The Festive season is a busy time, with many differing priorities demanding our attention. You might not have started your shopping yet, maybe you have hundreds of cards to write, perhaps you have a load of gifts to wrap, and that big dinner isn’t going to organise and cook itself, now is it? But, wherever […]
Schools across Scotland turned red on the 5th of November, as EIS members displayed their support for colleagues working on short-term or temporary contracts. Precarity of contract is a significant problem for the teaching workforce in Scotland, particularly amongst recently qualified teachers. The most recent EIS members’ national survey found that only 66% of teachers […]
On Saturday 25th October EIS members from all over Scotland turned out in their droves, braving a cold and windy day to march through Edinburgh behind the EIS national banner, loudly demanding an end to poverty in all its forms. Wrapped up in hats and woolly scarves, and carrying colourful, creative banners, placards and posters, […]
As Christmas approaches, teachers and lecturers across Scotland are preparing for a long overdue and well-deserved break. For some of us, the December/January school closure simply means finally putting your feet up, while for others – it is an important religious holiday, one of the most significant times of the year. But not everyone in […]
When will the Scottish Government commit resources to ensure reality can meet ambition? In our March edition, we welcomed the publication of an Audit Scotland report which echoed the concerns which the EIS has long highlighted about additional support for learning and brought into stark relief the scale of the challenges facing schools in meeting […]
16 days of action on gender based violence is an annual international campaign to end violence against women and girls Gender-based violence is unfortunately an issue that continues to affect our school communities. According to the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW) research carried out in 2023, nearly one-third of girls don’t feel safe from […]
Scotland’s journey towards disability inclusion in education has already been long, determined, and hard-fought. Our legislative framework is strong: disabled pupils and disabled teachers now have legal protections that would once have been unimaginable. Yet the lived reality for disabled educators and learners shows that rights on paper are not enough. The promise of inclusion […]
December 1st marked a significant milestone on Scotland’s long and winding road to education reform. More than four years after the Scottish Government’s initial announcement, the SQA was legally replaced by a new body responsible for awarding and accrediting qualifications, Qualifications Scotland (QS). Scotland’s secondary teachers and college lecturers will likely approach the transformation with […]
In the final meeting of EIS Council for this year, the issue of the ongoing statutory ballot over Workload was to the fore of everyone’s mind. Executive Committee Vice-President Mark Smith presented the report of the Executive Committee, with a strong focus on the ongoing workload campaign and statutory ballot. Mr Smith outlined the discussions […]
EIS members have commenced strike action at Craigclowan School, an independent school in Perthshire, as they fight to protect their pensions. Craigclowan School has used ‘fire and rehire’ letters to force its teachers to give up their occupational teachers’ pension scheme (the STPS) and instead join a cheaper private pension scheme. Teachers at Craigclowan School […]
