Prestigious digital award for 13 East Renfrewshire schools

The schools honoured by Education Scotland for their commitment to promoting digital skills in the classroom were Barrhead High, St Ninian’s High, Woodfarm High, Carolside Primary, Eaglesham Primary, Hillview Primary, Kirkhill Primary, Neilston Primary, Our Lady of the Missions Primary, St John’s Primary, St Joseph’s Primary, St Thomas Primary and St Mark’s Primary.

These are the latest East Renfrewshire schools to be recognised with the Digital Schools Awards, with a total of 20 schools in the area having now achieved this prestigious status.

Councillor Paul O’Kane, Convener for Education and Equalities, said: “It is fantastic to see so many East Renfrewshire schools honoured with this award, adding to those which had already gained this recognition. To have 20 of our schools already having reached this milestone, and all others working towards it, highlights the ambition that we have for all our pupils to be equipped with the digital skills they will need in the future. With 65% of primary children predicted to end up in jobs that have not been invented yet, it is vital that we continue to promote digital learning in all our schools. Well done to all the pupils and staff involved in working towards gaining these awards and I look forward to seeing all this digital learning in action on my visits to local schools.”

The Digital Schools Award recognises schools which have successfully implemented digital learning within the classroom and aims to equip the next generation with the necessary skills to shape Scotland’s future as a digital nation.

To achieve Digital Schools Awards accreditation, schools are required to self-assess their developments in digital technology under common practice areas of Leadership and Vision, Digital Technology for Learning and Teaching, School Culture, Professional Development and Resources and Infrastructure.

The programme promotes skills such as digital innovation and creativity, computational thinking, advances in STEM, the use of digital technology to promote higher order thinking skills, support for digital equity and access, and the need for cyber resilience.

Across East Renfrewshire, significant focus has been placed on ensuring meaningful digital approaches are at the heart of all the learning opportunities provided for pupils.

Wi-Fi is in place in all schools to support the Bring Your Own Device scheme, whilst the council have also invested significantly on an annual basis to provide class sets of laptops and Chromebooks for use in schools. Staff have also been supported through a variety of professional learning opportunities to develop innovative teaching methods utilising digital technologies which will further enhance pupils’ experiences.