A row has erupted between two Skye councillors over school numeracy and literacy results in the Highlands, after it became “the worst-performing local authority in Scotland” for the fifth year.
The Scottish Government recently released the official Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels (ACEL) for literacy (reading, writing, listening and talking) and numeracy.
The percentage of Highland pupils achieving the expected Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) levels in both literacy and numeracy has increased for 2022/23.
“Highland has seen accelerated improvement compared to national trends and continues to close the gap to the national figures,” Highland Council said.
“In Highland, literacy for P1, P4, P7 combined increased by six per cent in 2022/23, and a total of 16 per cent over the last two years. Numeracy has increased by three per cent in 2022/23, and a total of 12 per cent over the last two years.”
Sixty-five per cent of primary pupils achieved the expected CfE Level for Literacy, and increase of six per cent, while 72 per cent of primary pupils achieved the expected CfE Level for Numeracy, an increase of three per cent.
“In secondary, the percentage S3 pupils achieving fourth level literacy increased by seven per cent and numeracy by six per cent.”
The news was celebrated by the education committee chairperson, Councillor John Finlayson (Eilean a’ Cheò, Highland Independent), who praised “the best set of results since this data collation began in 2016”.
“It is great that when national trends are towards reductions in attainment, the Highland area can demonstrate that it is bucking these trends.
“The pace of improvement is well beyond that of the rest of Scotland, which is a great credit to our pupils and staff.
“I’m pleased to see the ongoing narrowing of the attainment gap and especially the progress being made to close the poverty related attainment gap.”
However another councillor for Eilean a’ Cheò, Conservative group leader Ruraidh Stewart, criticised Mr Finlayson for “shameless spin”, and called for his resignation.
“The hard work of our pupils, teachers, and staff has led to a slight increase in primary school attainment levels, which is commendable,” Mr Stewart said.
“However, despite the efforts of Councillor Finlayson to portray the results as a reason for celebration, the harsh reality is at P1, P4, and P7 levels, shockingly, 35 per cent of Highland’s primary school children are functionally illiterate, and almost one-third are functionally innumerate.
“Highland Council has earned the unenviable title of being the worst-performing local authority in Scotland in terms of literacy and numeracy for five consecutive years. This persistent underperformance is not a mere statistic; it is indicative of deep-seated, systemic issues that necessitate immediate attention and action.
“We urgently need new leadership ready to take decisive action and show genuine commitment to address the challenges faced by our pupils and the wider school community. It is no longer acceptable to keep pretending that everything is good news.”
Councillor Finlayson responded: “It is becoming increasingly tiresome to hear Councillor Stewart continually trying to undermine the work of our schools and teachers for what he thinks is political gain.
“I also think his comments about pupils are both inappropriate and disrespectful to them and their schools.
“Sitting on the sidelines making unhelpful comments and trying to undermine the morale of those who are working so hard in all our educational establishments, is certainly not helpful.
“The public will, of course, see through this immature kind of politics that seems to come regularly from some inexperienced, Tory councillors who when talking about resources seem to forget the Truss/Kwarteng budget which cost the UK Economy £30 billion, soaring interest rates and higher building costs.
“In the meantime, I along with key officers will work to ensure our schools, pupils and staff continue to get the support required to keep improving attainment and achievement in our schools.”