Highland Council education table place 'urgent wake up call to SNP'

Highlands and Islands MSP Edward Mountain has slammed the SNP’s 'continued failures in education in Highland Council'.

It follows the publication of the National Improvement Framework report which shows a decline in standards in literacy, reading, writing and listening and talking since a previous report in 2018-19.

Highland Council has the lowest percentage of pupils P1, P4 and P7 pupils achieving the expected level Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) in literacy, reading, writing, listening and talking and numeracy, Mr Mountain pointed out.

The percentage of pupils P1, P4 and P7 pupils achieving the expected level CfE is 49.5 per cent literacy, 61.8 per cent in reading, 53.7 per cent in writing, 71.5 per cent in listening and talking and 60.1 per cent in numeracy.

In each category that is the lowest achievement percentage in Scotland’s 32 council authorities.

Analysis by the Scottish Conservatives has shown that in 31 out of 32 of Scotland’s local authorities, including Highland Council, the percentage of pupils in primaries one, four and seven achieving the expected attainment levels in literacy, reading and writing, is now lower than in 2018-19.

Mr Mountain maintains the figures are further evidence of how the SNP have damaged Scotland’s once world-leading education system during their 15 years in power.

He added that it was extremely concerning that fewer and fewer pupils in the Highland Council were achieving the required levels of attainment in primary school: "The figures fly in the face of SNP claims that education is their top priority."

Mr Mountain said: “Ensuring our pupils in Highland Council are leaving primary school with the required levels of basic attainment should always be a top priority.

“So these figures make for deeply concerning reading given such dramatic falls in performance over the last few years in the Highlands.

“They are just the latest example of how SNP ministers have taken their eye off the ball and are failing our young people in our region.

“Scotland’s education system used to be world-leading but the SNP have taken a wrecking ball to that during their 15 years in power.

“This lack of attainment in the Highlands should be an urgent wake-up call to SNP ministers to actually match their rhetoric about education by giving our schools the resources they need.”

Mr Mountain's attack prompted a response from Highland Council's education chairman.

Councillor John Finlayson told the Strathy: "It's very disappointing to once again see Tory politicians making sweeping statements about Highland education and effectively criticising the staff working in our schools without taking time to actually take account of the most recent data.

"In many ways it smacks of desperation for someone to quote last sessions information at this stage in the year when the new data for the last school session will not be published until 13 December.

"Also, if some research had been done, a report came to Highland Council’s education committee in September which showed a very positive picture in terms of predicted improvement with regard to forthcoming data."

Councillor Finlayson went on to say it was clear that no account had been taken by Mr Mountain of the fact that during Covid, Highland schools made a positive decision to focus on the health and wellbeing of pupils at a time when it was indicated nationally that attainment data recorded during the pandemic years should not be used as any kind of comparative data.

"Within Highland and across our over 200 schools which have rolls that range from five to well over 1000 pupils, staff will continue to support pupils with both mental health and wellbeing and also achievement and attainment and we should all be proud of the work that takes place.

"Perhaps if Mr Mountain takes time to look at this week’s education committee and watches the presentation made by Kingussie High School, and their support for Ukranian refugee children and families, he will appreciate why I am proud of the work that takes place in our schools."

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