Tag: education

3 Comments

As unfairly subsidised Polish yard reaches milestone on 7 ferries GMB should be reminded to stop supporting Labour if they want to keep jobs in Scotland

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA Today we read: THE project to build seven new loch class ferries for the west of Scotland has reached another construction milestone. The first vessel has had its keel laid, the base upon which all units are assembled, while the steel has been cut for the second vessel. A ceremony to mark both events recently took place at Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. shipyard in Gdansk, Poland, where the boats are being built for Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL). The small vessel replacement programme will deliver seven fully electric ferries in the first phase, providing improved reliability and … Continue reading As unfairly subsidised Polish yard reaches milestone on 7 ferries GMB should be reminded to stop supporting Labour if they want to keep jobs in Scotland

4 Comments

Factcheck – 70% pass rate in S4 mathematics – Someone who actually knows something about educational research scoffs at fake ‘commission’s education arm’

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA, , former schoolteacher, education lecturer, head of department, Associate Dean (Quality Assurance), Research Professor, research methods tutor, Masters and PhD supervisor, multiple peer-reviewed international research author, Faculty Research Ethics Chair I have more detail on the above ‘research’, front page this morning and 35th by this afternoon. The only story that has sunk faster is that on the Labour MSP and the paedophile. I’ve already clarified in my previous post why you should be wary of ‘The Commission on School Reform, the education arm of the independent think tank Enlighten.’ Who on earth do they think they are? … Continue reading Factcheck – 70% pass rate in S4 mathematics – Someone who actually knows something about educational research scoffs at fake ‘commission’s education arm’

16 Comments

Scotsman ‘newspaper’ front pages incompetent, mendacious, self-important, sub-standard researchers to undermine Scottish schools

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA, , former schoolteacher, education lecturer, head of department, Associate Dean (Quality Assurance), Research Professor, research methods tutor, Masters and PhD supervisor, multiple peer-reviewed international research author, Faculty Research Ethics Chair The above is on the front page of the Scotsman, based on a report by the far from ‘independent‘, pompously self-styled Commission on School Reform (neither royal nor government just invented) and fronted by the notorious Carole Ford with, as always, party-affiliation hidden, and at the end evidence of Pisa-data which no respectable published educationist will ever use. Note – I’ve put all my ‘stuff’ there … Continue reading Scotsman ‘newspaper’ front pages incompetent, mendacious, self-important, sub-standard researchers to undermine Scottish schools

18 Comments

The Scotsman’s ‘top academic’ wheeled in to savage Scottish schools again is mere ‘bean counter’ with no experience of teaching in schools, teacher ‘training’, leadership or research into anything other than assessment data

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA, retired Research Professor, Faculty Research Ethics Chair, Associate Dean for Quality Assurance in Education, Head of Department of Curriculum Studies (30 staff), Senior Lecturer in Educational Technology, Lecturer in Education, School Teacher (Primary), PhD, Master of Education Professor Lindsay Paterson is in the Scotsman again, as he often is, to cast doubt on the competence of Scottish teachers to assess their own pupils continuously as opposed to his preferred snapshot exam method. Once more he returns to the Pisa scores he loves to use to mark us down. He is, to my knowledge, the only serious … Continue reading The Scotsman’s ‘top academic’ wheeled in to savage Scottish schools again is mere ‘bean counter’ with no experience of teaching in schools, teacher ‘training’, leadership or research into anything other than assessment data

4 Comments

Daily Record manages to miss easily accessed figures proving that the SNP has closed the attainment gap in Scottish schools and widened it with England

johnrobertson834

Somebody post this here – https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotland/ – I’m banned Professor John Robertson OBA In the Record today, the above and: Even with Covid in mind, Record View says closing the poverty-related attainment gap in schools is yet another key SNP promise the party has failed to deliver. They have just not bothered or deliberately avoided the evidence easily accessed in the public domain From the Scottish Government’s Literacy and numeracy standards reach record high report in December 2024: The proportion of pupils achieving the expected level in literacy and numeracy across primary and secondary schools has reached a new high, officials figures … Continue reading Daily Record manages to miss easily accessed figures proving that the SNP has closed the attainment gap in Scottish schools and widened it with England

Leave a comment

English schools excluding pupils at twice the rate and expelling infinitely more often than in Scotland with consequent surges in youth crime

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA From School attendance, absence and exclusions statistics 2024-25 published yesterday: Cases of exclusion decreased from 11,673 in 2022/23 to 10,647 in 2024/25. This is consistent with the overall downward trend since 2006/07. The rate of exclusions per 1,000 pupils decreased from 16.6 in 2022/23 to 15.2 in 2024/25. This is consistent with the overall downward trend since 2006/07. No pupils were removed from the register in 2024/25, compared with one pupil in 2022/23. This is the first time there has been no pupils removed from the register since records began in 2002/03. In England, in the same period, … Continue reading English schools excluding pupils at twice the rate and expelling infinitely more often than in Scotland with consequent surges in youth crime

1 Comment

Scotland’s schools surging ahead of those in England in literacy and numeracy attainment

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA From Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Levels 2024-25 published today, we see that in Scotland’s schools there have been significant increases in the numbers of pupils achieving the expected levels in the four years since the pandemic.1 Remember these, at first sight, small percentage differences refer to around 50 000 pupils at each level so the 4% improvement in S3 literacy means 2 000 more pupils succeeded last year than in 2021/2022. Scotland’s media have yet to respond. It will be interesting if irritating to see how they try to spin this success down. The … Continue reading Scotland’s schools surging ahead of those in England in literacy and numeracy attainment

7 Comments

Scotsman lies barefaced about pandemic lockdown effects on developmental delays in toddlers and fails to ask if UK Government austerity was a major factor

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA Above how BBC Scotland reported on developmental delays in toddlers during the pandemic. The Scotsman however, had: That’s a clear lie and it’s not qualified, and at that only very very slightly until the 7th paragraph when we see ‘associated with’ as opposed to ’caused: Unless the reporter is thick-as-a-brick, what is the Scotsman’s agenda here? To join the pile-on demonising of Nicola Sturgeon in the Covid inquiry process? Was it hard to understand the University of Edinburgh news release? Covid lockdown linked to child development issues – Lockdown and social distancing measures during the Covid-19 … Continue reading Scotsman lies barefaced about pandemic lockdown effects on developmental delays in toddlers and fails to ask if UK Government austerity was a major factor

9 Comments

3.5 MILLION children could be lifted out of poverty if the Labour Party in England and Wales copied the Scottish Child Payment unique in Europe and in the long-term really costing nothing

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA From the Scottish Government yesterday: More than 300,000 children supported by Scottish Child Payment Social Security Scotland’s Scottish Child Payment is supporting 322,230 children across the country, newly published figures show.  Launched in February 2021, the Scotland-only benefit gives families with low incomes crucial financial support to help with the cost of raising children. The weekly payment of £27.15 is paid every four weeks for every eligible child under the age of 16 within a household.  https://www.gov.scot/news/more-than-300-000-children-supported-by-scottish-child-payment/ If Labour in England and Wales did the same, they’d lift around 3.5 million children out of poverty. Why … Continue reading 3.5 MILLION children could be lifted out of poverty if the Labour Party in England and Wales copied the Scottish Child Payment unique in Europe and in the long-term really costing nothing

Leave a comment

Scottish Government’s Funded Early Learning and Childcare project – 97% engagement, 72% increase in reported good health and greater benefits for those in deprived areas

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA The Scottish Study of Early Learning and Childcare: Phase 6 report, published today is a very sober, careful, modest piece of work giving no quick sign of success or failure. I’ve had to read in carefully to extract the good news. What is it all about? This report outlines findings from the 6th phase of the Scottish Study of Early Learning and Childcare (SSELC), focusing on 3-year-olds who were accessing up to 1140 hours of funded ELC. The SSELC forms a major part of the strategy for the evaluation of the expansion of funded ELC in … Continue reading Scottish Government’s Funded Early Learning and Childcare project – 97% engagement, 72% increase in reported good health and greater benefits for those in deprived areas