www.sec-ed.com


17 applicants chase every Scottish post


An average of 17 applicants are pursuing each teaching vacancy in Scotland, local authorities have revealed. The fierce competition rang-


es from 49 hopefuls per job in Stirling to three per post in Shetland. Education minister Michael


Russell admitted the figures, which were released after Freedom of Information requests by the Liberal Democrats, were “a concern”. Margaret Smith, education


spokeswoman for the Liberal Democrats, said the SNP admin- istration had reneged on a prom- ise to maintain the record number of teachers it inherited from its Labour/Liberal Democrat pred- ecessors as the total had fallen by about 3,000. She said: “Mike Russell used


his keynote speech at the Scottish Learning Festival (last week) to brag again about his govern- ment’s excellent record on educa- tion, but these figures show that the SNP have failed yet again on education. Teachers listening to his speech will now be sickened by his hollow boasts.” The figures were “deeply


concerning for teachers” and bad news for pupils, she added. “Scotland’s young people are


also missing out on the opportunity to learn from newly trained, enthu- siastic teachers who have a wealth of talent and skill being wasted as they struggle to find jobs.” In 2009/10 a total of 75,579


applications were made for 4,520 vacancies, an average of 17 per job. These included 14 per post in Aberdeenshire, six in Glasgow, 21 in Dundee, and 27 in Edinburgh. In Midlothian 47 chased each post, in North Lanarkshire 33, and in East Renfrewshire 37. At the lower end of the


scale, there were four applicants per vacancy in Dumfries and Galloway and five in Orkney. In August it was revealed


that only a 10th of Scotland’s 3,000 NQTs had found perma- nent employment under the local authority where they trained. Mr Russell said: “The diffi-


culties faced by teachers looking for a post are a concern. We want to do more and we are examin- ing ways we can provide further help.” Last week, Mr Russell came


under more fire after diluting a key manifesto pledge to limit class sizes for the first three years of primary to 18 pupils. A new limit of 25 will apply only to P1.


£15 billion needs to be spent on school buildings


Fifteen billion pounds will need to be spent in the next four years to guarantee a place for every child in a “decent classroom”, council lead- ers have claimed. Analysis from the Local


Government Association (LGA) and Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) claims that this figure is the “absolute min- imum” councils need between now and 2015. This amount, they say, will


ensure that “every child can be taught in a classroom which is safe and structurally sound”. Nearly £5 billion is considered essential for the next financial year alone, they add. The study comes amid fall out


from the cancellation of more than 700 projects under the Building Schools for the Future programme, and with the government spending review on October 20 expected to force more cuts on education. The LGA has previously esti-


mated that £203 million has been spent by councils on BSF projects which have now been pulled. The joint LGA and ADCS sur-


vey was carried out in August look- ing at education and children’s serv- ices’ capital needs – around 40 per cent of local authorities responded. Respondents were asked about


their capital needs over the four years of the spending review and then asked how much of that capital spending was necessary to meet statutory requirements, such as pro- viding school places and maintain- ing health and safety. If taken as indicative of all local


SecEd • September 30 2010


authorities, the findings show that the capital need will be £7.7 billion in 2011/12, of which £4.7 billion is considered essential, and £29.3 bil- lion in the next four years, of which £15 million is marked as essential. The LGA and ADCS are argu-


ing that all public spending on buildings should be pooled in local areas “to get the very best value for money and to attract investment from the private sector”. A statement said: “That would


mean building work to provide new school capacity could be combined with a scheme to provide a new GP surgery, for example, making sav- ings for both health and education.” Baroness Margaret Eaton, chair


of the LGA, said: “We need to work even harder to ensure that the money that is invested in school buildings represents the best pos- sible value for the taxpayer. “Our children need schools which


are safe, clean and attractive places in which they can learn. Spending money to maintain or replace exist- ing school buildings is unavoidable. Areas experiencing booming birth rates need to be able to expand pri- mary schools so that every child has a place not too far from their home. “Education secretary Michael


Gove has stressed his commitment to getting more crucial core funding directly to schools, via councils, but reducing behind the scenes bureauc- racy will only go so far. The com- mon sense flexibility we’re request- ing will mean councils all over the country can build new schools and improve neighbourhood facilities that residents use every day.”


Leading light: Abigail (centre left) works on her design with Kate Bellingham (centre right) while Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz of CuteCircuit offer their advice


Dress design gets the green light


A cutting-edge new fashion design created by a 17-year-old student is to be unveiled next month at the British Engineering Excellence Awards. The dress has been designed


by Abigail Williams from Amman Valley School in Camarthenshire after she won the Engineering Elegance challenge organised by the Design and Technology Association. The nationwide competition is


aimed at demonstrating the inte- gration of electronics and textiles (known as e-textiles), and to encour- age young people, especially girls,


to make the connection between fashion and technology. The dress will be made by wear-


able technology fashion company CuteCircuit. Although the design of the dress will be kept under wraps until the awards, it will feature the latest developments in e-textiles, including optical fibres and LEDs. The main feature will be a “fibre optic waterfall of light woven into the fabric” which can be turned on and off remotely from a bracelet. Abigail’s creation will be mod-


elled at the awards on October 14 by television presenter and engineer


Kate Bellingham, who has taken part in fittings during the dress’s preparations. Ms Bellingham said: “Abigail


has come up with a truly personal design that showcases some of the latest technical developments in e-textiles. I was worried I might look like Blackpool Illuminations meets Lady Gaga, but in Abigail’s dress I can be living proof that wearable technology can be elegant engineering.” For more on the Design and


Technology Association, visit www.data.org.uk


Doubts raised over asbestos safety report


by Dorothy Lepkowska


Teachers’ leaders have cast doubt on the rigour of an official report into the management of asbestos in schools, which claimed most local authorities have effective systems in place to deal with the problem. The National Union of Teachers


(NUT) said the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which carried out the study, and the Department for Education, were demonstrating a “misplaced confidence” in the find- ings. The study, published last week –


almost 18 months after the original deadline of April 2009 – found that 10 local authorities were ordered to make improvements into their asbestos management arrangements. Of the 152 local authorities in


England, 107 provided satisfactory responses to a questionnaire which were deemed to require no action by the HSE. A further 45 required further


contact, of which 42 underwent a sample visit of schools by inspec- tors, and 19 were contacted for veri- fication inspections to determine compliance with the law. The study found that “the major- ity of these follow-up inspections


by HSE confirmed that there was general good compliance with the duty to maintain asbestos”. In all, 32 authorities were given


additional advice on how to ensure their systems remained effective in the future. The study looked particularly


at areas with system-built schools, constructed between 1945 and 1980. A common feature of these is the fire-proofing of structural columns with asbestos-containing materials, known as ACMs, and enclosed by metal casings or cladding. Christine Blower, general sec-


retary of the NUT, which has been campaigning for better asbestos awareness in schools following a number of deaths of teaching staff, said: “While welcoming the survey as a step in the right direction, the NUT views this (the HSE’s) confi- dence as misplaced. “Apart from the fact that the sur-


vey was restricted to asbestos man- agement in system-built schools, we question how it can be claimed that the majority of local authorities meet legal requirements in terms of asbestos management when only 42 were actually visited by HSE inspectors. “The other 110 simply com- pleted an online survey, making the


survey essentially a paper exercise, reliant on local authorities admit- ting to failings in their systems in order to trigger a visit from the HSE.” Ms Blower added that a true


understanding of the nature of the problem can only be gained with a “full independent national audit of all schools”. She continued: “We fear that the


findings of this limited survey will be used to justify the abolition of a recently established Department for Education steering group which was set up with the aim of improving asbestos management in schools.” Michael Lees, chair of the


Asbestos in Schools Group at edu- cation union Voice also expressed concern about the survey. Mr Lees’ wife, a former teacher, died of the asbestos-related cancer mesothe- lioma. He said: “The questionnaire and


inspections have concentrated on one particular asbestos problem in one type of school building. It did not attempt to assess standards in traditionally built schools, it gained no information on independent schools, and 95 per cent of dio- ceses, who are in the main the own- ers of the voluntary-aided schools, simply failed to reply.”


NEWS


In brief Budget cut


The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA), which was one of the first quangos to be axed by the coalition government, has seen £20 million pounds shaved of its budget for this financial year. The QCDA is currently working to handover or wind down its various activities and education secretary Michael Gove this week confirmed a revised budget for this year of £107.8 million.


Lightbulb moment?


Around 2,000 schools across the country have signed up to the Big Light Project. Aimed at eight to 13-year-olds, the scheme hopes to improve children’s understanding of the differences between energy- saving or low-energy lightbulbs and traditional incandescent bulbs. Specialist teaching materials are available for key stage 3 in science, PSHE and design and technology. The scheme is run by Recolight, the national recycling scheme for the lighting industry. Visit: www.biglightproject.co.uk


Love advice


As part of a new week-long series of videos focusing on teenagers and the issues that affect them, Teachers TV will visit students at Twickenham Academy in south London to hear about their experiences of relationships and growing-up. The 30-minute video will launch online tomorrow (Friday, October 1) and shows the ups and downs of young love. It looks at how schools can support teenagers during this often emotional time. Visit: www.teachers.tv


Social launch


Awarding body OCR has launched an online community network for teachers, examiners and assessors interested in maths, English and ICT. The aim of the community is to offer a platform for teachers to engage with each other to share best practice, offer guidance, and access support materials produced by other teachers such as lesson plans, presentations, videos and links to other helpful websites. Visit: www.social.ocr.org.uk


Game on


The closing date is approaching for entrants to the Young Game Designers competition. Run by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, Abertay University and EA, the challenge invites teams of three, aged 11 to 16, to submit a design for a new video game. The winning team will get work experience at Bright Light, an EA games studio, and will see their game developed with Abertay University. The deadline for entering is October 18. Visit: www.bafta.org/ygd


Cooking on gas


Celebrity chef Simon Rimmer has extended the deadline in his national School Cooks competition after more than 250 schools sign up. Participating schools will get free lesson plans for key stage 3 PSHE with topics including careers, nutrition, and practical skills. It culminates in April with a competition which could see students winning their school £10,000 worth of cooking equipment. Teachers should register by November. Visit: www.schoolcooks.co.uk


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