Scottish Parliament e-Brief 

Issue 171, 22^nd September 2003

SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK

THE CHAMBER

IN COMMITTEE
This week’s likely highlights in the Committee Corridors include:

SECTION 2 - NEWS

Next steps in teacher training reform
Ways of ensuring that new teachers are better prepared for life in the classroom and increasing access to teacher training will be examined during the second stage of the initial teacher education review, it was announced today.

The review is one of the key elements of A Teaching Profession for the 21^st Century.  It will also help break down barriers to teacher training and widen access, which in turn will support the Executive’s drive to reduce class sizes in P1 and in S1 and S2 Maths and English.

The review will examine:

• Whether existing teacher training courses prepare staff as well as possible for entry into the profession, including preparation for classroom management and handling discipline issues;

• Whether the current undergraduate and postgraduate courses are the most appropriate means of delivering training;

• How pressures to increase the breadth of courses and access to teacher training can be addressed, for example by offering part-time courses and courses in different areas of Scotland;

• How courses can best contribute towards improving pupils’ experience of education, particularly during transition from primary to secondary school; and

• Whether the current thrust and framework of guidelines, entry requirements and standards relating to teacher training remain appropriate.

Full story

Financial Services Strategy Group
The creation of the Financial Services Strategy Group (FSSG) was announced today at the esure insurance building in Glasgow.  First Minister Jack McConnell was visiting the company to congratulate them on creating seven hundred and fifty jobs in the city over the past eighteen months.

The FSSG brings government together with the sector's major firms, representative groups and trade unions. It aims to continue the success and growth in a sector which already employs many thousands of people and to develop Scotland's position as one of Europe's major financial centres.

The group will be chaired by the Deputy First Minister and Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Jim Wallace.  It will bring together key players from across the private sector as well as the Scottish Executive, Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Financial Enterprise and will see union representation from Amicus and Unifi.

The role of the group is to align the public and private sectors to develop and to deliver a shared strategy for the financial services industry in Scotland.

Full Story

SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY begins with an Executive Debate on Better Behaviour – Better Learning.

As the title of the debate suggests, this will look at combating the inappropriate behaviour, such as minor disruptions in class to violence and bullying, which can lead pupils to feel disaffected and unwilling to come to school.

In January 2001, the then Education Minister, Jack McConnell, established a Discipline Task group to address issues of discipline in schools.  Its remit was to make recommendations on:

• The involvement of teachers in initiatives about discipline;

• Strategies to deal with instances of indiscipline and bad behaviour;

• Training for teachers in classroom management;

• The role of parents in motivating and supporting their children and fostering positive attitudes to education; and

• The role of other agencies in improving discipline and behaviour in the classroom.

The group reported in June 2001.  Its report, Better Behaviour Better Learning made 36 recommendations to the executive. These included recommendations to:

• Develop an Action Plan to manage implementation of the range of recommendations. 

• Support further pilot projects across Scotland to trial Staged Intervention.  This supports classrooms teachers in their own environments and aims to empower all staff in managing behaviour within the context of effective learning and teaching.

• Shift to promoting positive behaviour and participation targets rather than a focus on exclusions targets. (This relates to the recommendation that positive strategies must be in place to help reduce these exclusions through better behaviour.)

• Ensure that teacher training and continuing professional development is developed in order that teachers are good classroom managers and can work effectively with other professionals.

• Further share good practice. 

The Discipline Task Group was reconvened in March this year to reflect on progress to date in promoting positive behaviour in schools and to consider what further action might be needed to tackle indiscipline.

Following the report of the Discipline Task Group, a joint action plan was developed in partnership with Cosla, the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland and the Association of Directors of Social Work.  It acknowledged what the executive, local authorities and schools had done already and set out targets for the future.

The action plan, launched on 12^th December 2001 aimed to support effective learning and teaching, creating an environment in which every child could develop their full potential. 

Local authorities were granted funding of £10 million a year for three years in 2001 to implement the recommendations of the task force and action plan.

The day is rounded off with a member’s business debate on Nursery Nurses the SSP’s Carolyn Leckie.

THURSDAY morning sees two debates from the Conservatives on Europe and Early Release from Prison.

While, at the time of writing, neither motion has been published the title of latter is fairly self explanatory and it is known that the Europe debate will focus on the Single Currency and the Constitution.

As always, the motions will appear in the Business Bulletin in due course and the Official Report will be available from 08:00 on Friday.

This is followed by First Minister’s Question Time.

In the afternoon, after Question Time, there is an Executive debate on the Scottish National Theatre.

As Finance Minister, Andy Kerr, announced earlier this month, the Scottish Executive is to fund the creation of a National Theatre for Scotland. The Theatre will receive £7.5 million over two years and will be act as a “virtual” theatre. That is to say, as a performing entity, it will not be based in one place.  Rather it will fund existing theatre talent to create work of the highest order which will then tour the country giving it access to a wide range of audiences.   There will therefore be no need for a grand new theatre building. This will, it is argued, ensure that the funding goes directly to developing theatre talent.

The Theatre will be run by a Chair, Board and a Creative director; they will work closely with the Scottish Arts Council and keep Ministers advised of activity and plans for the first production.

The company is expected to stage its first production in early 2005.

The week in the Chamber concludes with a Member’s Business debate on Respect for Shop-workers from Labour’s Ken Macintosh.

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