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The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- General
- The Herald Scotland
'Hard work and dedication' at the heart of Edinburgh schools
A softball to kick things off: what are the strengths of city education? How are schools able to use the unique resources available in Edinburgh– the universities and colleges, the proximity of the Scottish Government, major industry partners–to expand offerings to students? We are incredibly lucky to have the rich cultural and historical resources that Edinburgh offers available to us and encourage our primary and secondary schools to access the unique learning experiences the city provides, to support the school curriculum. Schools are actively encouraged to make the most of the unique resources on their doorsteps, including visits to the various museums and galleries. Schools also make the most of Edinburgh being a festival city, with many or our young people experiencing visits to world-class performances and experiences. Edinburgh is home to many prominent education institutions, and we partner with a number of the cities Universities and Colleges to support our learners in both their everyday learning and through a number of partnerships that provide our young people with access to college courses and career opportunities. What is the biggest challenge facing Edinburgh schools? In line with the national trend in this area, we are seeing a growth in need across our schools and settings. We support staff in our schools to address the ever-changing societal challenges that teachers and school staff encounter, including poverty, mental health, the role of technology, and meeting the individual needs of learners. In tandem with this, we are continuing to improve outcomes for learners across the board, and this remains a key priority for us. We want to sustain the positive improvements we're already seeing across our schools and settings. How is the city addressing capacity in its schools, and how will new build and expansion projects affect students and families? We have a team of officers who monitor and review capacity in our schools, with primary and secondary school roll projections reported every year to the Education, Children and Families Committee. This includes details of any school building projects underway or being planned to manage any projected increases in capacity. At present we don't have concerns around capacity in our primary or secondary schools. Compared to 2024, there has been no significant change to the number of s1 or p1 learners registered to start inAugust 2025. In our primary schools, our school rolls projections suggest a gradual citywide decline in school rolls until around 2029, this is consistent with birth rate data for the city. At some schools where capacity issues have been highlighted, we have renewal works underway or planned including at Newcraighall and Frogston primary schools. Some of our secondary schools are already undergoing major renewal projects including Wester Hailes High School, Liberton High School and Trinity Academy. A brand new Currie High School is nearing completion. Officers are monitoring the impact that the change in VAT status of independent schools might have, but the data currently available does not suggest that a high number of pupils have or intend to transfer from the independent sector to the Council's schools. The attainment gap is a major policy talking point nationally, and I know that local authorities are taking steps to address inequalities locally. What is your assessment of the attainment gap in Edinburgh schools and how are you working to close it? We are committed to offering the highest quality education, starting in our early years settings and continuing through the Broad General Education curriculum phase, which runs from early years at age 3 through primary school and up to S3, and into the senior phase. From the very start of a child's education, we aim to develop successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens, and effective contributors We are focused on narrowing the gap between the most and least disadvantaged learners in Edinburgh and recent figures show that the attainment of leavers has improved across most measures in the national benchmarks. One of the ways we are narrowing the gap in Edinburgh is through our curriculum pathways work, which, in line with themes emerging from various education reform papers, is to provide inclusive, relevant and equitable learning opportunities using a place-based approach. We are doing this by offering learners the opportunity to experience a varied, dynamic, and engaging school day, where they see the relevance of their learning in relation to real-world career opportunities. We are optimising partnerships with colleges, universities and local employers to offer a curriculum that meets the needs of learners today. This includes our roofing, construction and stone carving pathway designed for senior phase learners to develop workplace-ready skills, enabling them to gain qualifications and to make informed choices about life beyond school. Read more Analysis of recent SQA exam results has shown a narrowing in the attainment gap between the most and least advantaged pupils in our schools. We also saw the number of passes in National Progression Awards increased by 17%, the measures of performance for pupils taking National 5 and Higher courses either increased or maintained when compared to both 2023 and 2019 performance. In the Broad General Education, the performance in numeracy is improving and the gap is narrowing, in literacy, the performance is in line with that of 2022-23. This is all down to the hard work of our young people, the dedication of our staff, and the support of parents and carers. Edinburgh is home to the first school to implement a strict mobile phone policy. Do you support the approach and have any plans or guidance for other headteachers across the city? I am pleased that two Edinburgh secondary schools have led the way in introducing a fully mobile-phone-free school environment. Research shows the positive impact that a phone-free environment can have on children and young people and the learning environment, both in the immediate and medium to long term. It has been widely reported that a reduction in phone use for a young person can have a positive impact on mental health and wellbeing, in school and at home, and encourages a healthier approach to managing screen time. With mobile phones in classroom settings increasingly competing with teachers for the attention of learners, restricting access to mobile phones during the school day is only a positive step forward. Scottish Government guidance empowers head teachers to make a decision on the mobile phone policy that is right for their learners and their school community as a whole. Two Edinburgh secondary schools, Portobello and Queensferry High Schools, are a few weeks into piloting a phone-free approach to the school, with young people required to store their phone in a lockable pouch during the school day. The leadership teams at these two high school made the decision to pilot this policy following extensive research and engagement with their school community, with research showing that families in their communities broadly welcomed the introduction of this policy. Both schools will pilot and evaluate over the next two-year period. Implementing a pilot of this nature is requires work and not every school in the city is in a position to do this. The market for private schools in Edinburgh is famous, and from the outside, education is often seen through the lens of how many young people attend private schools in the city. What is the impact of this on City schools? Edinburgh is unique, with a higher proportion of children attending an independent school compared to other areas. From the initial point of hearing about the introduction of VAT on independent school fees, we have been strategically planning for any potential impact, including monitoring enquiries and applications for places in our schools. We have always and continue to work closely with colleagues in the private school sector in Edinburgh. We have capacity in our primary and secondary schools to accommodate learners in Edinburgh moving from the independent sector into our schools. We are ready to give all children and young people living in Edinburgh the very best start in life, regardless of where a child's school journey may have started or what part of their school journey they are approach to placing requests remains the same as it was before. We will continue to apply existing placing policy to all placing requests.
Edinburgh Live
29-04-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh school catchment and moving Gaelic unit under review at council debate
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 Plans for the future of Gaelic education in Edinburgh are to be discussed this week. The Education, Children and Families committee will meet on Thursday as the number of applications for places at the city's only Gaelic primary school doubles in a year, and plans for a standalone secondary school stalled. Gaelic education for secondary school pupils is currently available at James Gillespie's High School - which is also seeing a rise in the number of pupils enrolled. A number of options, including exploring a catchment change, introduction of timetabling efficiencies, internal reconfiguration of existing accommodation or, if possible, additional accommodation, have all been highlighted in the meeting agenda. Plans to offer an annex unit at Liberton High School were previously ruled out and it was decided there was no budget in the capital programme to deliver a Gaelic Medium Education (GME) secondary school. Parents previously criticised plans for the provision at the new Liberton High School due to its location from the primary school and a more central site being required. Councillors agreed and a statutory consultation was paused. The main report states: "Engagement with the GME community on all aspects of GME education has continued through the Edinburgh Gaelic Collaborative Forum and in line with the specific action on demand for GME in the Gaelic Language Plan. "However, in relation to the provision of new GME primary and secondary schools, there remains no fundamental change to the update provided in 2022. Monitoring of the primary and secondary school rolls continues, and demand is currently able to be accommodated in existing provision or by introducing the rising rolls options highlighted above. "There remains no specific capital budget allocated to the provision of GME infrastructure and therefore no detailed project work can progress. The situation with potential site availability for a new GME secondary school remains as has been reported to Committee in 2022. "Following the request by Committee on 3 September 2024 to report the potential of the Police Headquarters at Fettes as a site, direct communication with the Scottish Government and Police Scotland has reconfirmed this site would not be available to the Council for the provision of a GME secondary school." In terms of next steps, the monitoring of school rolls for GME and recruitment of school staff will continue and the council will engage with the Scottish Government, the Gaelic community in Edinburgh and other stakeholders to consider the best way forward. Councillor Steve Burgess, Greens education spokesperson, said: "Greens strongly support the growth of Gaelic in the Capital, so we very much welcome any positive steps towards developing a robust strategy around the expansion of Gaelic Medium Education, which has now been stalled for years. "But the challenge is how to grow Gaelic with only one primary school, that looks to be bursting at the seams, and no dedicated high school for Gaelic, whereas Glasgow has several Gaelic primary schools and a high school. "The council needs to be working proactively with the Gaelic community in Edinburgh to rapidly produce a meaningful way forward for the growth of Gaelic in the Capital, and I would then hope and expect that the SNP Scottish Government would support this as they promised to in their last Holyrood election manifesto."
