Posted by admin on November 1, 2012 ·
While the October issue of Informed Scotland is being written for publication next week, there’s chance to reflect on what’s been happening in addition to the desk-based information gathering.
Enterprise and financial capability have been common threads running through a number of the meetings and discussions held over the last month, including those with contacts from NACUE, ‘stimulating and supporting student enterprise’; pedagoo.org, the forward-thinking community of teachers; and leadership development organisation Common Purpose.
At the Scottish Financial Education Forum in Glasgow, run by Education Scotland’s financial education champion Jim Lally, these two themes were brought together. Fantastic to hear Mick Jackson, creator of the Wild Hearts Micro-Tyco enterprise business challenge, deliver an inspirational presentation. Through WildHearts’ ‘compassionate entrepreneurial revolution’, Mick is addressing what he describes as the different kind of poverty that exists in Scotland – a ‘poverty of ambition, of role models’. We also heard about the successes of On the Money and Skint!, books that tackle financial capability for young and older learners, produced by Scottish Book Trust, Education Scotland and Standard Life.
In recent weeks, pfeg has been doing much to drive the case for financial education to be a core part of the curriculum across the UK. With the energy demonstrated at the Glasgow gathering, and financial education already part of Curriculum for Excellence, it’s probably fair to say that Scotland is ahead of the game. Though there’s never room for complacency…
Informed Scotland issue 5 October 2012 is due to be published 7 November. Click here to find out how you can subscribe.
Posted by admin on October 10, 2012 ·
When people from business and industry want to get involved in supporting schools and colleges, or when a company or professional body wants to get a feel for the current business engagement landscape in Scotland, it can be difficult to know where to begin.
In the days of the Scottish Government’s Determined to Succeed team, and before that when Education Business Partnerships were in place across the country, the route to find out was much clearer. And who else remembers even further back when the CBI’s Understanding British Industry team was the source of all knowledge?
There are still plenty of people who can provide this information today – if you know where to look…
AJ Enterprises was recently asked by ICAEW Scotland to help inform their Scotland Strategy Board about some of the key organisations and projects currently active in schools and colleges, especially those relevant to the world of accounting and finance. Although a number of ICAEW members are already involved in supporting education, including those who are currently acting as business advisers on the StartUp Britain Bus, the Strategy Board wanted to get a broader picture of activities.
We produced a brief paper summarising the key initiatives, focusing on programmes in which volunteers work with young people and their teachers as mentors or advisers. The paper was found useful in informing their discussions.
If you would like to receive a copy of the paper, or would like information specific to a different business sector, get in touch with [email protected]
Posted by admin on October 5, 2012 ·
With the Scottish Government back after the summer recess and education settling into the new session, the September issue of Informed Scotland picks up where we left off before the break.
There are plenty of interesting reports on skills, employment and unemployment statistics, though the focus this month has been more on initiatives, resources and action. Not forgetting budgets, plans, announcements and a plethora of university surveys and league tables…
Find out how to get your copy here, and join the growing list of subscribers.
Posted by admin on September 26, 2012 ·
Just over a week to go before the September issue of Informed Scotland is published. This month, as well as the usual research and intelligence gathering, we’ve enjoyed hearing about new ideas and projects at a couple of major events. (We now have a rather smart flyer to hand out to contacts, thanks to more great design work from Mamook Graphics!)
A day spent at last week’s Education Scotland Scottish Learning Festival in Glasgow provided the opportunity for discussions with a range of organisations involved in new initiatives and launching products. A particular highlight was the Ellen MacArthur Foundation presentation on the circular economy. Dame Ellen gave an inspirational insight into the background to the initiative, and Development Officer Colin Webster explained how schools in Scotland can get involved.
Earlier in the month the Nesta in Edinburgh event at The Hub brought together people from business, education, government and the wider community to hear about innovation, its important role in the economy, and what Nesta is doing to support its growth. It was great to learn of successful knowledge exchange products, and to see national organisations like Young Scot featured alongside local community learning programmes. A round table session for sharing favourite innovative ideas enabled us to mention the amazing pedagoo.org – the grassroots teacher-led ‘community’ that is a model for other professions to consider emulating.
Informed Scotland issue 4 September 2012 is due to be published 5 October. Click here to find out how you can subscribe.
Posted by admin on September 7, 2012 ·
The holiday period didn’t appear to slow down the pace of activity, reporting and change in learning and skills in Scotland!
There are some particularly interesting reports to look out for in the July/August issue of Informed Scotland, including those from UKCES on future skills, Prince’s Trust and RBS on tackling youth employment through enterprise, plus those on student finance and Scotland’s people. Then there are the headline statistics from the summer’s national qualification results and higher education applications.
Find out how to get your copy here.
Posted by admin on August 30, 2012 ·
www.ajenterprises.co.uk has finally arrived! After 18 years in business and having worked on websites for a number of clients it was about time AJ Enterprises had its own website.
Thanks to Ast & Red for the design work and the ‘techy’ input, and for all their guidance on navigation – they’re such a pleasure to work with!
As well as information about services, projects and clients, you’ll find details about our new learning and skills digest Informed Scotland, including how to join the growing list of subscribers.
We hope you will also find the Learning & Skills Events Calendar a useful resource. It lists the main education, learning and skills conferences, seminars and exhibitions taking place across Scotland over the coming months. If you have an event coming up that you would like included, please email the details to [email protected].
Posted by admin on August 28, 2012 ·
Work has begun on writing the third issue of Informed Scotland. This will be a double issue, covering July and August, due to be published next week. The research and information gathering has continued throughout the summer, but the main work starts now. We’ve also been liaising with Mamook Graphics who are putting the finishing touches to a new cover image, one of a small series that we’ll be using to keep the publication fresh.
To find out how to become a subscriber, see Informed Scotland >
Posted by admin on August 4, 2012 ·
Image is © Andrew Mackie
Work is continuing in support of the Goodison Group in Scotland/Scotland’s Futures Forum project which is exploring the ‘outrageous proposition’ that By 2025 Scotland will be regarded as a world-leading learning nation.
Our latest report summarised the seminar that took place at the Scottish Parliament in April 2012, looking at the role of teachers. Other seminar reports written by Angela Gardner for the project include one which focused on the international perspective, and another that considered early years.
Posted by admin on August 2, 2012 ·
Our report of the ELT Events’ Curriculum for Excellence Plus: Alignment or Overload? (.pdf)conference is now available. It summarises the presentations and discussion that took place at Stirling Management Centre on 23 May 2012, attended by 90 school and local authority leaders. The conference was chaired by ‘the real’ David Cameron, with insightful contributions including Professor Graham Donaldson, Alan Armstrong, Strategic Director of Education Scotland, and Perth & Kinross Director of Education John Fyffe.
Posted by admin on June 6, 2012 ·
There was plenty to report for issue 2 of our new Scottish learning and skills digest. June is always a busy month, with organisations working hard to squeeze in announcements and publications before the end of the session. Hot topics this month included enterprise and entrepreneurship; skills gaps, shortages, utilisation and investment; education performance and reforms; school and university leaver destinations; and more mergers, partnerships and collaborations.
The next issue will be the July/August edition which will be published week beginning 3 September. Find out how to subscribe here, where you can have a look at issue 1.
