Pupils’ performance getting better, yet still wide variations across councils
Educational attainment is improving overall in Scotland, but there is a need to close the gap between the lowest and highest performing pupils.
A new report from the Accounts Commission highlights the rise in attainment over the last decade, as measured by exams taken during S4, S5 and S6. However, there are significant variations between councils, schools and individual groups of pupils.
The report points out that existing measures do not fully capture a child’s performance throughout their time at school. For example, there are no comparable measures at council or national level to compare the performance of pupils from P1 to S3.
It also identifies the extent of new opportunities for pupils to develop a range of skills for living and working in the wider world.
Deprivation is a key factor in attainment performance but some schools in poorer areas perform well. Councils that have made most improvements have focused on areas such as developing leadership skills, improving teacher quality, increasing parental engagement and better tracking and monitoring of each pupil’s performance.
Councils’ spending on school education fell by 5 per cent in real terms between 2010/11 and 2112/13 to £3.8 billion. Most of this reduction was as a result of employing fewer staff. Education budgets will continue to face pressures in the future.
Accounts Commission chair Douglas Sinclair said:
“Councils need to fully understand what interventions are the most effective and tailor resources to meet their local needs. Councillors have a crucial role in supporting improvement by closely scrutinising and challenging performance.
“It is vital that councils close the gap between the lowest and highest performing pupils. There is no single solution for improving educational attainment and many of the factors are linked.
“There are many other skills that children need to succeed in life. As the report makes clear, there is a need for councils to understand broader educational performance and look beyond current exams.”
