SNP CAN’T EVEN GET P1 RIGHT
saying parents would be free to withdraw their children. In response to an email from an unidentified official, David Leng, ‘National Standardised Assessment Product Owner’ at the Government, wrote: ‘There is no legal requirement to sit the SNSA. On that basis children can be withdrawn.’
A Cosla spokesman said: ‘A range of professionals work with children to take a childcentred approach to education. With regards to testing, councils are working to guidelines produced by the Scottish Government. If there is a concern held by parents then headteachers and councils will respond to those concerns.’
NOT that long ago, Scottish schools were the envy of the world. They managed to deliver the high standards all of us have a right to expect at the same time as providing the breadth of curriculum experiences absent in many other countries, including England.
I believe they can deliver these high standards again, but only if there is a radical change to the current culture of thinking which drives education policy.
What made Scottish education so special was the universal understanding that good schooling was the key which could unlock so many opportunities in life, never mind in employment.
There was an expectation – irrespective of class or background or whatever type of school you attended – that everyone should be able to read, write and count properly and that poor standards would not be tolerated.
Teaching was a highly valued profession, leadership was strong and good schools were seen as the central component in building communities. In short, Scottish schools were synonymous with excellence. They did not need edicts from local or central government telling them what to do. Aspiration was ingrained in their DNA.
Now, notwithstanding the fact many good things are still happening in Scottish schools, we can no longer make that claim of all-round excellence. The evidence, sadly, is incontrovertible, as last week’s SQA results confirmed.
It was immediately clear that attainment had fallen across many subjects, age-groups and ability levels.
Unfortunately, it was the same old story – with the stubborn attainment gap, with children from poorer backgrounds significantly less likely to do well than wealthier counterparts.
Analysis by educationalist Professor Jim Scott revealed alarming drops in the number of children studying modern languages. At the crucial National 4 level, there were also decreases in those sitting the important STEM subjects – biology, chemistry, computing, physics and maths.
But it’s not just at that end of the schooling spectrum where there are problems. The SNP is getting it wrong from the moment children set foot in the classroom.
Opposition parties are united in opposing the Nationalists’ controversial testing of P1 pupils. According to reports, these tests have left pupils ‘shaking and crying’, while a charity is urging parents to boycott them.
If the Government can’t get this right, what hope does it have of sorting things for the remainder of a person’s education journey?
Had John Swinney listened to the experts on the ground, this could have been avoided. If he listened to the teachers and parents who took the time to phone a Radio Scotland programme on which he appeared this week, he would be doing well.
One experienced professional told him morale in teaching was extremely low, something he appeared to reject – even though privately he knows fine well this is the case.
The retiring headteacher told him there was a crisis in retaining teaching staff. That exacerbates the existing crisis in recruiting new teachers.
As schools began returning last week, hundreds were still advertising for new posts. In Aberdeen, one in three schools had a vacancy.
With that in mind, it’s no wonder the SNP has never come close to hitting its own targets on cutting class sizes. You can’t force anyone to train as a teacher, but for years the SNP sat and watched while people gave up on the prospect of working in a school.
A boom and bust approach to training places has left the workforce in a mess. That applies not only to teachers working in classrooms generally, but also specialist areas.
For instance, schools can’t function properly if they don’t have a proper set-up for those with additional support needs, yet the shortage has never been properly addressed by the Scottish Government.
If the SNP ever does get round to training more teachers, it will have to ensure it sorts the Curriculum for Excellence so these teachers are clear on what they are supposed to be doing. They cannot get on with the job if there is uncertainty about areas of the curriculum.
Like so many areas of government, the SNP talks a brave game but runs a mile when it comes to taking action. This was illustrated perfectly when it ditched the Education Bill ahead of this summer’s recess.
Ironically, the Bill was downgraded to an ‘action plan’ on the same day a survey was released showing sorting education was an issue dearest to Scottish people’s hearts.
The Bill could have handed real power and autonomy to headteachers to make vital improvements such as improving literacy and numeracy, something with which Scotland has struggled badly of late.
We committed to work with the SNP on this matter; to try to find some common ground to secure its passage through the parliament. Labour, the Greens and the Lib Dems didn’t want the Bill at all. We did, as we believed it was the best opportunity in a generation to remove obstacles to progress in our classrooms.
I suspect John Swinney agreed with that, but it seemed Nicola Sturgeon wasn’t keen on the idea of working with the Tories in any context.
The ones who will suffer for that arrogant and childish approach are generations of young people.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, in its recent comprehensive review, commended many of the attributes of Scottish education and its basic ethos, but said we were very far removed from ensuring the current system can actually meet our potential.
As schools return, that prophecy has turned out to be spot on.
The problems in our classrooms, however, are not the fault of our teachers or our young people, all of whom have been doing their best, but a fault of the system and the SNP Government which seems intent on burying its head in the sand.
How many more indicators need to be produced telling us Scotland is under-performing before we will get the necessary action?
All eyes are on John Swinney and there is little time left. As for First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, she said time and again education was her top priority and one she wished to be judged on.
As things stand, she risks leaving herself a damaged legacy.
The ones who will suffer for Sturgeon’s arrogant and childish approach are generations of young people