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The SPTC Newsletter - August 2002 - Issue 68

In this issue

We have moved!

Over the summer SPTC moved offices. Our previous premises in Shandwick Place were too small and the lease ran out so we have moved to larger premises in George Street, Edinburgh. However, we keep our own in-built fitness regime as we are still up two flights of stairs!

Our new address is:

SPTC 53 George Street Edinburgh EH2 2HT

Tel/Fax: 0131 226 4378

Our email and web address remain:
sptc@sptc.info       www.sptc.info

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Insurance

There will be important changes to the insurance we offer in January so, as we know many PTAs/PAs plan their events just now, we thought we should give you advance notice.

First, the good news: there will be much more generous personal accident insurance for PTA members and helpers at events. For example the current basic insurance provides £10,000 benefit for death or the loss of limbs/eyes and £50 per week for total temporary disablement. It has been possible to double these amounts by paying an extra premium. From January 2003 the double benefits will be part of the basic insurance. Moreover, the basic insurance now also includes personal accident cover for children who help. This was previously an optional extra.

Similarly, currently it is possible to double the cover both for cash in transit and fraud by the Treasurer by paying an extra premium. From January 2003 these benefits will be doubled for everyone within the basic insurance.

That's the good news. Unfortunately the bad news is that insurance costs are going up. This is nothing to do with the added benefits but rather a consequence of world events like September 11th and similar settlements that have put great pressure on insurance firms.

Also in the bad news category, the extended public liability cover that we offered to cover hired-in entertainers like disco providers will no longer be available. From January 2003 you will need to satisfy yourself that any hired-in entertainers have their own public liability insurance. If they do not, you should not hire them. As before, this does not apply where the entertainment is run by a parent, friend or even professional provider at no charge.

Our broker has given us a list of insurers who provide cover for entertainers, including disc jockeys. We'll send this information on request and provide it automatically to everyone who took out extended public liability cover this year.

ScotXed

And now for a new acronym - ScotXed. This stands for Scottish eXchange of educational data, a project led by the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) and designed to improve the exchange of data between schools, local authorities, Scottish Executive and SQA. It will also improve data exchange between schools when pupils transfer. Normally only data used by schools in their day to day operation will be shared.

ScotXed was launched early in 2002 with funding of £1.3 m from SEED and the first nationally co-ordinated data exchanges will take place in autumn 2002 when school census data will be collected electronically from local authority primary, secondary and special schools.

All data exchanges will be based on a "data interchange agreement" to which all partners subscribe. This covers data about pupils (e.g. pupils’ characteristics, attainment, attendance, curriculum, special needs), teachers (e.g. qualifications, history of service) and schools. It also defines statistics for monitoring the impact of educational policies and the quality of services. Parents and the wider community can expect access to improved educational statistics. Some parents have questioned the exchange of personal information and the collection of ethnicity data. SEED is doing its utmost to allay any such concerns, and strict security arrangements are in place to protect absolutely the confidentiality of individuals.

ScotXed is also working to improve the use of management information systems in schools. This will reduce administrative burdens on schools and give teachers valuable assistance in monitoring and supporting pupils’ progress. ScotXed will be phased in over several years. Eventually, all major exchanges of data between partners in the project will take place electronically, over the secure Scottish Schools Digital Network.

Further information about ScotXed is available from the website at http://www.scotxed.net/

Have Debate - Will travel

Judith Gillespie, Development Manager, reports on one of the major benefits of the national debate - the chance she had to make her first trip to Islay for a meeting.

One of the great pleasures of the national debate was the chance it gave me to travel round the country to meetings where parents were delighted to have a chance to move beyond the usual fundraising and insurance agenda and get their teeth into the nitty gritty of education. However, even against this very pleasant background my trip to Islay stood out as an all time high. For a start I had never been there before - a lack that was fairly common given the number of people who instantly offered to chum me on the trip!

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The meeting took place in Islay High School which is in Bowmore and we had a lively discussion covering many of the issues that had been raised elsewhere - the need for improved modern language teaching, the benefits of more non-certificated sport, art, drama and music and how this might be provided, the role of ICT in a modern education system etc. However, it was interesting to discuss these topics in a community setting where there was no option for placing request at secondary level as there is only one school. One of the benefits of such a community is that it is easier to build up links between the primaries and the secondary school. Teacher visits are already part of the scene.

One feature of the secondary school is that Gaelic is taught as a foreign language to every first and second year pupil although one local observed that children did not speak Gaelic out of school whilst a pupil said that singing and competitions - most notable the Mod - were her reason for learning the language.

However, one problem faced by youngsters in Islay is that going to University means leaving the island and moving to urban settings, with all that entails. As Islay does not boast a cinema or even a video shop and it would be hard to imagine a traffic jam, it is easy to appreciate that such a change is quite a culture shock. The solution they were feeding into the national debate was for senior pupil exchanges with pupils from urban schools. This would seem like a proposal with such mutual benefits that maybe someone would like to take up the idea even outwith the great debate.

As for me, my flying visit was wonderful - and yes I did come home with the obligatory bottle of malt whisky, an example of the island's most famous product, for my husband, you understand!

This and That

Head Lice

Head lice are a recurring problem in many primary schools, but do not feature too highly on most official agendas! However, in the past we have not ducked this tricky issue and now pass on information from Janice Chalmers, one of our members at Alva Primary School about a totally natural product called DELACET. It is an old traditional treatment that uses larkspur and acetic acid. Janice tells us that she and a number of other local parents have used it successfully. Apparently, it not only kills head lice, it also kills the eggs/nits as well. Janice said that Delacet is "nice" to use - as far as any head lice treatment can be called "nice" - and it certainly doesn't have any of the horrible side effects or nasty smell of the chemical products. Delacet is available on prescription but not all chemists stock it. Delacet is made and supplied by a company called Healthpol and you can find more information on the web at www.delacet.com. You can contact Healthpol at 62 Hoodcote Gardens, London N21 2NE, tel/fax 020 8360 0386. Janice is very enthusiastic about Delacet and is keen that other parents should know about this all-natural treatment for head lice.

Story time

The Netherbow Scottish Storytelling Centre is sponsoring a National Tell a Story Day on Friday 25th October and they are inviting people of all ages to join a national celebration of our storytelling heritage and enjoy the place of stories in our lives today.

If you're interested in holding a story telling event in your school, you should contact the Netherbow centre by 18th September. They will provide you with posters for local publicity and will also publicise your event as part of the national programme.

You can contact the Netherbow Scottish Storytelling Centre at 445 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1SR, tel 0131 556 9579/557 5724 or by emailing netherbow-storytelling@dial.pipex.com

You can also contact the Netherbow Storytelling Centre to arrange storyteller visits from one of their network of professional storytellers around the country. The centre promotes storytelling in a range of languages, including Scots, community languages and sign language for the deaf. Those who've had a visiting storyteller are very enthusiastic and report children who normally couldn't sit still for two seconds being absolutely spellbound

Money for old cartridges

In February we told you about a way that you could raise money for your school, help save the planet and contribute to a good cause. This was by re-cycling old ink-jet cartridges from printers and fax machines.

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A company called Alphastream will pay 50p to £2 (depending on type) for every cartridge you collect. They will also donate 20p to

SENSE the charity for deaf/blind children in the UK.

A number of you took up this option so you should know that Alphastream have moved. They can now be contacted on 0800 389 4817.

Regional Meetings

We are continuing our programme of regional meetings and have a date to come to Bellshill Academy, on Wednesday 23rd October at 7.30 pm.

If you'd be willing to host a meeting - you just provide the venue and coffee, we do the rest - please contact the office.

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