Meeting of the Parliament 17 May 2012 : Thursday, May 17, 2012
Michael Russell That is guaranteed by the agreement that we have that was entered into willingly by COSLA—including Labour local authorities—by the teaching unions, and by the Scottish Government. Misrepresentation of that agreement is not helpful to anyone.
Meeting of the Parliament 17 May 2012 : Thursday, May 17, 2012
Michael Russell I will correct something that Mr Scott said. Supply teachers are paid for the first five days at the first point on the scale, which is not less than probationers are paid. We accept, however, that the negotiated agreement on supply teachers that was accepted by the trade unions was a difficult agre...
Meeting of the Parliament 17 May 2012 : Thursday, May 17, 2012
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning (Michael Russell) The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities is represented on the teacher workforce planning advisory group, which advises ministers on the number of student teachers that universities should enrol each year to ensure that sufficient teachers, including supply teachers, are available across Scotlan...
Meeting of the Parliament 17 May 2012 : Thursday, May 17, 2012
Michael Russell Dr Sahlberg was very interesting on a range of issues, one of which Stewart Maxwell has highlighted. However, I draw attention to two things that he tweeted as he left Scotland, the first of which was to say that there should be
“More professional responsibility rather than bureaucratic a...
Meeting of the Parliament 17 May 2012 : Thursday, May 17, 2012
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning (Michael Russell) I am always very pleased to learn from other countries’ experience in delivering education services. Finland’s approach is of continued interest to Scotland and, indeed, I visited Finland in March 2010 to see its system at first hand. I was pleased to meet again, on 2 May, Dr Pasi Sahlberg, who is t...
Public Petitions Committee 15 May 2012 : Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Michael Russell (Argyll and Bute) (SNP) Thank you very much, convener, and thank you for allowing me to be present at the meeting after my giving notice at the weekend.
I confirm Councillor Philand’s comment about the cross-party and cross-community support for the petition. No one can deny that the A83 is a lifeline route. Any...
Meeting of the Parliament 18 April 2012 : Wednesday, April 18, 2012
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning (Michael Russell) Nae point.
Meeting of the Parliament 29 March 2012 : Thursday, March 29, 2012
Michael Russell Absolutely. It is a necessity in our education system that there is a national standard. However, there must also be—as there always has been in Scottish education—flexibility from place to place and, indeed, from school to school.
Teachers will be able to find assessment material and exe...
Meeting of the Parliament 29 March 2012 : Thursday, March 29, 2012
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning (Michael Russell) I do not think that one is allowed to advertise, Presiding Officer—though if I were, I would.
The national 4 qualification will be monitored through Scottish Qualifications Authority benchmarking activities and the on-going monitoring of standards as the new qualifications are implemented...
Meeting of the Parliament 22 March 2012 : Thursday, March 22, 2012
Michael Russell Will the member give way?