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Colleges in Scotland
Colleges in Scotland are one of the main providers of ESOL in Scotland. View a list of ESOL contacts (Word, 140Kb).
The Further Education sector as a whole is funded by the Scottish Funding Council, acting on behalf of the Scottish Ministers. Overall strategic direction for the sector is provided by the Lifelong Learning Department (LLD) of the Scottish Government. LLD liaises closely with bodies such as Scotland's Colleges, a new body which encompasses the Association of Scotland's Colleges, the Scottish Further Education Unit, the Colleges Open Learning Exchange Group, Scotland's Colleges International and Equality Forward. More information on the Scottish Government's role in delivering Further Education can be found on their website.
The main advisory group to the Scottish Government on all matters pertaining to the professional learning of college lecturers in Scotland is the Professional Development Forum (the PDF). Established in 1998 following the publication of National Guidelines, the aim of the Forum is to facilitate and enhance the training and continuing professional development of further education lecturers in Scotland. The PDF website provides information on the Professional Standards for Lecturers in Scotland's Colleges, the national index of units and awards which the PDF has approved for the initial teacher training (ITT) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of College Lecturers in Scotland including the full Teaching Qualification (Further Education) [TQ(FE)] and the approved providers of these units and awards. It also has a useful Frequently Asked Questions section.
Practitioners in the Further Education sector are also supported in their professional development by Scotland's Colleges which also runs a Modern Languages and ESOL Subject Network. The network website has opportunities for debate, discussion, collaboration and sharing information. Aimed in particular at practitioners, it is supported by a number of partners including Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and Sector Skills Councils. The Modern Languages and ESOL Subject Network is currently available on Practitioners Plus. If you would like to access the Online Community but do not have log in details you will need to register.
As approved SQA centres, colleges have played a leading role in increasing ESOL learner access to accreditation. The SQA website has a dedicated ESOL section which can be accessed by clicking here.
Although it predominantly has information relating to schools, the Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) website, funded by the Scottish Government, provides advice, support, resources and staff development to the whole Scottish education community. The NQ Online section of their website provides support materials to aid teaching and learning and presently has resources relating to Intermediate 2 and Higher SQA ESOL courses. The LTS website is also a good source of information on wider developments in Scottish Education generally, such as Curriculum for Excellence.