Stòrlann at GLPS conference in Stirling

10 June 2008

Stòrlann staff delivered three seminars this week to classroom practitioners, Local Authority representatives and other interested parties gathered together in Stirling to mark the crucial GLPS (Gaelic Language in the Primary School) initiative. Mairi Kidd, Marion MacDonald and Donald John MacRitchie from Stòrlann acquainted teachers and support staff with a range of resources and outlined both the support available through the ‘Gaelic on-line’ service and the chance for staff to contribute to the development of Stòrlann’s GLPS resources through consultation programmes.

Under the GLPS scheme teachers with little or no previous experience of Gaelic attend a number of training sessions before returning to deliver what they have learned in the classroom. It is estimated that over 6,000 children take part in GLPS activities each year, and in addition to offering existing practitioners networking opportunities, the Stirling conference offered an introduction to teachers new to the initiative.

In the conference’s opening keynote, Matthew MacIver, the Chief Executive of the General Teaching Council for Scotland, said that GLPS is a crucial initiative, especially given the new Curriculum for Excellence emphasis on language development.