enlighten

Paul McGinness of @stormid.com writes for the blog on the potential of AI to reduce administrative burden in the public sector & increase productivity.

Read the full article here: www.enlighten.scot/automate-tas...

Join us on Mon 26 Feb for an online discussion on exclusive new polling in Scotland & Wales & what it might mean.

@profnicolamcewen.bsky.social
Charlie Buckley @moreincommonuk.bsky.social
Dewi Knight @policywise.bsky.social @chrisdeerin.bsky.social

www.enlighten.scot/event/online...

"Walking is one of the most inclusive and accessible forms of physical activity"
Ian McCall of @walkingscotland.bsky.social writes for #NHS2048 on the positive impact walking and wheeling can have as part of a greater focus on preventing illness
www.enlighten.scot/nhs2048/walk...

Katherine Crawford of Age Scotland writes for #NHS2048 on the urgent need to address the problems facing social care. She highlights that while "many, if not most, of us will need social care at some point in our lives"..."it is not a political priority."
www.enlighten.scot/nhs2048/scot...

Penny Halliday writes for the Blog about A Listening Ear's call to follow Manchester City Council's lead and remove council tax for those in their last year of life. Read her full article here: www.enlighten.scot/the-bucket-l...

"rarely even mentioned in this debate are the potentially harmful implications of shorter degrees for schools & for school leavers"
Prof Lindsay Paterson on the impact for schools from cutting degrees from 4 years to 3.
www.enlighten.scot/three-year-d...

"If we want to improve attainment, close equity gaps & develop confident, capable mathematicians the work must begin in our primary classrooms"
Primary school teachers Holly Drummond & Kirsten Fenton write for the blog on improving maths teaching.
www.enlighten.scot/maths-journa...

A powerful read from Sean Duffy @thewisegroup.bsky.social on the need from real and implemented public service reform in Scotland.
www.enlighten.scot/scotlands-pu...

The Scottish Government's consultation on the future of Council tax closes this week. Read our submission here:
www.enlighten.scot/devolvingsco...

In a thought-provoking and timely article, Stewart McDonald argues that for too long "defence and security have been kept at arm’s length in Scotland’s devolved politics". Read the full article here:
www.enlighten.scot/its-time-for...

"why don’t we do more? Is it because dementia & caring affect women more than men? Or because women’s unpaid labour has long been treated as an inexhaustible resource-natural, expected, & therefore invisible"
Greg Stevenson's powerful piece for #NHS2048
www.enlighten.scot/nhs2048/the-...

Top uni boss suggests Scots DITCH free tuition sparking major debate over fees EYEBROWS were raised last week when Edinburgh University’s principal suggested some students could pay towards their tuition. Unlike the rest of the UK, most undergraduates in Scotland get the…

Research director @alipayne.bsky.social writes for @thescottishsun.co.uk on why the current HE funding system is unsustainable, and why we need a graduate payment.
Up-front fees can be avoided & tuition free-at-the-point-of-use maintained if we act asap. www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1582007...

An anonymous secondary teacher writes for our blog on the problems facing school education in Scotland. Read their full article here:

www.enlighten.scot/thoughts-of-...

Online Event: Monday 26th Jan at 1pm
Join us with for a discussion looking at the future of colleges in Scotland with Gavin Donoghue from Colleges Scotland and Angela Cox from Ayrshire College in conversation with @chrisdeerin.bsky.social
www.enlighten.scot/event/a-disc...

A discussion about devolution in Scotland & Wales - Enlighten The think tanks Enlighten and PolicyWISE were delighted to host a discussion about devolution in Scotland and Wales and what the nations might learn from one another in the coming years. Both Wales an...

Catch up on our fascinating & informative discussion about Scottish & Welsh devolution in partnership with @policywise.bsky.social. Our panel included Adam Price MS, @kezdugdale.bsky.social, Lee Waters MS, and Paul McLennan MSP. Chaired by @chrisdeerin.bsky.social

www.enlighten.scot/event/online...

Frank Gunn-Moore FRSB FRSE of @uniofstandrews.bsky.social writes for our #NHS2048 forum of the challenges and opportunities for Scotland in dementia research. Read his full article here: www.enlighten.scot/nhs2048/grow...

We have a couple of great online events coming up this week - still time to sign up to attend. For more info www.enlighten.scot/events/ or email events@enlighten.scot
@chrisdeerin.bsky.social @policywise.bsky.social @graemeroy.bsky.social @kezdugdale.bsky.social @paulmclennanmsp.bsky.social

well worth reading on Scottish further and higher education. There are systemic problems, identified here, which the Scottish government review is explicitly not even going to go near.

We've published a new report today from Huw Morris and Des Mcnulty which calls for a radical rethink of the purpose and functioning of Scotland’s tertiary education sector.

Read the full report here: enlighten.scot/publication/where-next-for-scotlands-universities-and-colleges/

Ross Martin writes for the blog on the importance of regional economies. Read his full article here: www.enlighten.scot/scotlands-re...

New on the blog:
“As the Scottish political parties pull together their policy agendas and manifestos for the next Holyrood election they must put ending the nightmare of retail crime at the top of their priorities”

Ewan MacDonald-Russell on the worrying increase in retail crime.

Front page coverage today of the Commission on School Reform's worrying new report which highlights that only 39.5% of the S4 cohort achieved an A-C pass in Nat 5 maths. The report, including data tables, can be read here: www.enlighten.scot/publication/...

News that Scot Gov is to carry out a review of university funding is to be welcomed, though long overdue.

We can create a fairer, more sustainable arrangement which provides a better balance between taxpayers & graduates, but also maintains tuition free at point of use.

New on the blog:
Jonathan Clark writes on the need for a renaissance in Scotland’s skills system. Read his full article here:

www.enlighten.scot/towards-a-sk...

Misleading Educational Statistics - Enlighten Campaigning for next May’s elections to the Scottish Parliament will doubtless draw widely on published educational statistics. But these are deeply flawed. A report by Enlighten a year ago explained ...

Front page coverage in @scotsman.com today of Lindsay Paterson's warnings that education statistics in Scotland are "deeply flawed":
www.scotsman.com/education/le...

Read his full article on the issue for Enlighten here:
www.enlighten.scot/misleading-e...

"Scotland’s Parliament is not strong. In fact, we would go so far to say that it is institutionally hamstrung through structural design & cultural attitudes"
@stephenkerr.bsky.social & James Bundy write for the blog on why reform of Holyrood hasn't been delivered.
www.enlighten.scot/everyone-agr...

Misleading Educational Statistics - Enlighten Campaigning for next May’s elections to the Scottish Parliament will doubtless draw widely on published educational statistics. But these are deeply flawed. A report by Enlighten a year ago explained ...

New ACEL data, which reports teachers’ judgements of literacy and numeracy across Scottish schools, has been published. Professor Lindsay Paterson of the Commission on School Reform warns it can misrepresent what’s really happening in education. Read here: www.enlighten.scot/misleading-e...

New ACEL data has today been published, but Prof Lindsay Paterson of the Commission on School Reform warns it can be misleading. In his new article, he explains how official statistics often obscure the real challenges facing Scottish education. Read here: enlighten.scot/misleading-e...

"All of these three measurement failings – the wrong doors, the wrong time zone, the wrong connotations – conspire to prevent the rigorous examination of cause-&-effect relationships in the health & care system that’s needed"
@kurtstat.bsky.social for #NHS2048
www.enlighten.scot/nhs2048/thre...

Online event: Monday 15th Dec at 12.30pm

Director @chrisdeerin.bsky.social will be in conversation with @antonmuscatelli.bsky.social discussing how Scotland can unlock the potential of its regional economies. For more info, or to sign up visit:
www.enlighten.scot/event/online...