Parents and carers will have many questions about the coming school term. This guide will answer as many of these questions as possible and give parents and carers a better idea of how the new school term will look and feel for children and for parents and families. Please note: This guidance has been updated […]

Feedback from parents during lockdown   The NPFS has been working hard to keep parents and carers informed throughout the lockdown period, via our website, newsletters and social media, and we have been gathering parents’ views and concerns on an ongoing basis. We are very grateful for the time parents have taken to communicate with […]

The NPFS provided a response to the General Teaching Council Scotland’s consultation on the updated Professional Standards and Professional Code. You can read out response in full by following the download link below.

This Nutshell explains the senior phase of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE).

You’ll probably hear teachers use the words ‘wider achievement’. This means everything that children learn from hobbies, interests, volunteering, part-time jobs and so on. The skills they gain from these are important for young people for life, and also for their future college, university and job applications. These skills are valued by employers and are […]

The Scottish Government have published the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Taskforce Delivery Plan this morning. The independent Taskforce, which we are delighted to be a part of, was set up to ensure that the mental health needs of our children and young people receive the attention and priority that has been agreed by Government and […]

The Deputy First Minister’s Christmas Holiday Maths Challenge is on its way! You can access the challenge by clicking here. All primary schools in Scotland will receive copies of the Challenge – designed in partnership with the Scottish Mathematical Council – to be handed out to primary 6 pupils for the Christmas Holidays. It’s very […]

The Scottish Government has reported that we currently have 51,959 full-time equivalent teachers in Scotland, the highest number since 2010. This is particularly true of primary teachers- seeing the highest numbers seen since 1980, with statistics showing that achievement in primary schools is increasing. These figures are definitely encouraging. However, other publications have reported that […]

NHS Scotland Careers is running a short survey to gather feedback from their audience groups, which includes young people, job searchers, career changers, parents and carers, teachers, and careers advisers. They want to find out about the awareness and perception of the brand as whole, and their website as a source of information for advice […]

Today, the Scottish Government published the Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels 2017/18 report. You can view the document by clicking here.

The Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland no. 9: 2018 Edition was published by the Scottish Government today, reporting the results of the annual pupil census, annual teacher census, early learning and childcare provision and school estate survey data. You can view the document by clicking here.

The Scottish National Standardised Assessments: national report for academic year 2017-2018 was published by the Scottish Government today. The report provides a summary of outcomes at a national level on the Scottish National Standardised Assessments. You can access the report by clicking here. 

The UK is one of the world’s leading digital nations, and as such, our ability to secure our technology, data and networks from the increasingly frequent and sophisticated threat of cyber attack is a priority. The Government’s National Cyber Security Strategy 2016 to 2021 in the UK wide action plan to make us secure and resilient […]

We are proud to support EIS, Scotland’s largest and most effective education trade union, in their call for local & national government to Change the Tune and invest in instrumental music. The Charter for Instrumental Music publication, originally launched back in 2011, campaigns to give every child the right to learn to play a musical instrument […]

When the Physics department at Lomond School noted the gender imbalance in the uptake of Physics at Higher level, they made tackling this a focus for the department. They decided they wanted to broaden the view of physics so pupils could see it as a tool and as a useful key to access other areas […]

respectme, Scotland’s anti-bullying service, is currently carrying out a consultation project to find out what matters most to their audiences in relation to anti-bullying. Their hope is that this will allow them to continue to build on their successes, but also to focus their resources, reach new audiences and meet the needs of young people with […]

A lack of diversity in the teaching workforce is a long-term issue not just in Scotland but in many other countries around the world. As the pupil population of our schools continues to become more and more diverse, this lack of diversity in staff is becoming even more of an issue. Scotland’s Race Equality Action […]

School anxiety can be all-consuming for the child, and heartbreaking for parents. It can interfere with all aspects of the child’s life and present in a whole host of ways. And its much more common than you might think. This fantastic article was posted on Hey Sigmund website, and offers not only an insight into […]

It’s unfair that more and more children are living under the grip of poverty in Scotland, with predictions that child poverty is set to rise to 1 in 3 children by 2021. No single sector or profession can eradicate child poverty alone- collaborative efforts across health, education, third sector and other community partners are key […]

Enquire, the Scottish advice service for additional support for learning, have created a new factsheet for families of children with healthcare needs. Written in partnership with Children’s Health Scotland, it provides advice about how schools, local authorities and NHS Boards should meet children’s healthcare needs. You can view this factsheet by clicking here.

There was good news this week for Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) campaigners as The National Union of Students Scotland (NUS) join forces with ourselves here at NPFS, Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland amongst others in backing the campaign for LGBT-inclusive education in schools- specifically getting behind calls for […]

NHS Health Scotland proudly launch their new resources to help Local Authorities, regional NHS Boards and other community planning partners develop their joint local child poverty action plans. Poverty is one of the main causes of poor health and health inequalities. It’s unfairly damaging the health of those living under its grip and restricting many […]

To celebrate their 25th year, Children in Scotland are today launching their exciting new campaign, 25 Calls. 25 Calls is a plan of action which will contribute to children rights and ensure that they experience equality in the future. 25 Calls is about sharing Scotland’s hopes and ambitions for future generations and achieving real change. […]

Our latest newsletter is now available! Click here to view. Remember, you can sign up to receive the newsletter directly to your email address by subscribing above, or drop us an email office@npfs.org.uk

The Scottish Library & Information Council, working in partnership with the Scottish Government and COSLA, have launched their brand new national strategy- Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools. The vision at the heart of this strategy- that every school in Scotland will have a vibrant library service playing a central role in helping children and young people […]

The Scottish Government consultation was open 25th April- 18th July 2018, seeking views on proposals for the reform to the disclosure regime in Scotland. The aim was to focus on what changes are required to make disclosure of criminal convictions fit for the 21st century. The pre consultation engagement brought out the complex nature of the […]