Fife Literacy Scheme Praised In International Report

A scheme to get kids in the Kingdom reading has been praised in a report by international experts on the Scottish education system.

The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) were asked by Holyrood to examine our teaching policies.

Fife's 'literacy hub' - where schools share expertise and good practice in numeracy and spelling - came in for particular praise.

The report also says levels of academic achievement in Scotland are above international averages.

The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said:

"There is much positive praise in this report for what is being delivered for our children in Scottish schools and for the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence. However, the report also highlights challenges and reinforces the Scottish Government's determination to focus on achieving excellence and equity within our education system. 

"I am particularly pleased that the OECD supports our decision to develop and implement a National Improvement Framework.

"We share their view that we have a great opportunity to lead the world in developing an integrated assessment and evaluation framework. 

"I firmly believe the Framework will play an important role in driving work to close the attainment gap and continually improve Scottish education."

Complexities

But a number of issues have been raised in the report, including confusion around the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence.

EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said, "The OECD Report paints a largely positive picture of Scottish education and the ongoing implementation of Curriculum for Excellence. It confirms previous data that indicates that Scottish schools and levels of pupil attainment compare well both internationally and with other countries within the UK. 

"It also highlights the well-established challenges facing Scottish education, including the poverty-related attainment gap that continues to have a negative impact on too many young people across the country.
 
"The EIS welcomes the recognition that Scotland’s teachers are ‘engaged and professional’ and the confirmation that Scotland’s schools are highly inclusive places that measure well in terms of social inclusion and social mix. The welcome upward trends in overall attainment and in the numbers of pupils moving on to positive destinations following school are also strong positives identified in the Report.

"Although this Report focuses mainly on the positive Broad General Education elements of CfE, it also clearly identifies issues still to be addressed and comments specifically on the attempts to tackle bureaucracy within the system, which the EIS has identified as a driver of excessive workload.”

"Outwith the scope of the report, which is focussed on Broad General Education (i.e. 3-15), there are still major issues to be resolved in the Senior Phase of Secondary schools where the introduction of the new Qualifications and the burden of assessment have placed considerable strain on teachers and pupils."