This week we met up with Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP, Scottish Labour’s new Education spokesperson. Pam spoke go her experiences in education, high quality support she received yet encountering barriers within education systems not fully inclusive in their approach to transitions.
Pam identified the need for change within the system after SNP failures.
Thanks to Pam for her contribution. We wish her all the best in her new role.
Our motion to the Scottish Labour Party Conference sought to end the centralisation of education policy under the present SNP Government.
The motion was passed and becomes party policy. The motion featured within the section of the conference “The change our young people need”. in that sense it complements the motion was passed about social and emotional wellbeing of our children and young people from 2022.
The change our young people need
Conference calls on the Scottish Labour Party to commit to reversing the increased level of centralisation of education policy, budgeting and control by SNP administrations.
Conference believes to reduce the over-centralised control of educational budgeting and policy making that action must be taken, calls for the Scottish Labour Party to arrange to
• secure greater devolution of increased budgets to local education authorities
• ending bureaucratic and remote regional collaboratives that command from the top rather than lead from the middle
• promote strategic educational policy making and innovation on a collaborative basis among local schools within their local communities,
• end the central funding of grant-aided education in all forms and link the remaining central grant-aided provisions to local authorities.
• eliminate all forms of central and local state support to private schooling including ending their “charitable” status.
Submitted by Socialist Education Association Scotland
You can view our delegate Margaret Houston proposing the motion on the SLP conference YouTube channel at 5.00.00
Well we did share our views on the National Discussion. Whether it can be as innovative as the National Debate from 2002 we can wait and see. it is a pity that wasn’t fully implemented at the time. Anyway here’s our views.
In the future, children and young people, their families and communities in Scotland will need a more inclusive and equitable kind of education with lifelong learning for all. Scotland can seek to align and progress its education provision with Sustainable Development Goal 4 in its aims and targets.
For instance we note the recommendations and concerns of the United Nations about the lack of strategy for inclusive education within the UK including Scotland,. Scotland lacks a financed and time-lined strategy for inclusive education. Thus we are failing to make progress with Sustainable Development Goal 4 for high quality inclusive and equitable education.
As an example Sustainable Development Goal target aims for 4.5 Gender equality and inclusion in education. In Scotland girls do well in narrow achievement outcomes in secondary schools in most subjects however there are gender disparities in STEM subjects. Gender stereotyping remains an issue as inclusive and equitable education has not been embedded in Curriculum for Excellence or our education system. Girls’ attendance continues to drop in secondary schools. A more inclusive and equitable education system is necessary for all and further work is needed to narrow instances of gender disparity in our school system. We believe every learner matters and matters equally. We regret the position of the Scottish Parliament to oppose inclusive education.
2. How do we make that a reality?
As part of an inclusive strategy we need increased efforts to promote high quality inclusive and equitable education, to make greater progress to achieve SDG Target 4.5, and to eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities and children in vulnerable situations.
Scotland can seek to address SDG 4 and its targets through a process of monitoring and evaluation across the system to ensure equitable education and life long learning in our communities. Scotland can incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD) including guidance on the right to inclusive education Article 24 and the guidance from the UNCRPD on inclusive education.
This international guidance sets an aspirational agenda for Scottish education which has failed to progress in recent years.
3. How can every child and young person’s individual needs be supported and addressed in the future?
One way is to refocus staff involved in special education, support for learning and school support towards inclusive services where special education is not a place but a service for all.
Support for learning in Scotland has not kept pace with taking account of diverse needs of learners. Classroom teachers need more support from services to meet children’s needs in school and classrooms. Greater collaboration needs to occur within and beyond and between schools.
Scotland needs to transition special schooling from segregated specialist provision to integrated inclusive services as occurs now in many European countries.
4. What is one thing that needs to stay and why?
From the start the curriculum was designed towards universal provision which includes aspects of universal design for learning. This includes the totality of the curriculum as described in the four contexts, the broad understanding of the curriculum including design principles of relevance personalisation and choice and challenge and enjoyment. In addition the idea of 3-18 learning needs to be built upon too through more play-based learning that its challenging and enjoyable. We do not need a new segregated stage in early years.
5. What are the most important priorities for a future Scottish education system?
Investment in early years not a separate stage
As the most important priorities we recognise the need for investment in education in early childhood to promote challenging, enjoyable and relevant early learning through purposeful play and staggered start dates for children. In addition the need for collaboration and quality staff development among staff across services in early childhood settings and primary needs to be based on reciprocal communication, inclusivity, mutual trust and respect. In our view the importance of more collaboration in this way needs to be restated rather than bureaucratic Regional Improvement Collaboratives. Furthermore we should be targeting resources towards communities facing challenges of poverty and deprivation.
A key priority is to develop a comprehensive wraparound model of education, care and health from early childhood recognising partnership working with parents and carers. Such services should be flexible, accessible, affordable and responsive to community needs with extended day and all year round provision. we want to ensure that all children and family services support parents and carers where appropriate in identifying children’s needs and providing them with quality, timeous and appropriate support. We do not need segregated separate stage to achieve this.
6. How can we ensure that everyone involved in education in Scotland has a say in future decisions and actions?
Devolve power from the centre to local authorities and schools towards local communities, parents young people and teachers and staff. Scottish education is too centralised. We do not maximise the engagement of local communities and local schools working together.
7. How can children and young people be cared for and supported in the future? (i.e. physical and mental wellbeing)
In our view the recovery from the pandemic to ensure inclusive and equitable education for all will involve greater attention to social and emotional mental wellbeing by
Ensuring comprehensive support for social and emotional learning including universal provision of counselling services
Encourage education authorities to promote neighbourhood and school-based solutions to ensure family engagement
End assessment based on high stakes final examinations
End the digital divide that exists across Scotland.
This reaffirms health and wellbeing within Curriculum for Excellence as the responsibility for all. Schools can do more to improve peer support schemes among children and young people to support health and well being, challenge discrimination and foster good relations within schools. Such an approach contributes to positive discipline, good behaviour and supportive relationships among staff and learners.
8. How can the right of every child and young person to have opportunities to develop their full potential be achieved in future?
We are of the view that Instrumental Music Tuition should be free and available as an integral part of Scotland’s curriculum and state as such this has benefits across learning
Seek to achieve global aspirations through SDG4, and full incorporation of UNCRC as well as UNCRPD and the right to inclusive education. Scotland is going backwards in terms of such targets and rights.
9. How can children and young people be helped to learn about our changing world, so they feel able to positively contribute?
Extend our values in education to include cultural diversity, equity, equality, inclusion and fairness. We need to embed equality education.
10. Do you have any other comments that you would like to provide about a vision for the future of Scottish Education?
An inclusive and equitable system would seek to end all state support for private schooling
At our recent meeting we proposed a motion on improving social and emotional learning and mental health and well being in our education system in the light of the impact of the pandemic.
“Conference notes the continual reductions in local authority budgets by the SNP Government and their impact on schools, colleges and education centres across Scotland.
The failure to prioritise the social, mental and emotional wellbeing of staff, students, children and young people has contributed significantly to continual schooling loss during the pandemic.
Conference commits to renewing our education system by placing greater priority on the well being of staff and children and young people and providing environments that will secure physical, social and mental wellbeing in our schools and centres.
To that end Conference calls on the Scottish Labour Party to aim to ensure inclusive and equitable education for all by
Margaret Houston our SEAS delegate successfully proposes our equitable education for girls motion
Conference notes the recommendations and concerns of the United Nations about the lack of an inclusive strategy, financed and time-lined for education and the corresponding failure of Scottish education to make progress with Sustainable Development Goal 4 for high quality inclusive and equitable education.
Sustainable Development Goal 4.5 Gender equality and inclusion in education
In Scotland girls do well in narrow achievement outcomes in secondary schools in most subjects however there are gender disparities in STEM subjects. Gender stereotyping remains an issue as equality education has not been embedded in Curriculum for Excellence . Girls’ attendance continues to drop in secondary schools. A more inclusive and equitable education system is necessary for all and further work is needed to narrow instances of gender disparity in our school system. We believe every learner matters and matters equally. Conference regrets the joint position of SNP and the Tories in opposing inclusive education in motions in the Scottish Parliament. In addition, Scottish education continues to lack a strategy to embed equality education throughout the education system.
As part of an inclusive strategy Conference calls on the Scottish Labour Party to increase efforts to promote high quality inclusive and equitable education, to make greater progress to achieve SDG Target 4.5, and to work at all levels of the Party to campaign for the elimination of gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities and children in vulnerable situations.
In speaking today I think we would want to note the achievements of girls through education
Malala from Afghanistan who was shot in the face for wanting to go to school. Greta Thunberg did not go to school but has inspired girls across the globe to challenge climate change and also last month supported the Glasgow bin workers strike. Last year Erin Bleakleyfrom the east end of Glasgow led the demonstrations against Scottish government imposition of the unjust algorithm in the SNP’s exam debacle.
“SEAS also wishes to express our thanks to Monica Lennon’s persistence with her work on the period products in Parliament. Girl students, particularly those affected by poverty, in schools colleges and universities will be well served by her work
Within SDG 4 there are commitments to eliminating gender disparities in education, promoting knowledge and skills for gender equality and ensuring educational facitlies are gender sensitive providing safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all as well as gender balance in the education workforce.
In our view there is insufficient attention in Scottish education to ensuring all learners acquire such knowledge and such skills to be able to promote human rights and gender equality. Gender stereotyping from the earliest stages in children’s lives limit their ambitions and horizons.
These areas should be explicitly included in national education policies, curricula, teacher education, and student assessment. In particular, human rights education provides an important opportunity to include the rights of persons with disabilities.
SEAS strongly believes more needs to be done to embed equality education throughout the curriculum in our schools from 3-18. Tackling discrimination and negative attitudes can contribute towards end gender discrimination and teach our boys to be more responsible too.
Today is the 100th anniversary of Paulo Freire’s birth. It remains the case that the one book to read on critical thinking in teaching and learning is his “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”. In this seminal text he shares key ideas such problem-posing, the idea that learning is shared among its participants where the teacher becomes student and the students teachers. His critique of banking education where the teacher deposits bits of knowledge to learners then assessed in disconnected contexts remains pertinent today post-pandemic.
Here’s a short video with a bit of biography about Paulo Freire.
• The 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Owen, the site’s most famous advocate;
• The 20th anniversary of UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription,
• The completion of the restoration of the former millworkers’ housing in the village.
Join virtually or in-person from 12th-14th October 2021 to celebrate New Lanark’s remarkable journey, from Robert Owen to World Heritage and beyond: legacies of social reform and heritage-led regeneration. SEAS are contributing to Tuesday morning session on Owen’s educational legacy to Scottish education, considering how good was his socialism and to what extent was he a transformative educator?
Further details and conference programme available here.
As part of a series about radical educationalists in Scotland the SEAS offers a guest blog to Ros Kane who writes about R F MacKenzie – the unbowed head. Ros is seeking to form a RF MacKenzie Society and her contact details are at the end of the blog. Enjoy!
‘If you are going to create a new society, it is in the schools that you must begin.’ So wrote Bob Mackenzie. Have the man and his work and his books been forgotten in the world of education? As the years go by, that is more and more likely, which is why it is high time to set up an R F Mackenzie Society to preserve his legacy and use it to inspire and influence anyone anywhere, of any age, any profession or walk of life, with an interest in the all-round well-being of young people.
In case you know little about him, here are the bare bones. He was born in 1910 in the Aberdeenshire countryside; his mother had been quite adventurous when young; his father, a station master, put a high premium on independent thought. There was a warm sense of local community. After getting an English degree at Aberdeen, he embarked with his friend on an extraordinary six-month journey across Europe, some of which was fast becoming fascist. The two set out in winter on pushbikes with a typewriter and big bag of oatmeal. At times they travelled together; at others, separately. They recorded their dramatic experiences in the book Road Fortune. One highlight was a visit to Mackenzie’s hero, H G Wells, in the south of France.
Mackenzie wondered about becoming a journalist, but felt no pressure to conform or settle down. Somehow he spent time at a small eccentric forest school in Hampshire run by the Order of Woodcraft Chivalry. Here he learnt about education in nature and an alternative way to treat and be with children. ‘I became a child again.’ Then the war came. He served as a bomber commander, but not before he had travelled to South Africa, the US and Canada for the training, experiences which matured him and opened his eyes to other social classes and cultures.
During the war he met Diana; they married. Realising a family man needed a secure income, he decided to train as a secondary teacher. His first job was teaching English and history at a school in the Borders, then principal teacher of English in a Glenrothes school. The go-ahead head teacher with a belief in outdoor education had a huge influence on Mackenzie. Before long he became head of Braehead junior secondary modern school in Buckhaven, Fife, a golden opportunity to apply his ideas because it was a new school. He has written in detail what happened there. The main themes: his attempts to outlaw corporal punishment, to develop Inverlair Lodge in the Highlands as a residential place for students and staff, and his opposition to exams and rigid timetables. I remember visiting Braehead: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds being played in assembly instead of hymns, the open office door of the friendly, welcoming young school secretary, and a teacher who had moved from Nottingham to Buckhaven in order to teach there. The distinguished mountaineer Hamish Brown for years took groups of students on ambitious Highland treks. Mackenzie had a particular interest in the ’underdog.’ This was no ordinary school.
It might come as no surprise that he was squeezed out of his job. Half the staff opposed his methods, and he admitted himself that he didn’t take the parents along with him. Given the controversy in the media, he was amazed to be offered the headship of Summerhill Academy in Aberdeen. The powers-that-be wanted to look progressive by appointing a chap like him. The school’s name is ironic as Mackenzie was a devotee of A S Neill who wrote: ‘I admire your sticking to the State system. I ran awa’ frae it.’
But disaster was at hand. There were similar problems as before and he was suspended on full pay at the age of 64. Some students went on strike in protest. He spent the rest of his life writing, lecturing and broadcasting about education, and died of stomach cancer in 1987.
Mackenzie believed in the innate goodness of children, strengthened by the arrival of two sons and a daughter. He saw the dire effects not only of parental treatment but of the threadbare quality of society and of the hierarchies and the traditional, adult-centred nature of secondary education. He knew his methods could help prevent delinquency, but, as he said after being sacked, ‘they wouldn’t let us.’
His excellent books outlive him:
Road Fortune 1935
A Question of Living 1963
Escape from the Classroom 1965
The Sins of the Children 1967
State School 1970
The Unbowed Head 1976 (about Summerhill Academy)
A Search for Scotland (pub 1989.)
His last book, Manifesto for the Educational Revolution, 1980, was rejected by publishers – too radical. But you can read it online.
In Scotland there have been reunions and a symposium in his memory, and some of his Braehead former students run an informative website: http://www.braehead.info. Peter Murphy who taught at Summerhill wrote a biography, The Life of R F Mackenzie: A Prophet without Honour. I know that teacher training courses have included his work in their curriculum but I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t any longer.
It seems to me that he developed his philosophy not only because of his childhood and countryside background but also through such wide experiences in Europe, Hampshire, the war and fatherhood. This was no young teacher with a sheltered life. He brought enormous amounts of understanding, compassion and reflection, and his life work was a passionate, exhausting attempt to use what he knew to enrich – in fact, transform – the lives of young people who were being fed a diet of impoverishment on all sides.
Mackenzie was in a line of libertarian educationalists, most of whom came to grief in the state system, such as Michael Duane, Gerry German and Chris Searle. His wife said, ‘He got more and more radical the older he got.’ Given what is going on in our schools these days, his practice needs to be promoted throughout the UK. A Society about it seems the most likely way to do this. If you might be interested in joining, please contact me at 15 Matcham Road, London E11 3LE. Tel 0208 555 5248 roskane@btinternet.com.
I attended the online launch on 29th June 2021 of the Report of the work of the Scottish Parliament’s Cross Party Group on Islamophobia chaired by Anas Sarwar MSP, now Labour Party Leader in Scotland. I would recommend SEAS members and supporters obtain a copy of at least the Executive Summary, which was received by SEA Scotland. It is a report that is based on evidence presentations and a widespread survey and shines a light deep into the bruised heart of our fellow Scots who come from the Muslim community. It should concern all who seek fairness and equality in all aspects of Scottish society. It did however also raise some concerns in parts, which I will attempt to address.
In his opening remarks Anas outlined his aspirations for tackling the increasing problem, leading with a statement I suggest would resonate with SEAS members and supporters.
The three official Rapporteurs from the Muslim community stressed various aspects of the report. One who identified as a Primary School Teacher stressed the very real Anti Muslim prejudice in the Scottish Educational environment where Teacher Training does not make a serious attempt to train teachers to deal with the evidence of prejudice or instances of Islamophobia in schools. Also a lack of members of school leadership teams from Muslim, or indeed non-white ethnicities. A second speaker was critical of the increased tension caused by the UK Government’s PREVENT programme and identified bureaucratic racism in the areas of Housing and Health services, requiring new rules and protocols. A third speaker related an incident of direct anti-Muslim abuse where a non Muslim woman intervened to protect the victim. She posed the question ‘Where Do People Get Prejudice?’ and suggested a lack of contact with the Muslim community made it difficult to get people to move beyond the ‘Scottish Exception’ myth that Scots are not racist or prejudiced. Evidence shows that prejudice and Islamophobia are prevalent institutionally.
During comments from online attendees, one well known and respected Trainer felt strongly that many acts were clearly racist in intent and that there were people in Scotland who held Anti Muslim racist views. She still agreed to support the use of the term Islamophobia, but also stressed the need to focus on the inter-sex impact and for the perpetrators of racist behaviours to be faced up to in ‘that uncomfortable space’. There was strong overall support for the recommendations contained in the Executive Summary.
As the SEAS representative I attended the evidence sessions of the Scottish Parliament’s Cross Party Group on Islamophobia and heard evidence of the full gamut of behaviour, from unacceptable to racist, in the presence of, or actually aimed at, members of the Muslim community in Scotland. The evidence was that 75% of Muslim respondents, and 82% in Glasgow thought that Islamophobia is getting worse. A worrying fact is that 45% of Muslims under 29 years of age had suffered from or seen incidents of Islamophobia in Scottish schools, during the time of a devolved Government in Scotland.
During those evidence sessions I had also heard details of ongoing initiatives by educators aimed at overcoming the ignorance and social apartheid that has created the environment for prejudiced and openly racist behaviour against Muslims and others who are designated ‘not like us’ in Scotland. The SEAS views Education as route to enlightenment and positive behavioural change so failure to mention examples from those initiatives in the Executive Summary causes it to appear imbalanced.
The level of justified grievance of members of the Muslim faith and culture in Scotland obviously set the tone of the Executive Summary that opened with the definition of Islamophobia adopted by the APPG in 2017, with the key statement ‘Islamophobia is rooted in racism’. I would argue that each act or vocalising of an anti Muslim nature, however slight, is unacceptable and must be challenged. However, I worry that the implication overall is that each incident should be treated as being derived from the same motivation as a deliberate violent act or openly anti-Muslim racist activity.
It is disappointing that in the section on Education and Schools the 12 recommendations were referred to as Educational but the tone of at least 50% of the recommendations are for ‘social enforcement’ rather than educational initiatives. It was confusing to read recommendations for ‘integrating an understanding of Islamophobia’ and ‘compulsory training to counter Islamophobia’ without any recommendations that educators at all institutions should learn and teach an understanding of Islam and Muslim communities.
The dictionary definition of a ‘phobia’ is ‘An extreme fear of, or an aversion to’ a presence or situation. The eradication of a phobia relies on positive interventions. There is scope for Education to offer those positive interventions that would succeed for all but the truly vile racist group in Scottish society. Educational efforts may not be assisted by defining behaviour by those who are ‘unaware’ that their behaviour is incorrect in such hard terms that it may cause them to refuse to engage.
It is to be hoped that the finalised report by Peter Hopkins of Newcastle University will reconnect all the aspects of both the unacceptable and racist behaviour to the positive initiatives and programmes, so giving hope to those who still hold firm to the view that Education has a great deal to contribute to building a society based on Fairness and Equality.
NOTE: The facts in this blog are taken from the Executive summary of the report and my notes from the online meeting. Any personal assessments and opinions are entirely mine.
Michael Connarty
Next week, the OECD review on Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) is being launched by OECD and Scottish Government from Paris.
You can register here https://meetoecd1.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_y4cvTomITHWgYuKmuTgUEA
Its initial release date was delayed and postponed before the election thereby introducing a degree of political news management. In reviewing the curriculum contributions from a wider political perspective than the Education and Skills Committee was not welcomed. We can safely it’s nothing to do with us.
If asked, we would have highlighted our 5 Good 5 Bad about CfE.
5 Good things
1. Democratic making of a country’s curriculum
Back in the day the new Scottish Parliament set out aiming to involve Scottish civil society in its politics. Curriculum for Excellence was its great success in democratic policy-making. Thousands of Scots contributed to the National Debate. It identified an agenda for change for Scottish education. We believe democracy matters in our education system.
We do wonder if the OECD Review commissioned by the Scottish Government will be measuring the system’s success in implementing the aspirations of the Scottish people from 2002.
2. A common curriculum 3-18
A socialist curriculum should be one that permits a parity of participation across its plans for the learning of children and young people. CfE is a permissive curriculum defined as it is by a broad general education in which learners gain experiences throughout the experiences and outcome of the curricular framework. Experiential learning is a universal strand of all human development. It’s a curriculum for everyone.
3. The totality of all
The curriculum is not only about subjects or organised knowledge yet encompasses interdisciplinary learning, the life of the school as a community and chances for children and young people’s personal achievement. When being developed for all learners the curriculum was to be about knowledge plus achievement and softer elements of schooling and other experiences. Such an approach was supported by literacy numeracy and health and well being as being the responsibility of all. Post-COVID social emotional and mental wellbeing is a priority and safe to say the responsibility of all.
4. New principles of design
The flexible permissive nature of the curriculum was elaborated through a set of principles that extended the scope of a curriculum. However, schools and teachers have not yet fully utilised these principles. At the early stage relevant and challenging and enjoyable learning hasn’t always featured. While at the Senior Phase, learning designed through relevance personalisation and choice has not always been served by exam diet subjects in secondary schools.
5. The child at the centre
All those graphics from initial development onwards featured the learner at the centre surrounded by the curricular framework. The best developments in the curriculum have focused on children’s needs and personalised approaches whether play-based pedagogy at early stages or engaged beyond the school at senior phase.
5 Bad things
1. Built on a narrow set of values
Whoever inscribed four values on the Mace of the Scottish Parliament did not do Scottish education a favour. Wisdom, justice, integrity and compassion may be of benefit to our politicians. However, even the OECD recognised how limited they are in a recent document about an inclusive curriculum. Their six values linked to equity include cultural diversity, equity, equality, inclusion and fairness. Its one out of six for Scotland.
2. A missing capacity
The four capacities were gateways aspect for developing many schools’ curriculum and teachers’ classroom practice from the start. But critical thinking skills were missing. Their omission becomes more obvious in the early decades of the 21st century in dealing with social media and fake news. Learners need to be engaged in their learning with critical thinking leading to transformative action whether considering inequalities from the past, climate change or global citizenship and curricular injustices. The OECD (2020) has already identified the curricular injustice arising in experiences of intercultural learning between young people aged 15 from schools in adavantaged areas and those from disadvantaged areas. We doubt this will make Review report.
3. Embedding equality education
This actually became a recommendation in developing the young workforce, From the start CfE did not pay sufficient attention to curricular injustice either as a content issue in terms of decolonising past content or considerations to challenge social class barriers in curricular form. As a result of the TIE campaign a more inclusive curriculum was promoted through their work in challenging MSPs to promote change. But why only LGBTQI? .
4. Limited Senior Phase
A more socialist curriculum would engage in a balanced way with community and neighbourhood learning whether linked to work, community or wider achievement. The opportunity to challenge ideas of academic learning as the gold standard and moving away from “it’s only 5 Highers that count”. Models of neighbourhoods and schools linking together to offer learning have still not yet fully been implemented and supported. A 21st century curriculum needs to balance out learning locally/ and learning as a global citizen. More of Jimmy Reid’s education for life rather than education for work or career.
5. Digital learning nd technological change
The timing of the introduction of CfE at the start of 21st century was on the edge of more rapid developments in digital technology. Compared to developments in Wales, for example, digital learning didn’t extensively feature. After COVID the changes that online learning have begun will have a permanent impact on teaching and learning. While needing to support changes we can continue to ensure the curriculum definitely includes the ethos and life of the school as a community. Less pressure from high stakes exams and more about social and emotional wellbeing.
Socialist Educational Association Scotland 