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SECTION 6: EDUCATION, CULTURE AND THINGS TO DO
THERE ARE IMPORTANT PROMISES IN THE UNCRC ABOUT EDUCATION, CULTURE AND THINGS TO DO. THE UNCRC SAYS:
- You have a right to an education.
- You have the right to play and join in other activities. The Government should help you get involved in art and cultural activities.
- Your education should help you develop your talents and help you learn about your rights. You should learn to care for other people and for the environment.
- When adults make a decision about you it is what's best for you that should be the most important thing to consider. You should have your say too.
- You can find out things, and say what you think through speaking, writing or making art, as long as it doesn't hurt you or other people.
- If you are a refugee you should be cared for properly and have the same rights as other children who were born here.
- If you come from a minority group you have the right to speak your own language and practice your own religion if it is different from most other people.
Education is COMPULSORY for every child from 5 to 16 years old in Scotland and is FREE. There is also free pre-school education for 3 and 4 year olds, which most attend, and now some for 2 year olds.
The Standards in Scotland's Schools Act (2000) brought into law parts of the UNCRC which promise young people that EDUCATION SHOULD DEVELOP YOUR PERSONALITY, TALENTS AND ABILITIES. Other laws protect the rights of pupils who need extra help with their learning. The law in Scotland says YOU SHOULD HAVE YOUR VIEWS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHEN DECISIONS ARE BEING MADE ABOUT YOUR LEARNING.
In 2002 there was a NATIONAL DEBATE ON EDUCATION which led the Government to make a commitment that school should help pupils become SUCCESSFUL LEARNERS, CONFIDENT INDIVIDUALS, RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS AND EFFECTIVE CONTRIBUTORS. The Government also said it wanted schools and other helping professionals to work together better so that all children can have their needs met.
The Government introduced some work to help with READING AND WRITING, especially to encourage parents to read with children at home. For 16 to 19 year olds there was a Youth Literacies project to help young people stay in education, training or employment.
The Government did some research about the experience of pupils who are ASYLUM SEEKERS OR REFUGEES which highlights for schools how best to meet their needs. YOUNG GYPSY/TRAVELLER pupils also get help through support for the Scottish Traveller Education programme. The Government funds Gaelic-medium education for SPEAKERS OF GAELIC and is working to train more Gaelic speaking teachers, especially for secondary education. Schools should be places where adults make sure children are protected from harm. The Government gave every school advice about how to do this called Safe and Well.
As part of connecting schools with families the Government introduced a new law about INVOLVING PARENTS in schools. The Parentzone website helps with this: www.parentzonescotland.gov.uk
The Government recognised that young people from poorer communities, or who are looked after, do less well with their exams than other pupils and so produced a plan called We Can and Must Do Better. Schools need to do better at looking after pupil's individual needs and all services must work together to make young people's lives stable so they can settle down and learn.
If pupils experience RACISM or HOMOPHOBIA or BULLYING at school their learning will suffer. Schools have been given new guidance on how to manage these things better. It said that teachers and other adults in schools need training. The Government funds the new anti-bullying service called respect me which will work with any organisation that works with young people, including schools, to help them be better at preventing and responding to bullying wherever it may happen. More at: www.respectme.org.uk
The Government also produced an anti-sectarian resource called Sectarianism: Don't Give It, Don't Take It.
Most young people ATTEND SCHOOL regularly, but some pupils have high LEVELS OF ABSENCE. The Government put resources into providing home school link workers to help families understand the importance of getting young people to school. They also tested a call system which means that if a pupil doesn't turn up at school their parent gets a call.
In one year nearly, 43,000 young people get EXCLUDED FROM SCHOOL. 99% of these are temporary. Pupils from poorer backgrounds, or who are looked after, or have special needs are more likely to get excluded. The Government gave pupils RIGHTS in law to be told formally why they have been excluded, and schools must set a date and time to meet with parent(s) and pupil to discuss any exclusion. Parents and pupils have the right to appeal.
To help schools think more about exclusions and behaviour the Government made recommendations in the report Better Behaviour Better Learning.The Government set up a POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR TEAM to help schools think of ways to deal with behaviour and to make sure that every pupil gets the chance to learn.
Too many young people aged 16 to 19 are not in education, training or employment. The Government report More Choices, More Chances sets out a plan for tackling this.
To help young people get the most from education, training and employment the Government supports the agency Careers Scotland. It works in schools and with young people who are vulnerable, including young people leaving care or leaving prison.
There are 43 FURTHER EDUCATION COLLEGES in Scotland and if young people need financial support to go to college they can get an EDUCATION MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE. The Government has also been working to get more young people from poorer communities into university education.
To help young people get into VOCATIONAL TRAINING the Government produced Lifelong Partners. This is to lead to more partnerships between schools and colleges and new Skills for Work courses. Modern Apprenticeships also offer young people over 16 the opportunity of paid employment while they are training.
The Government produced a report called Scotland's Culture and said that every young person in Scotland should be able to get involved in FREE CULTURAL ACTIVITY. Young people who have an interest and talent in cultural or artistic activity should be encouraged to do their best.
The Government recognised the importance of youth work and produced a Youth Work Strategy that said all young people should have the chance to take part in youth work whoever they are and wherever they live. The Government also thinks that play is an important part of children and young people's lives and supported lots of organisations that provide play opportunities.
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