In a speech at the Chartered College of Teaching’s inaugural conference, Education Secretary Justine Greening set out her ambition for a high-status teaching profession, backed up by high-quality continued professional development and pledged her support for teachers as the body of experts who are key to driving social mobility.

Addressing an audience of over 450 teachers, Justine Greening described the launch of new the College of Teaching as a historic moment for the teaching profession. Commenting on the launch she said:

Teaching deserves all the hallmarks of the other great professions – with a high bar to entry, high-quality initial training and a culture of ongoing self-improvement.

So it’s crucial that, like other experts, teachers now have a professional body with a shared commitment to ever-improving standards, disseminating evidence on what works, and driving progress for the profession as a whole.

And I especially want to see a new generation of teachers becoming part of the Chartered College of Teaching – to help safeguard and shape the profession’s future.

The Education Secretary also outlined plans to strengthen the teaching profession so that every child has access to an excellent teacher, including:

• making absolutely clear that QTS will not be scrapped – instead, the government will work with the sector to develop and introduce a newly strengthened QTS from September 2019, so that all school leaders will want all their teaching staff to achieve it
• announcing the first round of bidding for the £75 million Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund – to enable new, high-quality continued professional development (CPD) provision to be delivered where it can make the most difference, including in the 12 opportunity areas
• new, fully revised gold-standard national professional qualifications (NPQs), developed in partnership with the teaching profession, to be implemented from September this year. £10 million from the Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund will be made available to incentivise take-up of the new NPQs for high-potential professionals working in the most challenging schools

Underlining the importance she placed on ensuring teachers have the right support and skills so they are able to help all young people fulfil their potential, the Secretary of State said:

Teachers are the great drivers of social mobility in our country. We know that the single biggest in-school influence on a child’s life chances is the quality of teaching they receive.

It is important that all teachers are supported with the right framework that will allow them to become the best professionals they possibly can be.

I want to work with the profession to make sure this happens, with a golden thread through every teacher’s career from initial training and QTS through continued professional development, especially in those early post-QTS years, through to specialism or leadership.

Great teaching transformed my life, and I want to make sure that happens for today’s generation of children in our schools. I will do all I can to ensure teachers have the right support that will enable them to spread opportunity for children and young people – particularly those who need it most.

Pitch@Palace offers entrepreneurs the chance to get their Tech business idea in front of a global audience of influencers who can catapult it to the next level.

Pitch@Palace was founded by The Duke of York in 2014 to support entrepreneurs with the amplification and acceleration of their business ideas by connecting them with potential supporters including CEOs, investors, elevators and key business partners.

Pitch@Palace On Tour comes to Cardiff’s Tramshed on Friday Feb 24 at the invitation of Cardiff Start, a community support hub for technology start-ups and business professionals, based in or around Cardiff. The  Welsh Government is principal sponsor of the first Pitch@Palace event in Wales which is also supported by Innovation Point.

Selected entrepreneurs will pitch their business ideas to His Royal Highness and invited guests and compete to progress to the next stage Pitch@Palace Boot Camp with the most successful then pitching at St James Palace to an audience from the world of entrepreneurship, tech, media and investment.

Economy Secretary Ken Skates said: 

“Technology driven businesses with bright ideas have the potential to create a real positive impact on our lives and on the economy. They operate in a highly competitive environment and young start ups particularly can benefit significantly from high level support and expertise to move to the next level.

“The Welsh Government provides a wide range of business support for these enterprises and our sponsorship of Pitch@Palace opens up potentially new opportunities and experiences for Wales based tech companies and I wish all participants the very best of luck.”

Supporting the Economy Secretary’s views, Cardiff Start Co-Founder and Pitch@Palace host, Robert Lo Bue, said: 

“The tech start up scene in and around the Welsh Capital has exploded in recent years. Our community alone has over 2100 members sharing opportunities and experiences every single day. 

“We are very fortunate in Wales to have a supportive Government and a collaborative environment where individual enterprises actively work together to create the ideal ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs.

“Attracting Pitch@Palace to Wales is quite an accolade and an acknowledgement of the rapid  growth and success of the sector in Wales.”

There are two main Pitch@Palace events held in the UK every year, each with a different theme, focusing on various areas of the UK Tech industry. The current theme is Human Tech and the potential impact of technology in our everyday lives – focusing on three areas:

• Tech supporting our everyday needs – Health, Education, Environment
• Tech making our lives more efficient – Connecting up homes via the Internet Of Things, Improving Communications, Wearable Tech and Robotics
• Tech augmenting our experience of the world – through Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence.

Pitch@Palace has to date:

• helped over 247 businesses grow and create 643 jobs; 
• 66% of start ups  have increased employment;
• 65% of competing start ups subsequently raised funds;
• £247m+ of economic activity has been recorded.

The judging panel at Cardiff Pitch@Palace includes: David Buttress, CEO, of Just Eat, Yasmin Crawford, owner of Tramorgan and James Henderson, Fund manager of Inspire Wales.

The selected companies pitching are:

• Kraydel
• Salubrious Ltd
• Helpfulpeeps
• BrainWaveBank Limited
• Learnium
• Harness
• Paperclip
• Alkosens
• Medivation Limited
• Vision Game Labs Ltd
• Volunteer Space
• Recall Alert CIC.

20 Feb 2017

Scotland’s most and least active areas have been revealed in an official Holyrood survey. 

The report, which will be presented to the Scottish Parliament’s health committee tomorrow, will show a huge disparity in how active residents.  

As a result, the Scottish Conservatives have urged the SNP to provide the necessary action to make Scotland an active nation.

The study of more than 3000 people highlighted the percentage of non-participants in regular sport or physical activity based on postcode.

 Aberdeen proved to be the least active area in Scotland with statistics revealing that 35 per cent of respondents from the Granite City don’t participate in regular activity – 23 per cent behind leaders Falkirk.

 Kilmarnock also collated worrying results, 25 per cent of its respondents putting their name under the non-participation brackets. 

Scottish Conservative sport spokesman Brian Whittle said:  

“This report reveals the SNP’s inability to promote the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle.

“It’s hugely important to participate in regular activity, and it’s known to come hand in hand with living a healthy and happy life.

“It’s sad that the SNP has failed to make the most of Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games’ potential to make Scotland a healthy and active nation for years to come.

“There are of course various barriers preventing participation in regular activity – lack of time, money and self-confidence to name but a few.

“The SNP seems to only talk about making so many improvements. Now people are realising it has no idea how to address these issues.

“That’s why we urge the SNP to read over the Scottish Conservatives’ long-term consultation, a document that we believe will go a long way in tackling the obvious inequality of access across Scotland.

“The Scottish Government claims it wants to shed Scotland’s unhealthy image.

“However, the only way to start making Scotland a healthier and more active nation is to start knocking these barriers down.”

Click here to read a copy of the report: www.parliament.scot/S5_HealthandSportCommittee/Meeting%20Papers/Public_Papers_21_Feb_2017.pdf

A copy of the Scottish Conservative healthy lifestyle strategy: http://www.scottishconservatives.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Scottish-Conservative-Healthy-Lifestyle-Strategy.pdf

20 Feb 2017

Finance secretary Derek Mackay will face Holyrood for the first time tomorrow on the escalating business rates crisis.

He will be quizzed as part of topical questions as firms up and down the country warn about the devastating impact of the revaluation.

Shadow finance secretary Murdo Fraser has been selected to ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking on the matter.

The Scottish Conservatives last week demanded a statement by Mr Mackay amid accusations ministers have been slow act.

The SNP was warned last year there would be a “severe” impact on various industries if business rates changes go ahead.

However, it has taken until this week for Mr Mackay to respond formally in front of MSPs.

Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary Murdo Fraser said:

“Businesses across Scotland want to hear what the Scottish Government is going to do about all this.

“Now we will have that chance in the Scottish Parliament.

“Firms that face going to the wall and people whose jobs are in jeopardy will be extremely interested in the answer.

“This is fast-becoming a crisis, affecting organisations large and small, and in all areas of the country.

“The SNP needs to take urgent action.”

Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary Murdo Fraser has been selected to ask the following question in Holyrood tomorrow:
“To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to reported concerns from businesses regarding the non-domestic rates revaluation.”

The Scottish Conservatives demanded a statement last week:
http://www.scottishconservatives.com/2017/02/demand-for-urgent-holyrood-statement-on-business-rates/