We won't deliver on education by burying our heads in the sand over SNP failures

It was ten years ago that Nicola Sturgeon proudly announced that improving education would be the defining mission of not just her government, but our entire country.

In her first speech of the 2016 Parliamentary session, the then-First Minister branded the status quo unacceptable and insisted she was determined to do better; to close the attainment gap and “make real and lasting improvements for the benefit of this and future generations”.

And the man tasked with delivering the transformational change was of course Nicola Sturgeon’s loyal deputy John Swinney – then Deputy First Minister and Education Secretary.

We are now of course a decade on and a lot has changed. John Swinney is First Minister and – bar the odd appearance at a Fringe show or book tour – Nicola Sturgeon has eschewed Scotland for a new life in London.

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But one crucial thing hasn’t changed – kids from the poorest backgrounds are still being let down by the SNP.

This summer’s exam results showed some progress over the last year – something Scotland’s talented kids and their hardworking teachers should be proud of.

But the truth is kids’ chances are still being limited by their postcode.

In the 10 years since Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney pledged to close the attainment gap, it has widened. At every level – National 5, Higher, Advanced Higher – the gap between the best and the worst off pupils has grown.

Likewise overall attainment is lower at every level than it was in 2016.

The SNP’s commitment to closing the attainment gap and improving our education system has disappeared into smoke and children are paying the price.

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If you expect some reflection or humility from John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon in response to these figures, you would be mistaken.

Despite the damning evidence that they have badly failed to deliver on their “defining mission”, both Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney have instead insisted all is well.

Confronted with the reality of their shortcomings, John Swinney – the man who shamefully downgraded the exam results of working-class kids during the pandemic – has accused people of “talking Scotland’s schools and our young people down” while Nicola Sturgeon insists we should push back on the “media narrative” on Scottish education.

It’s clear that Nicola Sturgeon never had any idea how to deliver what she promised in 2016 – but at least she could bring herself to admit the status quo wasn’t good enough.

Now pupils and families are simply told to not only accept SNP failure but be grateful for it, lest you be accused of talking Scotland down.

The SNP might have lost its sense of ambition along the way, but Scotland’s young people haven’t.

Any teacher will tell you that our classrooms are full of talent, potential and energy. John Swinney’s decision to give up on the task he started 10 years ago is a betrayal of those young people.

We need an education system that unlocks the potential of every child in Scotland, and we won’t deliver that by burying our heads in the sand about where things are going wrong.

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Things will only get worse if John Swinney’s complacent attitude is allowed to take hold.

Instead of papering over the cracks of government failure, we need to make education a priority once again and give every child the support they need to succeed in life.

When it comes to education, John Swinney must try harder.