Sailing and canoeing lessons? Plans to close attainment gap under scrutiny
SCHOOLS have been given the green light to use their slice of the £120 million funding pot earmarked for closing the education attainment gap on activities like canoeing and sailing. A “toolkit” on the Education Scotland website also suggests that playing with ropes and going on assault courses can have an impact in helping children get better grades. In a separate move, headteachers at North Lanarkshire Council suggested that the extra funding might be used for dodgeball, bowls and Gaelic football.
Scottish Tory MSP Liz Smith said: “It should be for schools to choose how to spend this money since it is headteachers who know best what needs to be done in their own schools to raise attainment. Outdoor activities undoubtedly have a role but I am sure most parents will, quite rightly, want to see a focus on literacy and numeracy and on improving teacher numbers so that the most disadvantaged pupils have more support.”
The SNP Government has said its top priority is closing a “poverty-related” attainment gap which sees pupils from deprived backgrounds get worse grades than children from more affluent areas. Recent figures showed the number of pupils in second year performing “very well” or “well” in writing had fallen, while the numera- cy gap had widened in primary four. An international study also recorded Scotland’s worst ever performance and confirmed that standards were slipping in maths, reading and science.
A key part of the Government’s education shake-up is bypassing councils and giving more funding to headteachers to close the gap.
From April this year, £120m was distributed through the Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) for heads to spend on additional staffing or resources. However, concerns have been expressed in the sector about how the significant pot of new money will be spent.
An initial “toolkit” for schools, which was developed by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), is available online at Education Scotland. Many of the suggestions may chime with parents, such as early years intervention and one-to-one tuition, but other parts may raise eyebrows.
A section on “outdoor adventure learning” states that activities such as climbing, mountaineering, ropes and assault courses, as well as outdoor sports like sailing and canoeing, could have an impact. The toolkit claims: “On average, pupils who participate in adventure learning interventions appear to make approximately three additional months’ progress.”
It priced a 10-day adventure sailing experience at £900, or £500 for an eight day “outward bound” course.
Councils are also drawing up their own guidance for schools, but some of the local authority suggestions may raise questions. In North Lanarkshire, headteachers produced an “amalgamation” of PEF ideas, which were then costed by the council.
Although a suite of literacy support options was proposed, participation in a Gaelic football initiative was also flagged up as being useful in promoting “confident” individuals. It estimated that participation for a school with a pupil roll of over 200 would be £2350 a year. Other sporting activities identified as PEF options included handball, basketball, golf, bowls and dodgeball.
Of the 14 books flagged up as being potentially useful, two – including The Wishing Stone by Steve Smallman – was listed as “out of print”.
Isabelle Boyd, assistant chief executive for education, youth and communities at North Lanarkshire Council, said: “The document is constantly under review, with some items being updated including reading lists. It is not a menu or a recommended approach. It is up to headteachers to determine how they wish to spend pupil equity funding. That may include items in this document or other things entirely.”
An Education Scotland spokesperson said: “The Education Endowment Foundation developed the online toolkit based on evidence of what works to close the poverty related attainment gap. Their toolkit contains 34 interventions and is intended as a support to help practitioners make informed, evidence-based decisions when planning Pupil Equity Fund spend.
“However, the Pupil Equity Fund is to be spent at the discretion of the headteacher and it is vital that education practitioners consider the school’s context and its community when planning interventions to ensure they support the needs of learners.”
An EEF spokesperson said: “The evidence in the toolkit suggests that outdoor adventure learning programmes could lead to improved attainment outcomes. But, as the toolkit notes, if schools decide to implement this approach, they will need to think carefully about how to apply those skills and experiences to the classroom.”