Scottish Parliament e-Brief
Issue 233, 14^th February 2005

SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK

Parliament is in recess.

 

SECTION 2 - NEWS

Pupils get head start in literacy

Pupils across Scotland are reaping the rewards of innovative techniques which teach children to combine letters to read new words, rather than recognising words on sight. A new study shows that pupils who learn to read using synthetic phonics make impressive progress in reading and spelling throughout primary school.

The research report - The Effects of Synthetic Phonics Teaching on Reading, Spelling and Attainment - looked at schools in Clackmannanshire which have been using the system for 7 years, tracking pupils' progress throughout primary school. By the end of Primary 7, Clackmannanshire children were approximately 2.5 years ahead in reading ability.

The system is also in operation at Merkinch Primary in Inverness and schools in Edinburgh have been using a variation of this system since the mid 1990s.

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Life sciences strategy launched

A strategy designed to make Scotland a world renowned home for life sciences research and companies has been launched.

It has also been announced that the Executive is driving forward with plans for a new investment fund to help meet funding gaps in innovative industries like life sciences.

The strategy sets out a clear route whereby Scotland can achieve critical mass in the life sciences sector by 2020 - increasing the size of the sector and, more importantly, shifting the balance towards a larger proportion of bigger companies. Four vital factors lie at the heart of the strategy:

• The right people;

• The right resources;

• Greater focus; and

• Greater collaboration.

The main action points which emerge from the strategy are to:

• Attract more young people to take up courses and careers in the life sciences.

• Bring to Scotland people and companies looking for a place to grow and succeed.

• Strengthen the volume and type of public and private funding available for life sciences.

• Improve the supply of affordable accommodation and enhance transport links.

• Focus business support efforts more tightly on areas of real competitive promise.

• Rationalise the number of initiatives and support bodies.

• Establish a Life Sciences Alliance which includes representatives from industry, academia, NHSScotland and the public sector.

• Improve links between the life sciences sector and Scotland's financial community.

• Ensure enterprise networks and ITI Life Sciences provide the sector with intelligence on key market and technology trends.

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