Over the last 12 months, parents, teachers and pupils across Scotland have faced the difficulties of online classes whilst missing out on the benefits of in-person schooling. These challenges have been particularly acute for those in socially deprived communities. However, a recent government report confirms that serious issues within Scottish education predate the pandemic.
When she came to power, Nicola Sturgeon was clear she wanted to be judged on education. Specifically, her ability to close the attainment gap between Scotland’s most and least deprived areas. In a 2015 keynote speech, she said: ‘if you are not prepared to put your neck on the line for the education of our young people, then what are you prepared to do.’ Six years on and there are still massive variations in performance between local authorities, according to a report by the Auditor General for Scotland. Even more worryingly, some of the most poverty-stricken areas have seen a decline in pupil attainment.
These recent findings follow a pattern of educational failure that has followed the SNP for over a decade, and opposition parties have been quick to rebuke the Scottish Government over the figures. Scottish Conservative education spokesman Jamie Greene said: ‘After 14 years in charge they have failed miserably to reduce the attainment gap in our schools. Even prior to the pandemic, the SNP had failed to address learning inequalities. They have slashed thousands of teachers from our classrooms and broken their promises on reducing class sizes.’
The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party are offering a credible plan for education that seeks to make up for the lost time caused by the pandemic and close the attainment gap. Their policies include recruiting 3,000 additional teachers as well as investing £120 million in a Catch-Up tutoring program.
Alongside the attainment figures, a second report by the Diversity in the Teaching Profession Working Group has been highly critical of the Scottish Government’s failure to improve diversity in the workforce. The proportion of BAME teachers has barely changed over the past decade. Just 1.6% of staff come from minority ethnic backgrounds even though well over 4% of Scots are BAME.
Overall, the intractable issues within the Scottish education system are a significant blot on the SNP’s record. For a party that promised so much, they have come bottom of the class and are letting down an entire generation of young people. Luckily, May’s election will give voters a chance to tell the SNP exactly how they feel about the sorry state of our schools.