Tag: teaching

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‘Tawdry’ Labour spin doctor pretends to know something about education to undermine Nicola Sturgeon, SNP and Scottish schools

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA former school teacher, education lecturer, Associate Dean (Quality Assurance) Faculty of Education, Research Ethics Chair and Research Methods Tutor to BA Journalism (!) UWS Peter MacMahon is in the Herald with: Has anything changed since Sturgeon’s education pledge? Not long after she became First … Continue reading ‘Tawdry’ Labour spin doctor pretends to know something about education to undermine Nicola Sturgeon, SNP and Scottish schools

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Privately-educated Alex Massie of the Times with more fake news on Scotland’s state schools

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Professor John Robertson OBA, former schoolteacher, education lecturer and Associate Dean (Quality Assurance) Faculty of Education, UWS Alex Massie of the Times and Spectator, today claims: Scotland’s schools are failing, but it doesn’t have to be this way He’s right. It doesn’t have to be this way because it isn’t. Massie knows little of anything but of education, even less. Massie was educated at St. Mary’s School, Melrose, Glenalmond College in Perthshire and at Trinity College Dublin but offers no detail of degree subject or classification. Given the kind of guy he seems, a first would have been mentioned. What he doesn’t know: From Literacy and numeracy standards reach record high, published … Continue reading Privately-educated Alex Massie of the Times with more fake news on Scotland’s state schools

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The Idiocrat

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By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Associate Dean (Quality Assurance) Faculty of Education, UWS In the Herald today, recycling the recent lies of Prof (sic) Lindsay Paterson, Neil Mackay has: The debasement of Scottish education is turning us into an idiocracy. Takes one to know one I suppose but I guess he’s not that daft, just desperate to keep his job. The facts: First, in Secondary schools: At SCQF level 7 (Advanced Higher), the gap in 2009/10, two years after the SNP first came to power, was 24.1 and by 2021/22 it was 22.2, though down from 25 in the previous year but more important … Continue reading The Idiocrat

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Scotsman blames SNP for balancing books on teacher numbers but still keeping best conditions in world and best staffing level in the UK as pupils numbers plummet

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By Professor John Robertson, OBA Every year, the Scottish Government monitors the number of teachers and pupils in the system, predicts future demand and adjusts teacher training place numbers to take account of this, with a view to not having too many teachers or overspending in one area of its fixed budget. Sensible? Last year, they were able to say: In Scotland, the number of primary school pupils peaked in 2017 at around 400,000 pupils before decreasing to around 390,000 in 2021. Estimates using 2018-based population projections show a continued decrease each year to around 355,000 in 2027. 1 and have … Continue reading Scotsman blames SNP for balancing books on teacher numbers but still keeping best conditions in world and best staffing level in the UK as pupils numbers plummet

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Welsh Labour’s total incompetence as one school has to teach maths in classes of 60!

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From Wales Online, yesterday: A Welsh secondary school has seen class sizes for maths lessons swell to 60 pupils due to a teacher shortage. Governors have been left “begging” for help according to a former top councillor. Pupils in years seven, eight, and nine [11 to 14 year-olds]at Caldicot Comprehensive are being taught maths in classes of 60 students at a time owing to a national shortage of specialist teachers, according to the head teacher. The situation was highlighted by councillor Rachel Garrick who was a member of the ruling Labour cabinet at Monmouthshire County Council until the beginning of … Continue reading Welsh Labour’s total incompetence as one school has to teach maths in classes of 60!

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Schools – IFS has already exposed Labour’s meanness and SNP record in funding 18% above the rest of the UK

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Labour must hate the IFS. In the last few day’s they’ve pinned £18bn of cuts on them. A year ago……see below. The Scottish Government spends £4.2 billion on education and skills. Anas Sarwar has promised another £150 million or only 3.5% more but it is already 18% higher than in the rest of the UK. From the IFS last year: In the most recent year (2022–23), school spending per pupil in Scotland was over £8,500. This is over 18% or £1,300 higher than the level seen in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, all around £7,200 per pupil. School spending per … Continue reading Schools – IFS has already exposed Labour’s meanness and SNP record in funding 18% above the rest of the UK

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Far better staffing ratio means teaching assistants in Scotland not replacing teachers but Herald and Glasgow Times happy to deceive you

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By Professor John Robertson Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this: In the Guardian today: Hundreds of thousands of pupils in England and Wales are being educated “on the cheap” by low-paid teaching assistants (TAs) covering lessons for teachers who are off sick or have quit, according to new research. A desperate teacher recruitment crisis, compounded by inadequate funding, means schools across the country are struggling to put a qualified teacher at the front of every class, unions say. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/apr/26/teaching-assistants-deployed-to-routinely-cover-lessons-in-england-and-wales Is this happening in Scotland too? A quick search gets this: Wow! It seems like its a thing here too. Wait, … Continue reading Far better staffing ratio means teaching assistants in Scotland not replacing teachers but Herald and Glasgow Times happy to deceive you

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England’s primary schools heading back to pre-War class sizes under Conservative or Labour governments

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From the Guardian today: English primary schools cutting teacher numbers amid budget pressure, survey finds. A survey of more than 1,000 school leaders and teachers by the National Foundation for Educational Research found that three-quarters said their primary schools were cutting teaching assistant roles, while a third were also cutting teacher numbers. From GOV.UK in November 2023, pupil-teacher ratios: Any class-teachers out these will be shouting things like ‘I’ve got 30’ and ‘I’ve never had fewer than 25’, and so on. That’s because the above ratios take into account promoted staff with no or reduced class-contact times, so in Scotland, … Continue reading England’s primary schools heading back to pre-War class sizes under Conservative or Labour governments

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Teachers in England may strike over 36% higher pupil workload than in Scotland

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BBC Breakfast, as with the junior doctors strikes, is NOT shielding the Conservative Government from criticism, but allowing union reps free reign to attack. Today’s threat of teacher strikes is headlining there but is nowhere on the BBC News websites. BBC Scotland? School photos scandal. A significant factor for the NASUWT is this: Class sizes, pupil teacher ratios, have gotten worse not better over the last decade. Strangely, neither the NASUWT nor the Government state the actual pupil/teacher ratio. Here they are, helpfully from gov.uk, across the 4 nations: Pupil to teacher ratios in maintained schools were lowest in Scotland … Continue reading Teachers in England may strike over 36% higher pupil workload than in Scotland