Poverty, neglect, abuse are among factors behind a mental health crisis among our children & young people. A new skills award offers some hope amidst the accelerating catastrophe.
Education
Triumph of rhetoric over reality
‘Education policy as made by the Scottish parliament has certainly been distinctive. But it has not been obviously successful, and it is not, in any historical sense, particularly Scottish.’
Are we rearing children fit for the future?
\For the under-sevens, everyday opportunities to develop meta-skills are far more important than an unnecessarily early start on the three Rs’: Sue Palmer of Upstart continues our series on educational reform
Smacking children is illegal
‘Scotland’s current “justifiable assault” defence therefore contravenes children’s human rights. Quite frankly the law must be changed to ensure compliance, both in Scotland but also across the UK.’
New conversation about Scottish HE
‘ Based on patterns of investment, Scotland is closer to the approach taken in Serbia than Sweden.’ ‘But free higher education has to be well-funded higher education for it to mean anything.’
Tale of Two Cities (and large town)
‘There is no halfway house when it comes to a child’s best interests. However, until automatic funding becomes a Scotland-wide reality, at least Falkirk … is lighting the way.’
The parochialism of the present
‘Revisiting our educational history might encourage us to question some of the prevailing orthodoxies of our time…Perhaps we should ask why there are no comparable radical voices in Scottish education today.’
P1 tests – first green shoots of recovery for Scottish education?
A Nordic-style kindergarten stage is the only way currently available of connecting all Scotland’s children with their evolutionary heritage. And, who knows, it might also help get Curriculum for Excellence back on track.
Silence of the weans: why children need outdoor play
When was the last time you heard the shouts, squeals and laughter of young children as they ran, jumped, climbed, built dens, made mixtures and played ‘Let’s Pretend’ in their local neighbourhood? Sue Palmer of Upstart Scotland makes the case for outdoor play
The Scottish Bureaucratic Mind
‘Modern Scotland, both before and after devolution, emerges as a country that is more committed to bureaucracy than democracy’.