Mulbuie and Ferintosh primary school pupils blaze a digital trail with new accolade
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PUPILS at two small Ross-shire primaries are blazing a trail with their use of digital technology that bodes well for the future workforce needs of the country.
The Mulbuie and Ferintosh cluster has received the Digital Schools Award for its efforts embracing new ways of learning considered vital to keep pace with the rapidly changing demands of the workplace.
Digital Schools Awards validator Dr Katharine Jewitt said the programme provides a "roadmap for schools" by providing a framework to integrate digital skills into the curriculum.
The award is assessed against five criteria – leadership and vision; use of digital technology to deliver the curriculum; school culture; professional development and resources and infrastructure.
She said: "Achieving the award helps to boost confidence and improve digital competencies in schools. A key challenge we face in Scottish schools is a decrease in learners taking computer science and digital. In Scotland, only 16 per cent taking computer science are girls, and there’s been a decline in educators.
"In the last ten years, there has been a 25 per cent decline in computer science teachers in schools, which means there’s more than 17 per cent of schools in Scotland with no dedicated computer teachers. The Digital Schools Awards provides a credible solution to addressing the national issues of digital skills shortages.
"There are forecasts of increased unemployment because digital jobs sectors have increased by 150 per cent.
"It is a vast area in Scotland employing 100,000 and contributing £4.9 bn. 13,000 jobs are unfilled because we do not have people with the right skills.
"An independent review commissioned by the Scottish Government, carried out by Mark Logan in 2020, named education to upskill the Scottish population as one of three key pillars to address the issues.
"We are seeing the impact of the Digital School Award, encouraging learners to take forward digital competencies, starting from the nursery level."
Find out more about the scheme here.
