The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Row as figures show ‘multilevel’ class rates at 60%.
EDUCATION: Bosses accused of presiding over ‘betrayal’ of children
Education bosses have been accused of presiding over the “betrayal of a generation of children” after official figures confirmed multi-level classes now account for nearly 60% of secondary teaching in Dundee.
Records for 2018-19 show that 537 classes out of 935 in the city saw teachers handling groups of pupils working towards different qualifications.
Of those lessons, 435 contained pupils working at two separate levels, 100 had youngsters working across three levels and two saw teachers tasked with juggling four different qualifications in a single classroom.
Lochee councillor Michael Marra has repeatedly raised the issue of multi-level classes and said the figures highlight how very different qualifications, rather than simply different grade levels, are now being taught in the same classrooms.
Mr Marra said Dundee is more vulnerable to multi-level teaching due to the city having a high level of poverty and claimed the situation is placing “unprecedented demands on city teachers”.
The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association and the Educational Institute of Scotland are among those to label the increased use of multi-level classes “concerning”.
Dundee’s children and families services convener Stewart Hunter said multi-level teaching had been used “to give as many opportunities to our young people as we possibly can”.
He added: “Our schools work very hard to ensure that any use of multi-level teaching is appropriate and great care is taken to ensure that young people get all the support they need when they are in the senior phase.”
Fife Council failed to respond to the request, while Perth and Kinross supplied incomplete responses.
Scottish Labour’s education spokesman Iain Gray said the figures appear to show the chances of pupils and teachers “suffering this practice... is likely to be worse in schools in poorer areas”.
Scottish Greens education spokesman Ross Greer agreed the data appears to show “a clear link between multi-level teaching and the level of deprivation”.
The Scottish Government said multilevel teaching “has long been a part of Scottish education” and insisted it is for “individual schools and local authorities to take their own decisions”.
A spokesman added: “The most important thing is the outcome for the young person – and last year a record proportion of pupils went on to positive destinations such as work, training or further study.”