|
Thursday 18 May 2006 |
Send me your news? |
|
|
This newsletter is published every two weeks for staff in the Children and Families Department. It is available online at the Edinburgh Grid for Learning at http://egfl.net Send
me your stories In
the news
Lord Coe then watched 3 teams of children take part in an athletics competition (narrowly avoiding a stray foam javelin) and awarded medals to the competitors. He said: “If Broomhouse Primary School is an indication of the things that are happening in sport, the future looks bright.” To find out more about his
visit, click here. Research commissioned by the project found that quality family time (rather than just talking about sex and relationship issues) has a significant impact on delaying the onset of early sexual behaviour, and on other risk-taking behaviours by teenagers. Dona Milne, Healthy Respect Project Manager said, "We recognise that parents and carers do make a difference and that parent-child relationships matter, particularly in the pre-teen years. We have worked closely with parents to develop a campaign which is informative, reassuring, non-patronising and one which recognises that parents want the best for their children." The campaign launched on 15 May 2006 to
link in with the UN International Day of the Family and runs until 30
September. To find out more, visit the website www.parentsgethealthyrespect.co.uk This new initiative reaches a wider group than before with more parental involvement. It enables parents to support their children and build a rapport with the staff involved in the move to secondary school. It will take place over a course of four weeks and will complement the existing transition programme. If you would like more information, contact Maggie McManus on 0131 339 6823. Upcoming
events
Thirty years after the Soweto uprising, Fergal Keane will be live in a school in Soweto for an all-day interactive event for schools on BBC News 24, Breakfast on BBC One, and online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolday (available on 14 June 2006). How has life changed for the next generation? Start the day with Breakfast on BBC One - share the Soweto school run. Experience a very different school day and find out what school life is like in live reports throughout the day on BBC News 24. Get your school involved - watch on your white boards, or on digital TV. Pupils and teachers can send in their questions for their counterparts, and exchange ideas during the day. School Day, South Africa will be fully interactive on News 24 digital and streamed online.Also available on your white boards, you’ll be able to prepare for the event and get your ideas and questions to the team well in advance. Find out how your school can twin with others in
South Africa and around the world at http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldclass/ Do you want to keep fit and have fun in the sun this summer? Why not take part in Super Soccer Sevens (SS7's)? - SS7's is a fun seven-a-side football tournament taking place on Monday evenings over a ten-week period. Council employees get a fantastic 50% off the price of entering a team. Each evening you get: 45mins of football; 1 penalty shoot out; a 'hit the cross bar' challenge for prizes; referees; 'sin bins' and much, much more. To
enter a team, e-mail enquiries@supersoccersevens.com
with "Council" in the subject or visit www.supersoccersevens.com eLive!2006 is an ICT (Information Communications Technology) event, run by the City of Edinburgh Council Children and Families Department - showcasing the new technologies that are already expanding the boundaries of learning in our schools. The two-day exhibition will feature hands-on demonstrations, talks from internationally renowned speakers and seminars by local experts on the effective use of ICT in education. The world our children live in is very different from the world we grew up in and it is vital that parents keep informed about how technology can affect their children’s education. Watch students from Craigmount compose their own digital music and P6 pupils from Blackhall create animated films. Listen to the latest school radio podcasts. For more information and
details on how to register, visit the website at http://egfl.net/elive2006 The summer programme runs from Monday
17 July to Friday 11 August. Play4it offers a wide range of exciting and
challenging activities and special events in communities right across
Edinburgh and is open to children who have completed Primary 4-7. Go4It
caters for those who have completed S1 up to S6. Play4it and Go4It are aimed at children
of all abilities, including those with additional support needs. Tickets are £3 and will be available from Monday 19 June online at www.usherhall.co.uk and from the Usher Hall booking line Tel: 0131 228 1155. You can also pick up tickets in person at the Usher Hall Box Office. Previous years have included chart-topping bands Liberty X, Rachel Stevens, Blazing Squad, Irish boy band D-Side and a host of others. This event is open to the pupils from S1 to 18 years of age. Brochures have gone out to every primary school, library, community centres, children and family centre and leisure centres. They can also be downloaded from www.play4itedinburgh.com and www.go4itedinburgh.com Play4it and Go4It are organised by the
City of Edinburgh Council’s Children and Families Department.
Presentations – Edinburgh’s budding young entrepreneurs Opening presentations begin at 10.00am and will take place at The Edinburgh Corn Exchange, 11 Newmarket Road Edinburgh, EH14 1RJ For more details click here or contact The Enterprise Team - Tel 0131 469 3469 or email enterprise.education@educ.edin.gov.uk
Involving participants from over ten countries with expertise in child and youth care and a background in practice, research or policy, this event will run on a plenary format with debate around the theme of 'what works'. To see the programme, click here. Frank Mulhern will convene the event and leaders in residential child and youth care facilities are particularly encouraged to attend. For more details please log on to: Success
stories The
prize is awarded by the Praxis Care Group (through Queens University
Belfast) to the post-graduate student from the School of Psychology who
produces the best research project in the area of Health and Social
Care. Emily will travel to Belfast to collect her prize on 19 May.
Well done, Emily! St Joseph’s RC Primary School is a finalist for the ICT Learning Award. Firrhill High School is in the running for the category Determined to Succeed – Enterprise in Education Award for Best Business Partnership. Mr Bill Lothian, from Pilrig Park School is a finalist for Scottish Daily Record Gold Award – Education Supporter of the Year and Juniper Green Primary School teacher Susan Ward is one of three finalists in the Scottish Daily Record Gold Award – Probationary Teacher of the Year category. The glitzy awards ceremony will take place in Glasgow on 2 June and will also be broadcast live on BBC Radio Scotland. Best of luck to you all!
Freedom of Information (FOI) Officer My previous role was communications, of which a large part was FOI - developing procedures for FOI and working with their partners to develop and move forward with the Act. I am now the central contact point for any Freedom of Information related issues, ensuring the Department meets its obligations under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, as well as developing and maintaining the Department’s Publication Scheme. I can offer guidance, support and in due course, training in matters relevant to Freedom of Information. As well, I will work with staff to encourage openness and awareness as to what FOI means for all of us. I will also be representing the Children and Families Department on the Council-wide FOI users’ group and would encourage staff to contact me if they have any questions they might like to ask about the Act, how it affects them and what they need to do if they receive a Request for Information. My telephone number is 0131 469 3324 and my email address is ilene.marsh@educ.edin.gov.uk or foi@educ.edin.gov.uk You can also find out more information on FOI on our Website at http://egfl.net/ at the Freedom of Information link or at http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/foi For
your information We are looking for 20 people to assist in training groups of staff and managers. If you are interested, please discuss with your line manager who will then pass your interest on to their Head of Service. We are only asking for you to commit between one full-day and one and a half day a month over a period of approx. 18 months. This will begin in June 2006. You don't need any previous experience - full training will be provided. We only ask that you have good interpersonal and presentation skills, the ability to communicate on all levels, and a desire to be involved. If you want to chat about this opportunity, please call Heather Smith on 0131 469 6105 or drop her an email at heather.smith@educ.edin.gov.uk Something to smile about Oral health is a major health issue in Scotland and its promotion is a key priority in our departmental Health Strategy. Dental and oral health is not just about regularly brushing your teeth and the absence of toothache and gum disease. Around 500 new cases of cancers in or associated with the mouth are diagnosed each year and about 230 deaths occur each year from these diseases. National Smile Month, which runs from 14 May - 13 June, is the ideal time to consider how you can improve your oral health. Make the best of your smile by eating a healthy, balanced diet, including cutting down on the frequency of sugary foods and drinks, regular tooth-brushing and visits to the dentist. The Children and Families Department plans to promote National Smile Month at Wellington Court as part of its commitment to improve staff health and wellbeing. A representative from NHS Lothian will provide an information stall in the coffee lounge on Level 1 throughout the morning of Wednesday 7 June. We also have the opportunity to hear from them about a range of oral health topics from healthy eating to cold sores and tooth whitening. If you would like to learn more about a particular oral health issue, please indicate your preferred topic on the attached form and return to Barbara Schilling, barbara.schilling@educ.edin.gov.uk, by 26 May. For further information, or to offer
your suggestions about this or any future health improvement activities,
contact Barbara Schilling barbara.schilling@educ.edin.gov.uk
or Michelle Rogers, Health Improvement Officer, michelle.rogers@educ.edin.gov.uk
Jobs
For details of teaching vacancies in
Edinburgh, click here: http://channel1.internal.egfl.net Every so often, for reasons that are nothing to do with planning or foresight, we find ourselves in the right place at the right time. I had one such moment when I visited Abbeyhill Primary School recently. The Head teacher has, through creative use of the devolved budgets, installed a smartboard in every classroom. I walked into the primary four class at the very moment they were collectively discovering how to "write" on the board with the electronic pen. The looks of sheer delight at the shared moment of discovery were a gift to treasure. Further on into the school I went into the primary one class. One of the children had brought a huge bumblebee in to show the class, captured in a nifty wee glass jar, with a magnifying glass. The teacher had passed the bee round the class and then, logging on to the CBBC website, she found animated poems about bees. The children were delighted and the poems were soon flowing. The use of smart board technology is just one way in which the classroom experience is being revolutionised. It not only engages the children in new ways, it offers a never ending set of resources for teachers, allowing them to be responsive and creative in new and exciting ways. It is this kind of creativity that will be set free by the new Curriculum for Excellence. With the space it will create in the curriculum and with new resources like smartboards, real power about what is taught and when it is taught will once again be in the hands of teachers at the chalk face (or should that be at the keyboard edge!). Cllr Rev Ewan AitkenExecutive Member for Children and Families back to top |
Upcoming events
Cllr Aitken writes...
Archive Issues |
