Curriculum turn-off in class

SCOTTISH schools are facing a rise in disruption as children switch off from the SNP’s curriculum, research suggests.

The study, on behalf of the Scottish Government, concluded ‘disengagement’ was increasing in secondary schools.

The Behaviour In Scottish Schools report found teachers felt National 4 qualifications were not seen as worthwhile by some pupils because they did not have an external exam.

There was further concern over the introduction under Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) of the so-called broad general education, which pushes back study for formal qualifications until the fourth year of secondary.

The report said: ‘The lack of an exam was felt to devalue the award, which had an impact on pupils’ self-esteem and this was exacerbated by schools forming mixed-level classes in the same class.’

It also notes teachers’ concerns about the broader curriculum in the first three years of secondary which left pupils ‘unfocused for longer’, leading to disengage- ment that was ‘often seen as a precursor to low-level disruptive behaviour’.

Joanna Murphy, chairman of the National Parent Forum of Scotland, said more than a quarter of its members believed employers did not value or understand National 4, adding: ‘The majority of parents did not feel the qualification set children up well enough for further study or work.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Feedback from young people themselves shows support for the assessment arrangements for this qualification.’

SOARING indiscipline in Scottish schools has led to an estimated 8,000 physical assaults against staff each year. Now a new official government report finds that pupil ‘disengagement’ can be a ‘precursor’ to lowlevel disruptive behaviour.

It links this disillusionment to botched SNP curricular reforms that are loathed by teachers, and have lost the faith of many parents and children.

The central problem is that the National 4 qualification has no external exam, meaning candidates are ‘demotivated’ and have suffered a loss of ‘self-esteem’. This is ironic, as trendy educationalists behind the Curriculum for Excellence believed it would reduce pupils’ ‘disengagement’.

In addition, crippling staff shortages, and a reduction in classroom assistants to help children with additional support needs, mean teachers are struggling to maintain control of their classes.

Meanwhile extraordinary figures show that local authorities spent nearly £1million in the last school year ferrying children between schools, to enable them to study subjects not offered by their own secondaries.

Unions warn that music and PE lessons may be dropped entirely from the syllabus in a growing number of schools as councils – facing a funding gap of around £500million – struggle to balance their books. The challenge for Education Secretary John Swinney in 2018 is monumental.

But how much trust can parents have in an administration that is largely responsible for so many of the problems it is now attempting to solve?