Scottish education is 'failing to live up to its ambitions' as calls grow for reform

The government-commissioned report by former head teacher John Wilson found that Scotland's education system is not meeting its ambitions.

Mr Wilson was tasked with identifying priorities for reform by Scottish ministers - and has recommended a set of sweeping changes to the system in return.

Proposed reforms to how Scotland’s schools are funded and operated have been set out including removing all school education functions from councils and creating new Local Schools Authorities in their place.

A new Executive Director of Education in Scotland should be created to “optimise the effectiveness of the national education bodies” and funding ringfenced for running schools.

Mr Wilson also said that ‘enhancements’ should be considered to attract teachers to areas where there are shortages.

READ MORE: ‘What will become of her?’ - the pupils who refuse to go to school

His report also quotes education professor Lindsay Paterson calling current measures used by the Scottish Government to boast of rising attainment as “statistical fictions”.

Scottish Labour Education spokesperson Katherine Sangster called the report an “admission of failure” of the SNP’s two decades in government.

She pointed to the abandoned Regional Collaborative policy set out by John Swinney as education secretary.

READ MORE: PISA figures show Scots pupils a year behind their English counterparts

Ms Sangster said the government “must set out how any changes will be different to that project and how it will actually improve the standards of Scottish education and increase opportunities for young people”.

“Scottish Labour welcomes that the Scottish Government has acknowledged the need for significant reform in education, the declining performance of Scottish education and the need for much better data in the system,” she added.

“We must recognise that Scotland’s issues in education are curricular.”

The report goes on to outline that the attainment gap - the difference in success between rich and poor children - is still wide.

Ms Sangster said: “We have been calling for faster action on the poverty-related attainment gap – acknowledgement in the report that the current pace is not good enough is welcome, but the Cabinet Secretary still seems in denial.

“Reforms as big as these ones take more than three months from conception to delivery.

“Fundamentally changing where decisions are made about education and who has control over our schools requires thoughtful intervention and proper consultation with councils, teachers, learners and their families.”

Mr Wilson said Scotland rejoining the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) research is “to be commended”.

Scotland opted out of both these programmes in 2010, but Mr Wilson said that national education outcomes should be “calibrated” using data from these and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) programme Scotland is still part of.

PIRLS will be this year with TIMSS next due in 2027

Mr Wilson said the Scottish Government should “consolidate the bodies that have statutory responsibility for the delivery of school education” – with the former head teacher going on to call for new Local Schools Authorities (LSAs) to be established, which would then take over “all current school education functions undertaken by local authorities”.

Councillors would be appointed to set on new Education Executive Boards (EEBs), which would be set up to “provide strategic oversight of each LSA”.

These bodies would also “collaborate to optimise outcomes for local children and young people”, Mr Wilson’s report added.

Education Secretary Mairi McAllan stressed she is “clear-eyed about the need for change and for excellence” in Scotland’s schools.

She said: “This report provides an invaluable contribution to this process, and I’m grateful to John Wilson and everyone else who took part.”

Ms McAllan said the report would “contribute to a dialogue with councils” with Ms McAllan saying the Scottish Government will give its response to the recommendations “once that process is complete”.

But she also stressed “there is a great deal to be proud of already” in Scotland’s schools.

“Recent statistics show the number of young people in work, training or study nine months after leaving school is at a joint record high and record numbers of young people are being accepted into university,” she added.

“This includes a record number from our most deprived backgrounds.”

However, Conservative education spokeswoman Meghan Gallacher insisted if ministers follow the recommendations in the report they would “only shuffle responsibilities around and create more bureaucracy, rather than give headteachers the powers they desperately need”.

“Teacher shortages are holding schools back, children with additional support needs are missing out on specialist help, and headteachers still lack proper control over staffing and budgets.

“The Scottish Conservatives have already set out a bold alternative. We would put power properly back in the hands of headteachers and give them real authority to tackle violence and disruption in the classroom.”