Literacy and numeracy levels fall in Dundee high schools

A new report has revealed literacy and numeracy levels among pupils in Dundee high schools are slipping.

The percentage of third year pupils reaching Curriculum for Excellence levels of achievement in reading, writing, listening and talking, numeracy and literacy, fell  across all five categories between 2016-17 and 2017-18.

Some 20% of pupils did not achieve the expected level of numeracy while 16% of pupils did not reach the expected standard of literacy.

However, attainment levels for primary school pupils increased over the course of the year.

Labour group children and families services spokeswoman Georgia Cruickshank said: “This report does not make for very good reading. Our children deserve better than this.

“While the results for looked-after children and in our primary schools are improving it is important we see improvements across the whole sector.”

She added: “The attainment challenge is having a good effect in some aspects of early years and primary provision but what about our secondary schools?”

Fellow Labour councillor Michael Marra added: “These figures are awful. We cannot allow a generation of children to be abandoned by our education system while we hope that investment in early years pays dividends in a decade.

“What we actually see is attainment and life chances being choked off by the disastrous handling of curriculum change by the SNP.

“We will not improve attainment by piling ever more work on to classroom teachers by scrapping department heads.”

Children and families services convener Stewart Hunter said action is already being taken to raise standards in the city’s high schools.

He said: “One of the things we are doing is introducing faculties – we are the only local authority in Scotland that doesn’t use faculties.

“We looked at what other authorities are doing and that was the first thing. It makes the management a little bit stronger.

“It means they (faculty leaders) are not just focusing on one area and frees teachers to teach.

“I appreciate there are implications for teachers and we have to work with trade unions to make any impact as minimal as possible.”