The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
First minister refutes whistleblower claims from Tory MP Davis
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she “refutes” claims made by Conservative MP David Davis over the Scottish Government’s handling of sexual harassment allegations against former first minister Alex Salmond.
Using parliamentary privilege, David Davis claimed messages disclosed by a whistleblower show there was a “concerted effort by senior members of the SNP to encourage complaints” against the former first minister.
Mr Davis told the Commons the messages present a case “which demands serious investigation”.
The Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints was set up after a successful judicial review by Mr Salmond resulted in the Scottish
Government’s investigation being ruled unlawful and “tainted by apparent bias”, with a £512,250 payout being awarded to him for legal fees in 2019.
At the Scottish Government’s coronavirus briefing, the first minister said: “Other than to say I strongly refute the suggestions and insinuations of David Davis in the House of Commons, I am not going to have this Covid briefing sidetracked by the latest instalment of Alex Salmond’s conspiracy theory.
“I have given eight hours of evidence to the parliamentary committee looking into this. They are now able to assess all the evidence they’ve taken, including, I’m sure, the evidence they have in relation to the suggestions and claims made by David Davis last night.”
Every school pupil in Fife could be provided with their own laptop under a new digital learning strategy for the region.
And as Fife Council weighs up the cost of investing £14 million on Chromebooks for up to 50,000 pupils, young people at one Angus secondary school are reaping the rewards.
Brechin High School has spent more than £130,000 on equipping its pupils with the devices which, remote learning aside, are said to have enhanced learning significantly.
The lessons the school has learned from its digital innovation will be of interest to Fife councillors and officers hoping to follow suit region-wide.
Fife Council is considering spending more than £14m on Chromebooks over a five-year period. Devices would be issued each year to P4 and S2 pupils and over the course of five years every pupil in P4 and above would have one.
During the pandemic the local authority and its schools have issued more than 7,000 devices to the region’s most disadvantaged children. A further £1.4m of government funding is about to be spent on another 5,000 Chromebooks.
Councillor Craig Walker, education and children’s services convener, said: “As we come out of lockdown we need to move towards thinking about digital devices being a complement to in-class learning rather than solely for the purpose of remote learning in a pandemic.”
Implementation would cost around £2m a year if Chromebooks are provided, but more costly ipads are also an option, which would cost £3.4m a year. If P1 to P3 pupils were included in the scheme, costs would rise.
When schools closed due to the pandemic almost a year ago, Brechin High pupils were better prepared than most for home learning.
They already had their own school-issued Chromebooks and were used to communicating online with their teachers.
Before it moved into its new building in 2016, the school began saving money from its own budget to invest in Chromebooks.
After piloting their use with 60 senior pupils it rolled them out over three years to its entire population of more than 550 pupils.
While there was an obvious benefit during lockdown, head teacher Archie Bathgate said the devices had boosted inschool learning.
He said: “We have discovered they encourage more independence and young people are taking more responsibility for their learning.
“The communication between teachers and pupils has really improved.”
Instant feedback and the use of various Google programmes were among the benefits he outlined.
He said: “The scope is just immense really, and I feel we have only just begun dipping our toes in the water. Young people’s engagement in learning is improving.
“In terms of equipping them for life after school in a different environment, especially with people doing more remote working, it’s adding a layer of skills.”
Devices need renewed every few years but Mr Bathgate said the provision was sustainable and a new batch had already been purchased for this year’s S1 intake.
Mr Bathgate said: “We looked first at ipads until we discovered Chromebooks. The Chromebook, we felt, was far more flexible and really fitted in with our learning and allowed us to do more.”
According to a report presented by Fife Council head of education and children’s services Angela Logue, Chromebooks beat ipads on price, coming in at £280 compared to £450.
Chromebooks, she said, supported the majority of commonly used platforms and applications familiar to young people.