Council hopes to let all new P1 pupils visit their schools before summer holidays

Schools in South Ayrshire will return with a “soft start” on August 12, council chiefs have confirmed.Education chief, Douglas Hutchison, said attempts to fully reopen that day may prove beyond reach.It follows a move to scrap the planned policy of blended learning, which came just days before the start of the school summer holidays.“Schools will now work to make a number of changes before pupils return,” said Mr Hutchison.But he added that the “late announcement from the Scottish Government”

summer holidays abroad after ministers announced the 14-day self-isolation rule will be scrapped for a few hot spots. Originally, those travelling abroad would have to return to the UK and go into quarantine for two weeks.

West Lothian Council  has made “significant progress” in settling equal pay claims, it said this month.The statement came as Scotland’s local government watchdog has praised councils for their progress in settling equal pay claims, but says they expect councils to maintain their focus on unresolved cases.The 32 local authorities in Scotland have spent £1.3 billion settling cases of pay inequality between male and female staff.

“I want schools across Scotland to sign up to the Challenge when it launches in August so that we can keep sharing the joy of reading for generations to come.”Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, added: “It was fantastic to receive so many submissions to the First Minister’s Reading Challenge despite the restrictions of lockdown.“Pupils, parents, and teachers have come together to celebrate books and develop a reading culture within their schools and local communities.

A Paisley councillor has called for major events including the town's fireworks display and Christmas lights switch-on to be cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.Renfrewshire Council previously said an announcement would be made on whether the celebrations would go ahead - along with festive switch-ons in Renfrew and Johnstone - by next Tuesday.But as Scotland continues to gradually move out of lockdown, bosses confirmed this week they were holding their decision to ensure they

A LEADING trade union has warned North Lanarkshire Council that the local authority’s furlough scheme “must not be a waiting room for redundancy”.Councils across Scotland, including North Lanarkshire, announced last week that they have applied to the UK Government’s job retention scheme to fund their staff.Johanna Baxter, Unison Scotland head of local government, said: “The fact that Scottish councils are having to apply for funding from the Westminster furlough scheme is a damning indictment of

Cops have been alerted to a council probe into a bungled roads maintenance contract which cost taxpayers more than £3 million.An internal investigation into the loss-making deal with Transerv Scotland has revealed a trail of mismanagement and incompetence.And the police were informed of the inquiry amid concerns that there may have been fraudulent activity involved.Council leader Elaine Murray (below) told the Standard: “There’s certainly been incompetence.

Council bosses are now planning for pupils to return to schools full-time following a government climbdown today.Deputy First Minister John Swinney announced schools will return full-time in August if Scotland continues to make progress on suppressing coronavirus.The government u-turn follows revolt across the country at plans to have some pupils in class for as little as one day a week, including in West Dunbartonshire.This afternoon, West Dunbartonshire Council confirmed it is now revising its

blended learning ” plans. An education policy expert has warned that lockdown combined with part-time schooling will increase inequality between youngsters.

anti-racism protest in Glasgow after a series of volatile mass gatherings. The Glasgow Says No To Racism event is due to begin at 10.30am despite shameful scenes over the last week where peaceful protests have been disrupted.

PAISLEY DAILY EXPRESS: Live news as it happens The £4.5million handed over by the Scottish Government will be used by education chiefs to mitigate the impact of coronavirus on children’s learning.The money is part of the Attainment Challenge Fund and will allow the council to plough cash into schemes that best support children from the area’s most deprived households.It will be shared across all 62 schools in the local authority area. Read More News: The council can also take advantage of a

schooling.Some are only scheduled to meet in August - even though education is one of the key issues of the pandemic.Calls have been made for the committees to be kickstarted to scrutinise unpopular plans for combining home and school learning.Get all the top Scottish politics news sent straight to your Inbox by signing up to our Politics newsletter.We cover Holyrood, Westminster and local councils, with a current focus on how our governments are handling the coronavirus pandemic.To sign up,

West Lothian pupils will spend two days in school each week and two-and-a half days being taught at home by parents.Council bosses have written to parents and carers advising them on the plans for most students returning on August 12.The council is planning for the start of the new term on August 11, in line with all other councils in Scotland.However this will be an in-service day when schools will be closed to pupils and a second in-service day planned for Monday, August 17, will not take

Dumfries and Galloway residents have the chance to see the council in action tomorrow when a top level meeting will be screened online.

racist conduct” after an “abhorrent” message was tweeted from an official account.More than 400 past and present pupils from Lenzie Academy in East Dunbartonshire have so far put their names to the statement, which is to be sent to headteacher Brian Paterson on Thursday night.It comes after council chiefs launched an investigation into a tweet mocking the Take the Knee campaign, launched in the wake of George Floyd’s death, which was sent out from the school’s official physics department page

Nicola Sturgeon has said she is "very hopeful" the next steps of easing lockdown in Scotland will be confirmed one week today. The First Minister said she wanted Scots to "see more of their families and friends" when phase two begins - but warned it may not be able to do everything set-out in the Scottish Government's routemap at once, with some measures being phased in gradually.

lockdown measures. In the wake of the coronavirus crisis, operators were forced to ground flights - with holidays severely impacted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Fancy visiting one of Scotland's most famous landmarks today? Well now you can thanks to new 3D modelling system that lets you see Edinburgh Castle in all its glory from the comfort of your home.

Brits could skip quarantine when travelling abroad by the end of this month if infection rates in Europe are low enough.

With a scorching heatwave and blue skies in Scotland, summer is well and truly on its way.