Autism Outreach Team
The Autism
Outreach Team now has information on AGfl. Read it
here.
17/12/07
_________________________________________________________________
Co-ordinated Support
Plans
New items have
been added to the CSP pages here.
14/12/07
_________________________________________________________________
Education ICT Team
Blog
The Aberdeen
Education ICT Team has started a blog at
http://www.abernet.org.uk/jist haiverin/
We'd welcome
comments, suggestions (polite only!) or questions.
06/12/07
_________________________________________________________________
China Now in Scotland
As
Beijing prepares to host the Olympics in August
2008,
China Now in Scotland can offer Scottish schools
access to a comprehensive education programme to
encourage awareness and understanding of China’s
fascinating heritage and contemporary culture. The
programme is designed to provide opportunities for
schools and universities to develop new or existing
relationships with China.
Schools
have a wealth of free resources, workshops, and
grants all on offer for 2008. From free materials
for teachers, funding for Chinese arts and cultural
events in schools, workshops spanning calligraphy to
kung fu and opera & dance to language, museum
tie-ins and ideas for activities outside the
classroom there is opportunity at all levels for
schools to get involved.
For more
information about this programme and to apply for
grants of up to £2500, please contact Rosaleen
Rentoul (rrentoul@aberdeencity.gov.uk)
by Dec 5th.
02/12/07
_________________________________________________________________
Educational Research
A new section has
been added to this site -
Educational
Research - which is a collection of
some of the current research evidence around
teaching and learning. It can be found under the
'Developments' section above.
26/11/07
Consultation on Draft
Professional Code
A consultation on
a Code of Professionalism and Conduct for the
teaching profession was launched by the General
Teaching Council for Scotland today, Monday 12
November 2007.
The Draft Code
of Professionalism and Conduct sets out the key
principles and values for registered teachers in
Scotland, within the GTCS framework of standards.
The Code and guidance also explains to members of
the public the standard of conduct expected of
registered teachers.
To find out
more and take part in the consultation, click
here.
22/11/07
_________________________________________________________________
New School Website
Marlpool School has a new
website which can be seen
here.
12/10//07
_________________________________________________________________
Improvement Conference - International Education -
Friday 28th September 2007
This conference had the theme
International Education. The aims were to redefine
International Education in Aberdeen City in the
light of national developments and also to begin to
think about, in a collaborative and supportive way,
driving these forward in Aberdeen.
Information packs are being
sent to schools not represented at the event so that
all schools have access to this information.
Information can be downloaded
here.
If you want to discuss any
ideas please be in touch with Rosaleen Rentoul,
International Coordinator, Aberdeen City. rrentoul@aberdeencity.gov.uk
Tel 01224 346456
05/10//07
_________________________________________________________________
Transforming Future Service Delivery Update
On 1st October 2007, Full
Council approved an exciting and ambitious 3 year
strategy for Transforming Services to Children and
Young People (Health & Care and Education). This
report represents a milestone for the Strategic
Development of the Council, as the proposals aim to
close the gap between our performance and the
performance of our comparator authorities by 2010,
thus ensuring we meet the needs of all citizens in
Aberdeen within available resources.
The links below provide you
with access to the following documents:
Further information will
follow soon on the implementation of the Strategy.
If you have any questions on
the Project, please email them to M&I@aberdeencity.gov.uk
05/10//07
_________________________________________________________________
The Journey to
Excellence
'It's an excellent school!'
What do people mean when they say that? Is there
such a thing as an excellent school? Can schools be
'excellent' across the board? What sorts of
things are people thinking of when they talk about
excellence? Would children and young people have the
same idea of an excellent school as their teachers,
or their parents, or members of the local
community?
This
new website provides lots of resources to help
teachers put the Curriculum for Excellence into
practice.
01/10//07
_________________________________________________________________
International Opportunities for Teachers and Pupils
A leaflet has been developed
by the Scottish Government, British Council
(Scotland) and Learning and Teaching Scotland to
provide information on available international
opportunities for teachers and pupils to learn from
international experiences.
More
info here.
26/09//07
______________
Transforming Future
Service Delivery Update
The
formal consultation process is now complete and the
Strategy for Transforming Services to Children and
Young People - 2007 to 2010 has been submitted to
Committee Services for Full Council on Monday 1st
October 2007. We have now collated 'Frequently Asked
Questions' which can be read
here. If you have any questions on the Project,
please email them to
M&I@aberdeencity.gov.uk
25/09//07
_________________________________________________________________
Racist Incident
Monitoring
Updated guidance
notes and form available
here.
13/09//07
_________________________________________________________________
Visual Impairment, Communication and
Autism Spectrum
Disorder Conference -
Glasgow 24 and 25
October 2007
Some
children with a visual impairment also exhibit
behaviour on the autism
disorder spectrum.
This
conference will describe the behaviour traits which
define autism spectrum disorder and consider the
appropriate learning and
communication environments
for children and young people affected by both
conditions.
Details
here.
4/09//07
__________
Transforming Future Service
Delivery Update
An
update on where we are at and the formal
consultation process can be read
here.
Any member of staff who would like a copy of the
staff briefing can access this on the Zone.
If you do not have access to the Zone you can obtain
a copy from your line manager.
4/09//07
_________________________________________________________________
International Study
Visits New Arrangements
There have been
significant changes to these arrangements and
the
deadline is near!
In December 2006, the Scottish
Executive decided that
Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS)
should take
forward the new Scottish Continuing International
Professional Development
Programme (SCIPD) for
International Education, and be responsible for the
general promotion
of international education within
A Curriculum for Excellence.
There are new arrangements in place for study visits
– both individual and group.
Please see Learning
and Teaching Scotland’s International Education
website for further information.
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/internationaleducation
Study Visit
requests for Session 2007 – 2008
Please use the application form which can be found
by following the link:
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/internationaleducation/studyvisits/aims.asp
All
applications should be
submitted to Rosaleen
Rentoul, International
Education Coordinator by 31st
July 2007.
Please note that travel will be organised through
Aberdeen City Council unless
noted otherwise. Forms
for this can be found here -
http://www.aberdeen-education.org.uk/international.htm
If
you require further information please contact
Rosaleen Rentoul,
Tel 01224 346456 or e-mail
rrentoul@aberdeencity.gov.uk
13/6/07
________
Aberdeen Quest
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums (AAGM)
is a collection of four buildings: the Art Gallery,
Aberdeen Maritime Museum, the Tolbooth and Provost
Skene's House.
Aberdeen
Quest explores these venues and provides a
window into the artworks and objects that make up
the City collection.
4/6/07
5-14 Maths programs
online
Ian McLean's popular Fractions
and Mental Agility series are now available online. Fractions
here.
Mental Agility
here.
1/6/07
Curriculum Support
Team Secondments 2007-2008
The New Teachers
(Probationers) programme and allocation of
Probationers to Aberdeen City for 2007 – 2008 will
enable us to support the curriculum and Staff
Development (CPD) for all City Council schools in
Aberdeen.
Applications are
therefore invited from permanent members of Aberdeen
City teaching staff for the post of Curriculum
Support Teacher in various areas.
Secondments will run
initially from Monday 20th August 2007 to
Friday 4th July 2008 on a 0.4
to 1.0 FTE basis negotiable with the successful
applicants, the school and the Authority. The posts
will be reviewed in May 2008.
The major purpose of
these secondments is to support schools across the
City in the development of the curriculum and
members of the team are expected to spend most of
the time in schools supporting teachers.
Appointment will be
dependent on a “Probationer” Teacher being available
to cover the 0.7 FTE of the successful applicant’s
time and Authority funding for any additional time
agreed.
The secondees for A Curriculum for Excellence (CfE),
Assessment and Behaviour Support will report through
the CST co-ordinator to the Strategist, Learning.
All other secondees will have an Area role within
the Culture and Learning teams to support the School
Improvement agenda. They will also have a city wide
remit relating to their subject area, and will be
co-located at Summerhill Centre. The management
arrangements will be agreed once the team has been
assembled.
Information
and application forms for the above secondments can
be downloaded
here.
28/5/07
SECONDMENT OPPORTUNITY (Maternity Cover) Health
Improvement Officer (Schools)
The
secondment will run from Monday 20th August 2007, on
a 1.0 FTE basis and will continue for the duration
of the Maternity Leave period which is anticipated
to be until the end of September 2008. The secondee
will be based at Denburn Health Centre with the
Health Improvement Team.
Information
and application forms for the above secondment can
be downloaded here.
28/5/07
SEED/LTS Audit of
International Education
SEED and LTS are conducting a
national survey to find out more about how Scottish
schools are engaging with national strategies for
International Education. The survey is available
online and should only take about 10 minutes to
complete.
We would urge schools to
participate as the results will influence both
national and local future strategy.
The survey can be found
here.
22 May 2007
Atomic Learning
www.atomiclearning.co.uk
Atomic Learning is an online
resource for software training which provides short
tutorials on a wide range of applications currently
used in schools. All types of users are catered for
from beginners to the very experienced in
applications such as Microsoft Office, Clicker 5,
Photoshop Elements, Flash and Groupwise 7. There are
also workshops, project based activities and lesson
plans.
A year’s subscription to Atomic
Learning has been purchased for all teaching staff
in Aberdeen City, as a pilot project. Each school
has been issued with a list of Usernames and
Passwords for their teaching staff and a Generic
Login for support staff. An automatic record of
usage is kept which individuals may use for CPD
purposes.
If you have not been given a
Username and Password then ask your SMT and/or CPD
Coordinator or Administration staff.
Changes may be made by contacting
Sheila Morrison,
shmorrison@aberdeencity.gov.uk
9 May 2007
Writer in Residence on The Reading Bus August 2007 –
June 2008
St
Machar Associated Schools Group, Aberdeen
We seek
a published author or writer to undertake a year
long Writer in Residence in Aberdeen. The successful
candidate will work in partnership with The Reading
Bus in the St Machar Community and will work with
Primary and Academy pupils as well as with members
of the Community.
Further
details here.
25
April
2007
A Union for a’ that workshops for upper
primary classes
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical
Monuments of Scotland, the National Archives of
Scotland, Historic Scotland, the National Galleries
of Scotland, the National Library of Scotland, the
Scottish Parliament, and the Law Society of
Scotland, with advice from Learning and Teaching
Scotland, are together delivering learning resources
exploring the historical significance of the Union
and a programme of learning activities looking at
both that history and the architectural expression
of democratic decision-making, designed to support A
Curriculum for Excellence. A Union for a' that was
launched at the beginning of February with the
publication of the project leaflet,
and the website going live. The website can be
visited at
http://www.1707union.info.
One strand of the project is to provide twelve
full-day workshops for upper primary pupils, six in
Aberdeen for schools in the north of Scotland, and
six in Edinburgh for schools from central Scotland.
These days will include an historical workshop based
on primary sources of evidence to explain what
happened in 1706-1707, object handling to explain
changes in coinage, flags and heraldry; an
architectural trail to encourage an appreciation of
the architecture of local and national government,
and a workshop focussing on how Scotland is governed
today. The Aberdeen workshops are being prepared in
partnership with Aberdeen City libraries and
archives.
Date: 28 and 29 May, 4 and 5 June, 11 and 12 June
2007
Time: 09:50-15:00
Cost: Free (snack provided, packed lunches
required, help with transport costs may be available
on request)
Location: The workshop will be based in the Central
Library and Town House in Aberdeen.
Further
details can be downloaded
here.
23
April 2007
Welcome to Richard
Elliott
Richard
joined the ICT Education Team as Principal Officer
(Education ICT) at the beginning of April. He is
looking forward to meeting with teachers to find out
how he can best support ICT developments in our
schools.
16
April 2007
Study Visits to Malawi
LECT is offering teachers in Scotland the
opportunity to gain an in-depth insight into
education in Malawi through focused group study
visits in July 2007. The themes and dates of the
visits are as follows:
We are looking for people who want an exciting
professional development opportunity and the chance
to experience the challenges of education in a
developing country first hand. This is a unique
opportunity to be refreshed and re-invigorated, to
reflect on practice from a very new perspective, and
to develop your school’s international work.
The programme will include visits to urban and rural
schools, meetings with learners, educators, policy
makers and teacher trainers and opportunities to
share experiences and skills with Malawian
colleagues.
Primary and secondary school teachers, supported by
their schools are invited to apply. Those with
commitment to an international dimension in
education and an interest in Malawi and its
education system are particularly encouraged to
apply.
Visit www.lect.org.uk for full information on how to
apply. If you have any other enquiries contact Sarah
Richardson at sarah.richardson@lect.org.uk or on
0207 819 3930. The application deadline is Friday
30th April 2007.
More details and application forms available
here.
16
April 2007
Co-ordinated Support
Plans
The Education
(Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act,
(2004) states that all pupils with a Record of Need
must be reviewed to establish if they meet the
criteria for a Co-ordinated Support Plan by 13th
November 2007.
The CSP Working
group in Aberdeen has developed proformas to support
this process.
Details and
downloadable resources are available
here.
22
March 2007
Chinese Language Immersion
Courses
The Scottish Executive is committed to encouraging
the diversification of the study of modern foreign
languages in Scotland, and in 2005 unveiled a range
of measures to support links between China and
Scotland through educational activities. The summer
school immersion courses are a key part of the
programme and in 2007 there will again be the
opportunity for Scottish schools to take part.
Applications by March 30.
Details here.
22
March 2007
Win £100 of Shopping
Vouchers!
Did you
know that the shopping bill for all the goods and
services for Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City
Councils is close to £500million per year?
Just as you
try to save money on the family’s weekly shopping
bill, our two councils are working together on some
new initiatives to generate cost savings and improve
efficiency in our buying and purchasing.
For
further information check out the Procurement page
on the Zone at
http://thezone/web/site/RM/RDD/Procurement/RM_RDD_transforming_procurement.asp
We are now looking
for suggestions for a campaign name for our
programme. And to reward you for helping us reduce
the Councils’ shopping bill, we’ll help you reduce
yours with £100 of High Street shopping vouchers for
the winning entrant.
Download an entry form
here.
19
March 2007
Children and Young People's Services Awards 2007
Building on the
tremendous success of last year's Aberdeen City
Education (ACE) Awards, the Children and Young
People's Services Awards will again allow us to
recognise and celebrate the hard work and
outstanding achievements of our schools, staff and
pupils.
The new name reflects
the wider remit of the awards programme, which now
includes all of Aberdeen City's services to children
and young people. Staff working in schools,
community establishments, fostering and adoption
services, family centres, children's homes and
others will be eligible for nomination for one of 13
award categories. A further six categories have been
designed exclusively to reward the achievements of
children and young people themselves.
Full details of this
year's award categories and downloadable nomination
forms can be found
here
12
March 2007
SuperClubs Plus
Hi Andy, I was at the HT/ICT
meeting the other day and have been thinking about
the 'sharing' you mentioned. I spoke with Lilian
about how much our school is using
SuperClubs
Plus. We have been active on this site for a
while now and have just decided to introduce the
primary 3 children to it as the p4-7 children were
getting along so well. My colleagues and myself
think it's a wonderful resource that allows children
to develop skills and even enjoy 'chatting' in a
safe environment. Our experience has been very
positive - we have a pupil who is applying for the
'Tech Team' and a well used school page. Anyway, as
it is funded by LTScotland and therefore doesn't
cost schools any money perhaps it would be worth
advertising on Grid for Learning.
9
March 2007
European Union Poster competition for Primary
Schools
The Treaty of Europe (known as
the Treaty of Rome) was signed on March 25th, 1957.
So, this year the European Union celebrates its 50th
Anniversary!
To commemorate this date,
EuropeDirect, YouthLink Scotland is announcing a
Poster competition for Primary School students
across Scotland. Students are welcomed to design
their own posters about the European Union, its
people, history, traditions, development, progress –
you name it! Release your imagination and be
creative!!
Entries will close on the
26th of March and the winner will be announced
on 28th of March.
Details can be downloaded
here.
8
March 2007
Info from the HT & ICT
Co-ordinators Meeting 7/3/07
Transformation Programme
- Matt Bailey
download presentation
Operations Team -
Progress Report - Sandra Massey
download presentation
helpdesk procedures
easymail guide
Roles, Budget,
Strategy - Where are we now? - Rosaleen Rentoul
download presentation
Local
initiatives - Andy Watson
download
presentation
download newsletter
The Consolarium: LTS
advocate of games and learning - Derek Robertson
download
presentation
Crazy talk video
(reduced
quality)
Big Brain Academy video
Kawashima's Brain Training video
Milly
Cooper audio
St Robert's School (reduced quality)
Guitar
Hero (reduced quality)
Local direction -
Where are we going?- Rosaleen Rentoul
download presentation
Link to
discussion on issues raised at the meeting
7
March 2007
EasyMail Problems
The current position is
that it is unlikely that EasyMail will be available
before Friday at the earliest. This is a national,
not local, problem which RM are working hard to
rectify.
7
March 2007
Sustainable
Housing Competition
Pupils from P5 to S6 are
challenged to design a house that people will want
to live in and that will have a low impact on the
environment - an eco-friendly house.
Participating classes
will have an architect assigned to them. A website
will be available where questions and answers can be
posted.
Completed designs
will be judged according to age. The overall winning
design will be realised into a professional
architect's model and the school will receive £500
to spend on improving their environment. All winners
will have their designs put on public display and
receive a trip to the Findhorn EcoVillage.
Expressions of
interest should be received by 9th March. An entry
form with competition details can be downloaded
here.
5
March 2007
Education Technical Support Procedures
Procedures
for obtaining technical support can be downloaded
here.
5
March 2007
Active Schools
Team
The
fundamental aim of the Active Schools Network is to
offer school-aged children the motivation and
opportunities to adopt active, healthy lifestyles
now and into adulthood.
The Active
Schools Team are available to support schools
and provide opportunities for them to offer
extra-curricular activities to all their pupils.
These activities can be set up before school,
during break times or after school and include
rugby, tennis, yoga, playground activities or
walk to school initiatives.
For more
information, simply contact the Active Schools
Co-ordinator in your area. More information
available
here.
1
March 2007
ACfE
Inter-Authority Seminar
Documents from the
Inter-Authority Seminar on 30/31 January are
available for download here.
9
February 2007
Blogging
A
number of Aberdeen schools now have class blogs.
You can find a list at
http://www.abernet.org.uk/wp/
1
February 2007
Del.icio.us - easy web-linking
Many
schools are collating their web links so that
they are accessible from any computer using
del.icio.us. The links at the bottom of the left
hand column on this page are good examples of
del.icio.us bookmarking in action. Schools,
departments or individuals can save their
bookmarks (favourites) and organise them so that
they can be easily shared and gain access to the
favourite sites of other users.
Del.icio.us can
be found here and a
good guide to using it can be downloaded
here.
30
January 2007
2007 Scottish Education Awards
Does
your school or teacher deserve recognition for
the excellent work they are doing? If so
why not nominate them for one of the 2007
Scottish Education Awards? Nominations for
the 2007 Awards are now open and there are a
variety of school and individual categories to
enter which seek to celebrate success and
recognise achievement in Scottish education.
Further details of all the 2007 Award categories
and how to enter can be found by simply clicking
on
2007 Awards.
The closing date for
nominations is Friday, 23 February 2007 and the
winners of the 2007 Scottish Education Awards
will be announced at a ceremony in the City
Halls, Glasgow on Friday, 15 June 2007.
24
January 2007
