EXCLUSIVE Staff at Scotland’s only exam board were so concerned about a colleague’s evidence to a parliamentary committee that they drafted an official apology to be sent in her name www.heraldscotland.com/news... @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social
James McEnaney
@jamesmcenaney.bsky.social
Journalist and writer Former English teacher & lecturer | Author of 'Class Rules: the Truth about Scottish Schools' & 'A Scottish Journey' | Fond of FOI, motorbikes, La Gomera, and all things education www.jamesmcenaney.co.uk
'To listen to some, you’d think phones are the biggest threat to children since German bombers forced mass evacuations to the countryside' www.heraldscotland.com/opin... @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social
Did one of Qualifications Scotland's top officials mislead a parliamentary committee? Staff planned to apologise over it, but then a senior figure intervened. Full story from @heraldscotland.bsky.social
The Herald@heraldscotland.bsky.social · 2mo agoEXCLUSIVE Staff at Scotland’s only exam board were so concerned about a colleague’s evidence to a parliamentary committee that they drafted an official apology to be sent in her name www.heraldscotland.com/news... @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social
Education Specialist and former teacher @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social breaks down the issues with Scotland's school curriculum www.heraldscotland.com/news...
EXCLUSIVE The children's charity says that a lack of education leaves young people vulnerable to exploitation and abuse www.heraldscotland.com/news... @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social
Good argument for First Past the Post though.
Michael@mykl.sparkle.blue · 2mo agoDemocracy was a mistake.
EXCLUSIVE A Scottish council has been criticised for failing to record specific data about pupils missing school due to problems with ferry services, The Herald can exclusively reveal www.heraldscotland.com/news... @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social
A *VERY* rare piece of personal writing from me, with bonus photos of excellent dogs. www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2610...
Education writers @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social and @garrettbaylorstell.bsky.social preview the latest edition of The Herald's Education HQ, which you can read online and in print on Thursday
EXCLUSIVE The Scottish Government has been accused of wasting public money on a 'cosmetic rebrand' of the country’s only exam board while schools struggle to cope with increased pressure www.heraldscotland.com/news... @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social
It seems there are 2 possibilities. 1) Starmer lied. 2) Starmer is so bad at his job that he has no idea what's going on in the organisation he runs. Either one should mean the end of the road as Prime Minister. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
No 10 knew Mandelson failed security vetting seven months ago
The Independent put revelations that Peter Mandelson had failed MI6 vetting for the US ambassador role to Downing Street in September – but a ‘furious’ Sir Keir insists he did not know until this week
independent.co.uk
The SNP are happy enough to reference the Mull school saga in their manifesto in attempt to get votes from islanders, but guess what happened when I tried to get them to provide some clear information... www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2602...
'It is starting to feel like the Mull School saga might never end'
In the latest edition of Lessons to Learn, The Herald education correspondent James McEnaney revisits the Mull School controversary after its…
heraldscotland.com
Re: the 'Record your reason for calling and I'll see if this person is available' phone systems No. If you won't even bother to answer a phone call I'm just going to go elsewhere for a story / comment / product / service.
Nothing like an election campaign to remind you that the state of politics is absolutely dire.
The Scottish farm that could change how we feed the world — and save the planet www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2... @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social
'We have asked the SNP these questions and received no details in response' www.heraldscotland.com/opin... @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social 𝘐𝘔𝘈𝘎𝘌: 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘸/𝘗𝘈 𝘞𝘪𝘳𝘦/𝘗𝘈 𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴
The SNP are making BIG promises on childcare... but they don't want to answer any questions about it. www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2599...
SNP childcare promise raises big questions – the party doesn’t want to answer them
The SNP’s £500m childcare pledge could transform Scotland, but major questions remain over funding, delivery and who will benefit.
heraldscotland.com
I have never been a supporter of Donald Trump, but if Democrats are unable to stop random liberal low-follower BlueSky accounts from talking about neocolonialism and "unhoused people", I will have no choice but to hold my nose and vote for him for the fourth time in 2028.
A key road on one of Scotland's largest islands needs to be closed for repairs. In order to 'reduce disruption' the council has decided to delay the start of the work...until 2 days before the exams start. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2598504...
Council to close key island road during school exams
The String Road on the Isle of Arran will be shut for three weeks, with officials choosing the start of the exam period to 'reduce disruption'.
heraldscotland.com
The same thought just keeps coming up: would the leaders of the local council, or the folks running the Scottish Government, tolerate this if THEIR kids were the ones being shipped off to a state-run hostel during term time for up to six years?
James McEnaney@jamesmcenaney.bsky.social · 4mo agoChildren living in the south of Mull are separated from their families during their time at secondary school, and the council wants this to continue even when a new school is built. Islanders have been fighting that plan for more than a year. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2597232...
The south west of Mull is absolutely wonderful but would you live there if it meant your kids had to go and live in a council-run hostel?
Gill Steele@squirreltower.eurosky.social · 4mo agoSeems a bit of a no brainer given other island communities have secondary schools that cover the whole island. Spoke to an islander who grew up in Criagnure (& took the bus) his partner comes from Fionnphort, they would move back to the family farm but don’t want their kids to go to school in Oban
Children living in the south of Mull are separated from their families during their time at secondary school, and the council wants this to continue even when a new school is built. Islanders have been fighting that plan for more than a year. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2597232...
Finding out that Linda Holt was a candidate for Reform was one of the least surprising things that had ever happened to me. A close second is finding out she has now had to quit.
In news that will surprise nobody, the leader of Reform in Scotland is not fit for public office.
Jordan@jordanpfot.bsky.social · 4mo agoOkay the National have published it so I guess I can too!
This is basically all good education: time, space, expertise, and care. If you've got those things in abundance you won't go far wrong.
Plashing Vole@plashingvole.bsky.social · 4mo agoGood HE is really simple: quality time spent with subject experts who know and care about their students. My university and many others are deliberately abandoning this truth in favour of financial and organisational efficiency.
The best thing about an election campaign is that we get a few weeks without the anti-democratic, time-wasting nonsense of First Minister's Questions. Silver linings and all that.
Ever wondered which Nat5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses are easiest and hardest? Turns out the SQA/Qualifications Scotland has lots of data on that very topic, but it has never been made fully public. So... www.heraldscotland.com/news/2593437... @heraldscotland.bsky.social
This won't be news to literally anyone who knows anything about ASN in Scotland, but apparently the government needed a big new report to tell them all about it.
The Herald@heraldscotland.bsky.social · 5mo agoBREAKING An official review of additional support needs (ASN) provision in Scottish schools has found that the government and councils have failed to ensure that all pupils receive the help they need www.heraldscotland.com/news... @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social
I've been covering this for nearly two years now. The SQA (now rebranded as Qualifications Scotland) desperately wants the problem to go away. It won't.
The Herald@heraldscotland.bsky.social · 5mo agoEXCLUSIVE Official data from Scotland’s only exam board appears to confirm problems with Higher History in 2024, despite previous assurances that nothing went wrong www.heraldscotland.com/news... @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social
