see that the new school building is officially open. Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox 'The new school has been designed with future proofing and sustainability front and centre. The design and landscape was informed and influenced by the school's senior leadership team to ensure that the needs of pupils were prioritised throughout. Alongside this, it was crucial that the building met our sustainability commitments, and it is fantastic that the school is one of the very first Passivhaus secondary schools in Scotland. I am thrilled that the school and wider community will benefit from this fantastic new building both now and well into the future.'
Scotsman
3 days ago
- Business
- Scotsman
First look as Edinburgh's new £50m 'state of the art' secondary school opens
Construction of the brand-new £50 million Currie Community High School in Edinburgh is now complete. Pictures have now revealed the stunning transformation of the school. The building was handed over to the City of Edinburgh Council who appointed Kier to deliver the new high school building. This week staff and pupils started the new school year in the state-of-the-art learning and community campus. The new learning campus has been built to Passivhaus standard, minimising energy consumption and reducing the reliance on active heating or cooling systems. Make sure you keep up to date with news from across Scotland by signing up to our free newsletter here. The new school and community campus has also been designed with the needs of learners, as well as the local community in mind. It includes a four-court sports hall, a gym hall, fitness suite, dance studio, a Passivhaus four lane swimming pool and a 3G pitch. Children, education and families convener, councillor James Dalgleish, said: 'The handover of Currie High School marks a new era for staff and pupils alike, as well as the local community, and it's fantastic to see that the new school building is officially open. 'Alongside this, it was crucial that the building met our sustainability commitments, and it is fantastic that the school is one of the very first Passivhaus secondary schools in Scotland.' 1 . Building handed over to City of Edinburgh Council The new school building has been designed in line with the guiding principles of the Scottish Government's Learning Estate Strategy. | The City of Edinburgh Council Photo: The City of Edinburgh Council Photo Sales 2 . School ready from August Construction of the brand-new Currie Community High School in Edinburgh is now complete. | The City of Edinburgh Council Photo: The City of Edinburgh Council Photo Sales 3 . 'Designed with the needs of learners, as well as the local community in mind' In addition to the Passivhaus design, the new school includes other sustainable features. | The City of Edinburgh Council Photo Sales 4 . Classrooms across three floors Aiming to encourage cross curricular and collaborative learning, the school has two large open plan learning plazas that are easily accessed by classrooms on all three floors. Designed with inclusion of all learners in mind, along with classrooms in an Integrated Support Zone, there is a sensory room and nurture room. | The City of Edinburgh Council Photo Sales
Scotsman
7 days ago
- General
- Scotsman
Exams Scotland: Does surge in vocational subjects mark an end to Highers as the 'gold standard' of education?
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... It has long been repeated the Scottish Government's 'gold standard' of educational achievement was securing five Highers. This year's Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) results were hailed as a 'landmark' year for Scotland's schools - but not for the number of pupils attaining this so-called gold standard. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Pupils pose after receiving exam results at Kings Park Secondary School in Glasgow. Picture: Jeff| Getty Images Instead, success in vocational subjects - such as National Progression Awards (NPA) - was one of the stand-out stories of results day. For the first time, more than 100,000 vocational awards were handed out to Scotland's school pupils, with one council area reporting an 'upsurge' in pupils opting for vocational courses. While this is being hailed as a success by education bosses, others raise concerns about the risk of a 'two-tier' system where less academically able pupils are pushed away from Highers and into practical courses. In Edinburgh, 70 NPA courses are offered across 23 secondary schools - and the council is emphatic these have parity of esteem with more traditional academic qualifications. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad City of Edinburgh's education convener James Dalgleish said pupils were increasingly looking towards what jobs they might do and the best way to get into the world of work. In 2023, the Scottish capital's schools had 941 NPA passes and this year that's up to 1700. 'It's also about supporting young people in their passion and not fitting them into boxes or pushing them down a certain path,' Mr Dalgleish said. Construction and stone masonry are of particular interest in Edinburgh, a city rapidly expanding and where building skills are going to be vital. Mr Dalgleish added: 'We're going to need a lot of new young people coming out of school moving into the construction sector. Otherwise, we're not going to get the homes that we want to build. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We live in a really beautiful, old, historic city. We were struggling to get talented, well-qualified young people to be able to maintain these beautiful buildings that people from across the world want to see.' A view of Victorian tenement housing in the West End of Edinburgh, Morningside. Picture: Getty Images Some young people look ahead to a barista qualification to help them gain a job working while they study at university. One example given is a pupil who wanted to take a construction course to give him practical experience of working a lathe before going to study engineering at university. Some schools have facilities for vocational courses while for others, pupils will travel to Edinburgh College. As part of the city's net zero ambitions, it wants to cut the number of young people commuting and so two new schools being built will have space to work with industry partners on training. The experiences on offer are described as 'life changing', but the council is keen to emphasise there is no 'two-tier system'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad While there are schemes, such as a roofing course offered by Castlebrae Secondary, to encourage disengaged young people back to school, the council is emphatically against any suggestion vocational courses are for pupils who aren't coping at school. The words 'dignity' and 'parity of esteem' are frequently used. Mr Dalgleish said: 'These qualifications are not nice to have - they are essential to have. They are a fundamental part of what we offer our young people and we have had a resulting dramatic increase in those choosing to take them.' In Glasgow, the council introduced vocational subjects 22 years ago. Nicola McKenzie is the EVIP development officer for the council. She joined EVIP, which stands for Enhanced Vocational Inclusion Programme, on a six-month secondment. That was 19 years ago and Mrs McKenzie is still passionate about her role. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'You're like a teacher, you're like a social worker, you're like an auntie - it's wonderful chaos every day of my life,' she said. 'Their stories can be really traumatic and when I started, I literally cried for about a month because I grew up in the east end of Glasgow and I thought I was gallus. 'I've unfortunately had young people that I work with who are no longer with us. But I've also worked with young people who are now [undergone a] 360 [degree] transformation and they're working in our children's house estate or they've went to university or they work for global hairdressing organisations. And their lives have changed.' At that time, the vocational options were construction or hospitality, prompted by skills shortages in those sectors. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mrs McKenzie said: 'Also there was a recognition that the 'chalk and talk' style of learning didn't suit the changes in society.' The city offers a wide range of senior phase programmes with three regional Glasgow colleges with courses from psychology to hairdressing to computer game development and barista skills. Young people stay at school, but have the chance to try college simultaneously for some courses. It is, Mrs McKenzie said, a 'real cross-section' of pupils who opt for vocational courses - some with an eye on the future world of work and some who struggle with traditional learning. There is a definite culture shift in how theses courses are viewed. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I've been in education for 25 years now and that's the first time they've had a non-academic young person celebrated on results day,' Mrs McKenzie said. 'And that was really remarkable for me.' The young person in question is also remarkable. Jason Singh was invited to King's Park High School in Glasgow on results day on Tuesday, alongside the Higher results success stories to meet Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth. The 16-year-old has been studying at Glasgow Clyde for SQA awards at National 4 level in automotive skills, as well as linking back in with the school to attain English and maths. He had support from an MCR Pathways mentor, Peter, who helped him to 'speak about things that I would never have spoken about - my feelings, my emotions, how to deal with my anger', Jason said. He felt college was a better place for him because they were treated as young adults. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'In school if you're having a bad day you get kept in as a punishment,' he said. 'College doesn't cage you up like animals. It's ten times better than school.' Jason is going to study painting and decorating after the summer holidays and has big ambitions. He wants to own his own business or, better yet, two. 'I've got more to learn,' he added. 'I'm happy I've got here in the end, but I'm moving on to do bigger and better things, earn money then retire and do what I want.' EVIP, which is unique to Glasgow and was originally led by social work, is designed for pupils who are not coping with mainstream education. It started as a scheme for young people in children's houses whose attainment was lower than the city average. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Now it's a project for children with multiple risk factors who, say, may be young carers or have been sexually exploited. Mrs McKenzie's young people are better suited to college where there are no ringing bells every 50 minutes, there are no multiple transitions in a day and a wide variety of changing faces to deal with. The teenager's EVIP worker will phone them to get them up for school or college in the morning and give them constant support. For some young people, they are the only person in their household getting up and keeping to a routine. Their EVIP worker may be the one good adult in their life. Mrs McKenzie said: 'From the backgrounds our young people come from, Highers are not achievable at this time in their life. 'It may be achievable at a later stage, but we are about supporting young people to achieve and celebrating those achievements.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mrs McKenzie was quick to push against any notion of a two-tier system. She said: 'It is not the case that it's 'oh, you're a bad boy so you'll go and do construction' or 'you're a girl who's not coping well so you can do hairdressing'.' The pandemic has also had an impact in terms of preventing young people from having experience of natural transitions through school. Literacy and numeracy levels have suffered and more teenagers need support. 'But that learning doesn't need to be in a classroom setting,' Mrs McKenzie said. In construction, she gives as an example, pupils are learning numeracy skills while measuring timber or looking up price sheets. Donna Stewart, the SQA's chief examiner, said: 'We have to look at the overall picture,. Seeing the number of learners increase within our technical and vocational courses, I think it's really important to think about that broad picture in terms of that landmark there. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Our national certificates, NPAs, skills for work - it's important that we recognise that totality of what we're celebrating this year as well.' Ms Gilruth was asked by The Scotsman about whether she sees a need to re-frame the concept of achievement away from purely Higher success. PA She said: 'One of the things I think is interesting is we still see extensive variation across local authorities in terms of performance. When we're talking about closing the poverty-related attainment gap, that is where we will see the biggest progress, working with local authorities who really need to move at pace to narrow that gap.' Other local authorities, she said, are consistently 'high attainers' year after year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Part of that's linked to poverty, part of that's linked to affluence, but we need to reflect that in how we fund our schools and give them that support, and in terms of that wider offering, that's something that we're looking at in terms of our measurements,' she said. Officials are working on a model of funding that would reflect varying needs of schools in different socio-economic brackets. Ms Gilruth added: 'I'd like to talk about modern apprenticeships, about the variety of qualifications, about the fact we've got more poorer young people going on to university than ever before.
Edinburgh Reporter
02-07-2025
- General
- Edinburgh Reporter
Edinburgh holiday hubs changes ‘not enough'
Changes to Edinburgh's holiday hub scheme are a 'step in the right direction', but more needs to happen, according to a parent using the service and a city councillor. And they expressed concern over two pupils who were unable to access holiday hub services this summer because service providers could not accommodate their care needs. At the last meeting of the city's Education, Children and Families Committee, councillors approved changes to the services which saw 192 new places added for the summer. In addition, going forward, families will be able to access four weeks at the service, instead of three, bringing provision back to the levels experienced last year. But it will come at a cost for some pupils, with space being prioritised for students with the most advanced levels of need, and then for those from families facing poverty and other stresses. Labour councillor James Dalgleish, who convenes the committee, said he was glad more funding had been made available for the service at the council's budget meeting in February. But he also said that the demand on the service had become 'unsustainable' in recent years, and called for more support for the service going forward. The changes to the scheme have come after consultations between council officers and parents of additional support needs (ASN) pupils. Denise McGee-Dewar, a member of the REPAIR group which advocates for ASN pupils and their families, said the changes were a 'good compromise' between parents and city officials. However, she said families and pupils have faced issues this summer, including two children who had their holiday hub time cancelled due to the council being unable to handle their needs. She said: 'Two families have had the allocations they were given cancelled. It was kind of a miscommunication [for one family] between the council and the provider. '[The parent] is now sitting with nothing for the holidays, you can imagine how devastating that is. 'And then one family went along Monday of this week, it was due to his needs, and nobody had told her that there was no place for him. 'They were both refunded, but it's not about the refund, it's the child's routine getting changed. The plans that [families made] will have to change. It's been really difficult for them.' Cllr Dalgleish said that in 'isolated incidents', due to safety concerns, the council has had to 'make the difficult decision' to amend or revoke the holiday hub offering to a family. The scheme offers respite care to ASN pupils in Edinburgh, given them care, support and a social space over school term holidays. Ms McGee-Dewar also said that parents had faced difficulties in signing up for the holiday hubs service for the next academic year, which starts in August. The changes to the scheme means that space in the holiday hubs is being rationed in part based on the level of needs families have. Families receiving benefits, facing poverty or with a single parent are all given priority. However, in the questionnaire to sign up for holiday hubs for next year, parents were presented with a question asking if they met any of these criteria. The only option was 'yes', and it was mandatory, meaning parents had to check off the question if they wanted to submit the questionnaire. According to Ms McGee-Dewar, council officials said they would fix the form. SNP councillor Euan Hyslop called the changes a 'great next step', but said that more needed to be done for the service, calling on other parties to back more funding for it at the budget meeting next February. He said: 'This is a great next step, but there's no doubt that this is going to lead to a lot of young people losing out. I still don't think that's acceptable. 'I'm angry about this situation. So I'm putting a call out to colleagues to engage in the runup to the budget next year, because we'll always have doors open. 'There are a group of families with very complex additional needs, with life-limiting conditions. Medical conditions that mean this is their only opportunity, really, to play with their friends, their peers. 'It's not nice that we're in the situation where we're having to decide who gets and who doesn't get.' He continued to say that ASN parents he had spoken to were 'broadly' supportive of the council's engagement over the past few months – but said that it came off the back of a year of officers 'almost ignoring parents'. And, he said that some of the children who would be excluded from the holiday hubs based on the newly introduced criteria had been using the service for years. Cllr Dalgleish said: 'If councillors are giving the impression that Holiday Hubs can simply be expanded through a large increase in funds at budget time, then they are not being totally clear with the public. Much more work is needed on this issue, and I am committed to doing that. 'This is fundamentally an issue around locating skilled people who can provide this service, potential cuts to our council budget in the near future will also make our task more difficult. 'I will, alongside many other councillors, be making the case for increasing support for Holiday Hubs, as I know how valuable this service is. 'I want to thank all the parents and carers who have given up their time to share invaluable thoughts and views on holiday hub support which has got us to this positive point.' By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Live
02-07-2025
- General
- Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh holiday hub changes a 'step in the right direction' but more help needed
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Changes to Edinburgh's holiday hub scheme are a 'step in the right direction', but more needs to happen, according to a parent using the service and a city councillor. And they expressed concern over two pupils who were unable to access holiday hub services this summer because service providers could not accommodate their care needs. At the last meeting of the city's Education, Children and Families Committee, councillors approved changes to the services which saw 192 new places added for the summer. In addition, going forward, families will be able to access four weeks at the service, instead of three, bringing provision back to the levels experienced last year. But it will come at a cost for some pupils, with space being prioritised for students with the most advanced levels of need, and then for those from families facing poverty and other stresses. Labour councillor James Dalgleish, who convenes the committee, said he was glad more funding had been made available for the service at the council's budget meeting in February. But he also said that the demand on the service had become 'unsustainable' in recent years, and called for more support for the service going forward. The changes to the scheme have come after consultations between council officers and parents of additional support needs (ASN) pupils. Denise McGee-Dewar, a member of the REPAIR group which advocates for ASN pupils and their families, said the changes were a 'good compromise' between parents and city officials. However, she said families and pupils have faced issues this summer, including two children who had their holiday hub time cancelled due to the council being unable to handle their needs. She said: 'Two families have had the allocations they were given cancelled. It was kind of a miscommunication [for one family] between the council and the provider. '[The parent] is now sitting with nothing for the holidays, you can imagine how devastating that is. 'And then one family went along Monday of this week, it was due to his needs, and nobody had told her that there was no place for him. 'They were both refunded, but it's not about the refund, it's the child's routine getting changed. The plans that [families made] will have to change. It's been really difficult for them.' Cllr Dalgleish said that in 'isolated incidents', due to safety concerns, the council has had to 'make the difficult decision' to amend or revoke the holiday hub offering to a family. The scheme offers respite care to ASN pupils in Edinburgh, given them care, support and a social space over school term holidays. Ms McGee-Dewar also said that parents had faced difficulties in signing up for the holiday hubs service for the next academic year, which starts in August. The changes to the scheme means that space in the holiday hubs is being rationed in part based on the level of needs families have. Families receiving benefits, facing poverty or with a single parent are all given priority. However, in the questionnaire to sign up for holiday hubs for next year, parents were presented with a question asking if they met any of these criteria. The only option was 'yes', and it was mandatory, meaning parents had to check off the question if they wanted to submit the questionnaire. According to Ms McGee-Dewar, council officials said they would fix the form. SNP councillor Euan Hyslop called the changes a 'great next step', but said that more needed to be done for the service, calling on other parties to back more funding for it at the budget meeting next February. He said: "This is a great next step, but there's no doubt that this is going to lead to a lot of young people losing out. I still don't think that's acceptable 'I'm angry about this situation. So I'm putting a call out to colleagues to engage in the runup to the budget next year, because we'll always have doors open. 'There are a group of families with very complex additional needs, with life-limiting conditions. Medical conditions that mean this is their only opportunity, really, to play with their friends, their peers. 'It's not nice that we're in the situation where we're having to decide who gets and who doesn't get.' He continued to say that ASN parents he had spoken to were 'broadly' supportive of the council's engagement over the past few months – but said that it came off the back of a year of officers 'almost ignoring parents'. And, he said that some of the children who would be excluded from the holiday hubs based on the newly introduced criteria had been using the service for years. Cllr Dalgleish said: 'If councillors are giving the impression that Holiday Hubs can simply be expanded through a large increase in funds at budget time, then they are not being totally clear with the public. Much more work is needed on this issue, and I am committed to doing that. 'This is fundamentally an issue around locating skilled people who can provide this service, potential cuts to our council budget in the near future will also make our task more difficult. 'I will, alongside many other councillors, be making the case for increasing support for Holiday Hubs, as I know how valuable this service is. 'I want to thank all the parents and carers who have given up their time to share invaluable thoughts and views on holiday hub support which has got us to this positive point.'
