Members agree to distribution of funding for counselling, additional teacher resource and digital inclusion in Highland schools
1st October 2020
At yesterday's (30 September2020) meeting of the Council's Education Committee, Members agreed on the approach to the distribution of Counselling funding, and on the approach to use additional funding to support Education Recovery through additional teaching resource and digital inclusion for the financial year 2020/2021.
Chair of the Education Committee, Councillor John Finlayson, said: "It is great that Members have agreed our approach to utilise the monies we have received from funding streams to support our young people and our education recovery. These funds will make a big difference to how we are able to support resilience and attainment in our schools and to the learning experience of our young people across the region. We will continue to have discussions with our schools and Head Teachers about how this money is spent to ensure maximum benefit".
Counselling funding
It is confirmed that The Highland Council is to receive £1,022,000 in the financial year 2020/2021 from the ‘Access to Counsellors through Schools' Project’. This is to be used to increase the number of counsellors in schools.
Included in our next steps is local and regular meetings involving a range of staff to consider needs and response focused on individual young people and a targeted case approach, as well as regular support, in each school for ongoing individual support.
Additional teaching resource
The Scottish Government has provided additional funding of £2,200,000 to The Highland Council to support Education Recovery; this funding is to be wholly spent on additional teacher resource in Highland schools.
Highland schools will use this additional, creative teaching resources over the next year to compensate for any loss of learning suffered during lockdown, as well as to bring much needed resilience to the education system at this challenging time.
Digital inclusion
The Highland Council was awarded £1,188,489 capital and £204,520 revenue funding through the ‘Connecting Scotland Education Programme’ to address digital inclusion for disadvantaged children and young people in Highland Schools.
This grant has enabled us to further expand The Highland Council’s Chromebook estate, invest in an improved management of the Chromebook service and platform and expand connectivity for families with MIFI devices.
Executive Chief Officer for Education and Learning, Nicky Grant, said: "The funding we have received for counselling, the recruitment of teachers, and digital inclusion will help to work to support the recovery of education and the wellbeing of our young people in Highland. Wellbeing and inclusion will remain a priority for us as we navigate through the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall in these papers, the funding streams and the approach to their distribution recognise the need for local decision making assessment of need, resilience and response."
Related Businesses
Related Articles
The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
Households across Scotland have received £4.1 billion in relief since the Council Tax Reduction scheme was introduced in 2013. People on low incomes are eligible for the benefit if they live in Scotland - there is no equivalent in England where most councils require each household to contribute a minimum amount of council tax, irrespective of ability to do so.
The Highland Council is preparing to carry out improvement works in Thurso at Ormlie Road and at The Mall riverside path adjacent to Janet Street. The scope of works on Ormlie Road will include junction improvements between Castlegreen Road and Juniper Drive with new drop kerbs and tactile paving and some surface repairs.
A Highland-wide partnership launched earlier in 2024 to support people on their journey towards, into and within employment is looking forward to a New Year in 2025 full of exciting opportunities designed to help hundreds more people across the Highlands unlock their work potential. Work.
The Highland Council is delighted to share that its Energy Efficient Scotland: Area Based Scheme has won the Outstanding Project Award at the Scottish Green Energy Awards. Described by Scottish Renewables as a "pioneering clean power scheme", this £7 million project demonstrates the incredible impact that can be achieved through combined public and private sector investment.
The ambitious yet focused ‘Highland Investment Plan' is committed to addressing our asset challenges over the next twenty years. By using a place based approach, to ensure a more integrated community offering through the creation of new community facilities.
Applications to the Inverness Winter Payments Scheme, which is fully funded by the Inverness Common Fund, have already been awarded to 1,035 eligible households within the 7 specified Inverness Wards. Leader of Inverness Area, Councillor Ian Brown said: "Since the Scheme was opened to applications for this winter, already £114,885 has been awarded to people who live in the eligible Wards of Aird and Loch Ness, Inverness West, Inverness Central, Inverness Ness-side, Inverness Millburn, Culloden and Ardersier and Inverness South Wards.
The first Highland-wide virtual jobs fair held last month has proved to be a hit with participants and businesses. The week-long virtual event, which was delivered by the Local Employability Partnership for the West - The Highland Council, Skills Development Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Department for Work and Pensions, Developing the Young Workforce and UHI North West and Hebrides was timed to coincide with Scottish Careers Week 2024.
