The attainment gap between children from Scotland’s most and least deprived areas has widened, figures on numeracy and literacy results show.
The SNP had promised to reduce the attainment gap as part of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s promise to improve education standards in the country’s schools.
Latest results on the Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence (ACEL) show overall the percentage of pupils achieving the expected Curriculum for Excellence level decreased in 2020-21 from 2018-19.
Because of the pandemic, this years figures covers only primary school learners, not secondary or special school totals.
The proportion of primary school children achieving the expected CfE level decreased by 5.4 percentage points in literacy and 4.4 percentage points in numeracy compared to 2019.
The pandemic has wreaked havoc with education, and sadly it is once again the poorest kids who have been hit the hardest.”
Michael Marra MSP, Scottish Labour
Pupils from the most deprived areas in Scotland experienced the biggest drop in attainment, increasing four percentage points in literacy and 4.6 percentage points in numeracy.
Education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the results showed the “stark impact” the Covid pandemic has had on education.
Opposition parties are furious with the Scottish Government, with Scottish Labour calling the results “devastating”, the Scottish Conservatives “shocking” and the Scottish Lib Dems point out the attainment gap was “yawning” before the pandemic had started.
‘Devastating’
Scottish Labour’s Education spokesperson Michael Marra said the Scottish Government should now fully commit to education reform in the wake of Tuesday’s figures being published.
“These devastating figures reveal the true scale of the challenge we are up against,” he said.
“The pandemic has wreaked havoc with education, and sadly it is once again the poorest kids who have been hit the hardest.
“This must be a wake-up call – we have no option but to be ambitious right now.
“We urgently need a real plan to get schools back on track and close Scotland’s shameful attainment gap once and for all.
“Labour have set out ambitious plans for an education recovery, and I hope the SNP will work with us to make them a reality.”
‘Shocking’
Scottish Conservative Shadow Cabinet for Education, Oliver Mundell MSP, said: “These shocking results reveal the brutal impact on young people of Covid, which has been heightened by years of SNP failure.
“Scotland’s schools came into the pandemic unprepared after 14 years of the SNP letting standards slip.
“The double whammy of Covid and the SNP’s botched reforms have sent the attainment gap between the richest and poorest pupils spiralling to its worst ever level.
“These grim statistics show that despite the best efforts of teachers and parents, pupils across Scotland are not reaching the expected levels of attainment in reading, writing, numeracy, literacy and listening and talking.
“Dreadful results on this scale should shame Nicola Sturgeon. She promised to close the attainment gap but instead, it’s wider than ever. Education has never been her top priority and it shows.
“The SNP Government have let down a generation of children and young people.”
‘Too little too late’
Scottish Lib Dem education spokesperson Willie Rennie said: “Education was meant to be Nicola Sturgeon’s top priority but the government barely made a dent in the attainment gap pre-pandemic. Now the figures have crashed. Instead of closing the attainment gap its wider than ever.
“The SNP can’t just blame the pandemic as the attainment gap was yawning before we’d even heard of Covid 19.
“The Scottish Government failed to get laptops out to tens of thousands of children who needed them fast. Now it is failing to properly employ thousands of qualified teachers who should be spending every day helping children catch-up. No wonder these statistics are devastating.
“Children have missed out on so much. The disruption has been unprecedented so the response should be too. Instead, the government has offered too little too late. Teachers and parents are struggling to see any difference in what’s on offer in our schools.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats had to work hard to persuade ministers to strengthen the pupil premium and hire more teachers.
“Now we need to see more in class support, a guarantee of a job for every qualified teacher, premiums to get the best teachers to the schools in greatest need and a targeted new support programme for senior pupils. This can’t wait.”
‘Stark’ Covid impact
Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “The ACEL statistics reflect, in stark terms, the significant impact the pandemic has had on our children and young people.
“Before the pandemic, the year-on-year trend in the ACEL data was positive.
“Unfortunately, the disruption caused by Covid-19 presented serious challenges for learners not just in Scotland but internationally.
“Improving educational outcomes is at the heart of our education recovery work, which is continuing at pace.
“This includes recruiting 3,500 additional teachers and 500 support staff over this parliamentary term.
“We also continue to press on with our mission to tackle the poverty-related attainment gap, backed by a record £1 billion investment.
“Later today, in a statement to Parliament, I will highlight our new and ongoing work to support numeracy and literacy in our schools.
“Since the start of the pandemic, we have committed half a billion pounds to support education, and other data published today reflects some of the progress that has been made.
“The 2021 Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland show that there are now over 2,000 more teachers than before the start of the pandemic.
“The additional staff have, so far, brought the ratio of pupils to teachers to 13.2 – its lowest since 2009, directly supporting children by increasing the amount of teacher attention available to each child.”