Dundee City Council Press Releases

Recent Press Releases | Archive | 2010 | March subscribe to our RSS feed

Additional Training Day for Schools

Dundee City Council's education committee is being asked to approve an additional staff training day this June so schools can prepare for the implementation of a Curriculum for Excellence (CfE).

At its meeting on Monday (Feb 8), the committee will be told that Tuesday June 1 has been identified as the most suitable date, as it follows on from the holiday on Monday May 31.

Education Secretary Mike Russell has approved the allocation of an additional staff training day between April and June this year and has encouraged all councils to submit formal requests.

The day in June would be an addition to three extra in-service days already allocated for CfE training in Dundee in August 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Education convener Cllr Liz Fordyce said: "The implementation of a Curriculum for Excellence is an important step for education and we want to make sure that pupils in Dundee can really benefit from the changes.

"That is why it is crucial that staff in our schools can be as fully prepared as possible for the changes that CfE will bring.

"We are also aware of the need to give families as much notice as possible of this proposal so that they can make arrangements."

A report to the committee explains that the staff development day would allow participation in a variety of carefully planned and relevant professional development activities at school, departmental and individual level. This would enable staff to engage in professional discussion about the new assessment framework and its implications at class and school level.