Hansard

The results of the latest Scottish survey of literacy and numeracy were published earlier today. The publication contains data on literacy performance in primary 4, P7 and secondary 2 in 2016, and it includes comparisons with 2012 and 2014 results. It also includes results from questionnaires for pupils and teachers. Although the results show a generally stable position in performance between 2014 and 2016, the statistics show a drop in writing performance for S2 pupils, which is of particular concern.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving performance in education in Scotland. I therefore welcome the opportunity to make a statement to Parliament, to reflect on the results of the SSLN and to set out what I intend to do about the issues that they raise.

In order to understand the factors behind the results, I have looked at independent analysis of Scotland’s education system that has been provided by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s 2015 review of Scottish education and Education Scotland’s “Quality and improvement in Scottish education 2012-2016” report, which was published in March and summarises findings from inspections and other evaluation activities. I have also considered the information that is provided by the national improvement framework, which was developed in response to the latest SSLN literacy results.

Those sources highlight four key areas in which our education system needs to improve. First, we need to get better at tracking the progress of each individual pupil over the course of their school career, as we have not been as effective as we need to be in identifying where young people may need additional support.

Secondly, we need to be clearer about the standards that are expected in our classrooms, because teachers have not always been certain about what is required to meet each curriculum for excellence level in literacy and numeracy and across the curriculum areas.

Thirdly, too much well-meaning but overbearing guidance has been produced nationally and locally, and sometimes in schools themselves. That has created too much clutter in the curriculum, and it can divert teachers’ time from learning and teaching.

Fourthly, we need to ensure that literacy skills are fully embedded across the curriculum. Inspection evidence has shown that the potential impact of establishing literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing as cross-cutting priorities for all teachers has not been fully realised.

When we published the SSLN literacy data in 2015, it became clear that we needed a broader and much deeper level of data to secure improvement for Scotland’s children. To address that, we developed the national improvement framework, and we now have data that reflects the progress of all children at key points in curriculum for excellence.

We now have more data than ever on children’s progress under curriculum for excellence, including the attainment levels in literacy and numeracy of every child in P1, P4, P7 and S3. Although the SSLN statistics are disappointing, data that we published in December 2016 that was based on teacher judgment demonstrated that 84 per cent of young people in Scotland achieve the appropriate curriculum for excellence level for writing by the end of S3.

The SSLN survey helps to identify emerging issues, but the national improvement framework provides us with the data that allows us to target improvement in specific parts of Scotland. National standardised assessments on literacy and numeracy will further support teacher judgment on where a pupil is doing well and where further support may be required.

In addition, we are already taking action in response to the specific areas for improvement that I have identified. In order to improve the tracking of each child’s progress, through the national improvement framework we now have a clear line of sight between national, local authority and school-level data, thereby ensuring that we can all focus on where improvement needs to happen.

In order to clarify the standards that are expected, we published benchmarks for literacy and numeracy in August 2016. Benchmarks for other curricular areas were published earlier this year. To declutter the curriculum, we have significantly streamlined the volume of advice and guidance, and 85 per cent of the content that had been on the Education Scotland online service for the curriculum and for assessment has now been removed. The national improvement hub will be the key source of material for teachers as we move forward.

In September 2016, inspectors evaluated the workload demands that were placed on teachers in each of the 32 local authorities, and they continue to monitor progress, especially in areas where too much bureaucracy was identified.

To improve literacy across the curriculum, the literacy benchmarks make clear the standards that are expected across the curriculum, which apply to all teachers. A focus on raising attainment in literacy has been included in the new school inspection model that was introduced in September 2016.

Through the Scottish attainment challenge, we are funding and supporting the development of a range of new strategies in literacy to improve children’s attainment and close the attainment gap. The most effective strategies from Scottish schools are being published in the interventions for equity framework on the national improvement hub. We have entered a new partnership with the Education Endowment Foundation, which will give Scottish teachers access to strategies that are proven to work and are based on global evidence.

Those actions are all part of a wider programme of comprehensive reforms that has been prompted by previous SSLN results and is based firmly on the independent findings of the 2015 OECD review of Scottish education. A number of significant developments in that area are worth highlighting. We are increasing investment and support in the early years through the significant expansion of early learning and childcare. That will help to address the gap in vocabulary at P1 between children from more deprived areas and those from less deprived circumstances. We are building the capacity of the teaching workforce by investing in the professional learning and recruitment of teachers and by introducing new programmes to train and develop headteachers.

In addition, we are developing targeted interventions for schools through the £750 million Scottish attainment challenge programme. The challenge will tackle the poverty-related attainment gap by targeting resources at those children, schools and communities that are most in need, focusing specifically on literacy along with numeracy and health and wellbeing. All schools now have access to attainment advisers and, from April this year, £120 million is being provided directly to headteachers for them to use for activities and interventions that will lead to improvements in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing in their schools.

The pupil equity fund demonstrates our clear commitment to putting schools and communities at the heart of the education system. Next month, we will publish the next steps in the review of governance. They will support the national improvement framework and ensure that the education system puts children, parents, teachers and schools at the centre.

The reforms will provide teachers and schools with the necessary tools to improve literacy through the literacy benchmarks and the standardised assessments as well as the resources to do so through the Scottish attainment challenge and the pupil equity fund. They will ensure a relentless focus on developing the skills that are essential to literacy development from a child’s birth right through to when they leave school.

In acknowledging the challenges that are presented by the SSLN results, I am determined that we will not lose sight of the many strengths of Scotland’s education system. The data from the SSLN tells us that pupils in Scottish schools are highly engaged with their learning and are motivated to do well. Consistently over the six-year life of the survey, more than 94 per cent of pupils said that they wanted to do well and felt that they usually did so in school. The majority of pupils also see the clear value of what they learn for life outside school and for future employability.

Teachers report the use of varied teaching and learning techniques—exactly as curriculum for excellence requires them to do—and generally high levels of confidence in delivering the literacy aspects of the curriculum. They also report high levels of confidence in the use of information and communications technology to enhance learning and, particularly in our primary schools, that it is used regularly to deliver learning and support to pupils.

At a time when many young people are sitting examinations, we should also acknowledge the progress that we have seen in results in the national qualifications. In 2016, the number of advanced higher passes reached a record high, while the number of higher passes was second only to the 2015 record. A record proportion of young people from Scotland’s most deprived communities are continuing their education, entering training or getting a job after they leave school—88.7 per cent of school leavers from those communities went into a positive initial destination in 2015-16, which is the highest-ever proportion and up from 83.9 per cent in 2011-12.

In fully accepting the case for reform that is confirmed by today’s statistics, we must not fall into the trap of ignoring the tangible strength in our education system, which is delivering well for a great many young people in Scotland.

The latest phase of reform is only now starting to come into force, with £120 million having been given to headteachers just last month to spend on improving attainment, with the outcome of the governance review expected next month and with the introduction of standardised assessments later this year. Those actions will not deliver an overnight solution; it will take time before we see their full effect. Nevertheless, it is clear that we must stay the course and continue to make the changes that are necessary to strengthen Scottish education. That requires that we keep an unwavering focus on improving Scotland’s education system for every child, and we are doing exactly that.