By Andrew Argo, education reporter

THE country’s biggest teaching union is encouraging refugees and asylum seekers with teaching qualifications to work in Scotland’s schools.

On the opening day of the annual conference of the Educational Institute of Scotland in Perth, executive council member Bill Ramsay said it would help to bring them into the community where they would be nurtured, given respect and be given an opportunity to reflect outwards.

Fellow council member Liz Morriss said many asylum seekers had settled in Scotland, and the communities in which they live had recognised that they have much to offer.

Those with suitable teaching qualifications working in schools would become role models for asylum seekers’ children.

They could help with language interpretation and in many other ways to enhance the Scottish education system.

The conference approved the council’s motion that ways be investigated to offer further support to refugees and asylum seekers with suitable teaching qualifications, including the possibility of EIS membership.

Later, the conference unanimously agreed a motion to probe the activities of the Samaritan’s Purse organisation and its Christmas Shoe Box Appeal in Scottish schools.

This was with a view to establishing its commitment to multi-culturalism, religious diversity and tolerance.

Kenny Elder, from South Lanarkshire, said Samaritan’s Purse was an American organisation headed by Franklin Graham, the son of the famous evangelist Billy Graham.

He alleged it took a “right wing, racist view of religion” and gave examples of its work in seeking converts in countries like Iraq and Nicaragua where American military forces had intervened.

Scottish schools had innocently become involved in supporting the organisation with pupils being invited to fill shoeboxes with items needed by people in impoverished countries.

Mr Elder said that since the real nature of Samaritan’s Purse had come to light, a number of agencies which had supported the organisation had distanced themselves from it and its activities.

* Scotland’s teachers must plan for a constant improvement in class sizes, the president of the EIS said yesterday.

Sheena Wardhaugh told conference delegates that the numbers of pupils taught in classrooms was the major issue in Scottish education.

The Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition at Holyrood had made a commitment to a maximum of 25 pupils in primary one classes and 20 in secondary one and two English and mathematics classes by 2007, and this was to be welcomed.

She continued, “We must plan beyond that. Having achieved 53,000 full-time equivalent teachers and with falling rolls, we must plan for constant improvement in class sizes.”

The ministerial working group on class sizes will meet later this month, and she hoped for further progress.

Mrs Wardhaugh stated, “Issues such as tailoring the curriculum to the needs of individuals, meaningful formative assessment, indiscipline, inclusion and so on can all be taken forward far more successfully with smaller class sizes.”

At last year’s conference the union threatened strike action if there was no progress in negotiations to reduce class sizes by the end of last year. Discussions made some headway, however, and the union backed down.

The union, representing 80% of the country’s teachers, wants there to be no more than 20 pupils in any class from P1 to S6.

Mrs Wardhaugh said that classroom indiscipline had not really improved despite a commitment and funding from the Scottish Executive for schemes aimed at changing pupil behaviour.

While she did not agree that Scotland’s schools were heading for meltdown, as had been predicted in some quarters, she said persistent low-level disruption was very wearing for teachers and disrupted learning for the vast majority of pupils.

She continued, “Every school should have a discipline policy, developed and agreed by the staff and consistently supported by senior management. There also must be alternative provision, whether on or off-site, for that minority who cause the disruption.”

She also called on local authorities to make effective support for student teachers on school placements a priority.

There was a need to attract many thousands of graduates into the profession and to ensure that they were properly supported.