Society
Snobbery at Edinburgh Uni: what a surprise!
“Scottish students at Scottish universities pay no tuition fees! It’s great! The Scottish Government pays them! Except of course, the Scottish Government DOESN’T pay anything like the real amount per head, leaving universities like Edinburgh…
Let’s reverse the decline in Scottish journalism
“This not just about how we understand foreign affairs and how we tackle misinformation, but about basic democracy functioning in Scotland. Hopefully MSPs and ministers understand that though journalists can be a pain in the arse…
The paradox of Scotland’s ‘Gold Coast’
“Saving the Highland’s rural schools, and with them the traditions and future of the communities they serve, will take joined-up thinking and a strong and determined approach to regulation of the housing market.”
Lies, damn lies and education stats
“For the Scottish government to claim that this supersedes PISA – as they do in their statement today – is either disingenuous or evidence of dismaying statistical ignorance.” (Prof Lindsay Paterson)
Lost opportunities to last a lifetime 1
“We can sum all this up by concluding that current Scottish policy is not working, whereas current policy in England – whatever its faults – seems to have had some positive effects on attainment when…
Lost opportunities in Scottish education 2: lack of leadership
“Bringing forward new proposals to improve literacy and numeracy, in response to the PISA results, may produce some improvement, but there are deeper, systemic problems that require to be addressed. Are politicians, administrators and senior…
Nanterre and the suburbs: the lid comes off
“Successive governments have used policing to control the population to prevent political turmoil, eroding the legitimacy of law enforcement along the way. And yet, the police are extremely hostile to reform…” – and riddled with…
Sunshine on Rachel House
Fund-raising is a constant fact of life for a charity providing high quality, multi-disciplinary “life and death affirming” care for a growing number of children and families facing the reality of life with life-shortening conditions. …
Why Finland is the world’s happiest country
Memo to @scotgov: “So what can the people of a country do if they want to be happier? The most important thing is to elect governments that will ensure the country becomes more equal by income. After…
Isla Bryson: a trauma-blind response in prison
The Bryson case reveals a long-standing tension in Scottish prisons policy between gender self-identification principles and trauma-informed care. For the best part of a decade this contradiction has played out in plain sight, with minimal…
Postscript: Infants in care – out of sight out of mind?
“The current position in Scotland is just not good enough. Infant removals continue to this day. They do not lie in our past. This trend is found in other wealthy countries..yet elsewhere infant removals appear…
What have local councils ever done for us?
“A start to redressing this imbalance would be for the UK Government and the devolved governments to sign the European Charter of Local Self Government – then we could at last begin to have serious…