Author: Sarah Macfarlane, SCILT
Schools and businesses across Scotland can now receive recognition for successful partnership working in promoting languages as a key skill for employment.
The Scottish Languages Employability Award, developed by SCILT, in partnership with Bòrd na Gàidhlig, encourages innovation and creativity in the promotion of language skills through meaningful engagement between employers and schools.
The Award is available at three levels: Gold, Silver and Bronze. A toolkit has been developed to support schools in achieving the Award, available in Gaelic and English through support from the Gaelic Language Act Implementation Fund.
There are two deadlines every year for applications for an Award. The next deadlines for submissions are:
- Friday 17 January 2020
- Friday 15 May 2020
The Award was launched at a ceremony on 1 November 2019. Three Awards were presented to schools whose links with employers have demonstrated to learners how languages can be used in the world of work:
The “Chinese Tuesdays” project, centred at Braehead Primary in Stirling, saw seven primaries in the Stirling Learning Community come together in a multi-disciplinary project involving media, cookery, art and drama. This exciting collaboration was awarded Gold.
Bishopbriggs Academy submitted a wide range of projects from across the school: language-promotional events, Gaelic film projects and German science projects. Using the toolkit to capture the school’s innovation allowed Bishopbriggs to become the first secondary in Scotland to gain a Gold Award.
St Mary’s Primary in Bannockburn linked with local historic attraction Bannockburn House in a project that saw pupils work with staff from Bannockburn House to create a range of resources in French for tour guides to use with French-speaking visitors. The project was awarded a Silver Award.
Staff and pupils from these schools attended the ceremony to collect their Awards.
The toolkit for applying for the Scottish Languages Employability Award is available to download from the SCILT website together with Case Studies from the successful pilot schools.
