Society
Student debt and grants in Scotland: an update
“The Scottish system is not debt-free in the absence of fees: indeed Scottish students are borrowing a substantial amount as a group each year. The Scottish approach relies heavily on loans to cover the state’s…
Let’s debate different models for student fees and grants
“there is no realistic chance that the Scottish Government is going to reduce its reliance on student loans to underwrite the higher education system. £500m is roughly the annual cost of the whole FE system,…
Why do girls do better than boys in education?
Professor Emer Smyth,from the Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin, on the widespread, but little studied, issue of the underperformance of boys at all stages of education from pre-school to first degree. What are the…
The SG’s secret SpAds
“The Scottish Government recently declared itself a “global leading light in the campaign for more open and accessible government”. Going backwards in terms of openness and accessibility in relation to special advisers suggests that there’s…
Children tell Scottish cabinet how it is
“There are teachers in the playground but bullying usually gets taken to the classroom teacher and they don’t always deal with it. Teachers think their job is to educate children but they should realise it…
Critical – or complaisant – friends on education
“The government should, of course, be consulting with experts and gathering evidence, but it is difficult to shake off the feeling that this particular group has been constructed with an eye on PR rather than…
Save our NHS before it’s too late
Almost 70 years old, the NHS has saved countless millions of lives, now it’s up to us to keep our NHS alive. Pat Sutherland makes a robust and moving case for action.
My Irish Baby Box, a vintage treasure with topical notes
‘It’s a post-war period piece, a personal memento from a different world and yet it echoes with the aims of the Finnish baby box.’ Fay Young re-opens her forty-year-old Irish ‘baby box’ to find topical…
Hard to read the Scottish Budget
“Commentators (myself included) can be pretty critical of the opposition parties at Holyrood for not being more effective. But if the budget document – one of the single most important things the government puts before…
SG holistic education policy: success or failure?
“In terms of the effect of attainment strategies on future university entry, we can say that the SG expects substantial results from schools in 10 years and from its expanded childcare provision (to vulnerable 2…
Swinney’s magical mystery tour in education
‘As Paasi Sahlberg, the apostle of the Finnish education miracle, recently put it, Scotland’s system is “knocking on heaven’s door” – not quite paradise but within sight.’ Analysis of the tasks ahead for John Swinney….and…
Integrating British Transport Police on a ‘shoogly peg’
‘It is difficult to see the logic in saddling Police Scotland with more structural upheaval,’ the author argues about the planned integration of British Transport Police. The Scottish Government is wrong to say that the…