Scottish education ‘a success story’, insists FM

Nicola Sturgeon has made a speech in Edinburgh defending the Scottish Government’s record on education.

Speaking at Wester Hailes Education Centre this morning, the First Minister laid out how the second phase of the £100m attainment fund will be distributed, with the aim of closing the attainment gap. 57 further schools will benefit from the funding.

Sturgeon said "what matters to me is what works" in tackling inequality. 

“Despite the undoubted challenges that we face, Scotland’s schools are a success story,” she said.

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The SNP has been under pressure from opposition figures and teaching unions over their record on education, with teacher numbers having fallen by around 4,000 since 2007, and results from the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy showing a decline in standards in the last two years. There have also been cuts to Further Education.

The introduction of new Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) exams for s4 and s5 pupils has also led to criticism the changes have been rushed through without adequate support for teachers. 

Sturgeon said: “The introduction of Curriculum for Excellence has been a major step forward – and one which is attracting international attention. It gives teachers more flexibility, provides a broader education for young people, and sets higher standards for achievement than ever before,”

“520 schools have been rebuilt or refurbished since 2007. That’s more than 1/5 of the school premises in the country; and it’s 200 more than in the previous 8 years.

“We’ve provided funding to maintain teacher numbers. In 2006, more than 15,000 primary one children were in classes of more than 25. Now, the figure is below 500.”

She added student destinations are “the best on record” with record numbers of exam passes.

“The basic picture is clear. In every part of the country, Scotland has good schools, good teachers, and our young people are good learners. Standards have risen and are continuing to rise,” she said.

Scottish Labour’s education spokesman Iain Gray said the Government had failed to close the attainment gap between the richest and poorest pupils.

"After eight years of SNP Government the reality is that pupils from richer backgrounds still perform much better than those from deprived areas.

“It's just not right that three quarters of S2 pupils from the poorest backgrounds don't have the counting skills they need. A child starting high school this week will have spent every year of their education under the SNP Government,” he said.