Advanced search

Overview of Scottish policy on literacy and education

Early years

In November 2007, the Minister for Children and Early Years announced the first integrated qualification and professional development framework for early years and childcare workers in Scotland, known as the Standard for Childhood Practice. A report by HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) in Scotland looked at the relationship between the quality of provision offered to young children and the qualifications and training of those adults working with them. It identifies the importance of high level qualifications and training in early education for effective leadership skills and the delivery of quality provision for children. For more information, visit www.ltscotland.org.uk.

In August 2007, the Scottish Executive announced a capital grant of £8 million for Childcare, Early Years and Play (2007-2008). Each local authority was allocated an amount of money which they must use to 'improve quality and accessibility of early years, childcare and play facilities and provide scope for extended and integrated service delivery'.

In January 2005 Learning and Teaching Scotland launched Birth to Three: supporting our youngest children, guidance commissioned by the Scottish Executive Education Department. This guidance was intended for all those involved in caring for babies and very young children.

In 2002 Scotland moved away from baseline assessment on entry to primary school with its related concept of added value, at the same time as England embedded this approach. The Scottish Executive and Learning and Teaching Scotland launched a multimedia resource pack to help teachers and pre-school staff set common standards. The pack aimed to improve the consistency and reliability of assessment based on observing children - a step back from trends in the mid to late 1990s towards objective assessment of pupils as young as four and a half.

Schools

Education in Scotland has been organised separately from that in England and Wales since the Act of Union in 1707. Education is among the powers delegated to the Scottish Parliament. There is no national curriculum in Scotland. The national guidelines in the 5-14 programme are based on reports of working parties of professionals closely linked to work in schools. From 2008 Scotland will adopt a new 3 -18 curriculum. Assessment policy is significantly different from that in England. National testing was established to monitor progress but teachers decide when, during a child's primary career, is the appropriate times to give the national tests. There is also more emphasis on the centrality of the teacher in monitoring progress. This is reflected in the inspection system. See the different approaches to educational structure within the UK. In 2003, the Executive announced a new Scottish Survey of Achievement (SSA) to sample the performance of 5-14s nationally, replacing the Assessment of Achievement Programme and the annual 5-14 survey. The SSA would enable teachers to compare the performance of pupils in their own class with the performance of a national sample. For more information, visit www.ltscotland.org.uk/assess/of/ssa/index.asp

The central literacy focus in Scotland is on raising standards in primary schools. This has been combined with setting up integrated community schools which will bring together social work, health, psychological and other child professionals in the selected schools. The evaluation of the literacy hour in England  is tied in to the English testing and league table approach but this approach has not been adopted in Scotland. There is no pressure on Scottish primary teachers to adopt the literacy hour. 

National guidelines for English in Scotland have much in common with those in England but there is a greater recognition of the value of the diversity of culture and language within the community in the Scottish approach, particularly with regard to Gaelic and Scots. A useful book outlining the key differences between the Scottish and English approaches to education is Education in Scotland: Policy and practice from pre-school to secondary, edited by Margaret M Clark and Pamela Munn (Routledge). 

In 1997 the Executive published the White Paper Raising the Standard: a programme to raise standards in primary schools. In 1997 the early intervention initiative arose from concern about low standards of literacy and numeracy of pupils from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. Many of these pupils started school lacking the range of experiences, in language especially, which prepare them well for learning to read and write. As the initiative developed it became clear that many authorities extended the initiative, beyond those schools serving disadvantaged areas, to all school in their areas. The reasoning behind this was that it allowed all schools to have access to effective ways of developing literacy and numeracy.

In 1999 inspectors published Standards and Quality in Scottish Schools 1995-8, which found that 90% of primaries and 85% of secondaries had serious weaknesses. A fifth of heads were failing to provide good leadership. English and maths for 14 year olds was poor in 40% of schools and half of all primary school children needed an immediate improvement in their reading skills. In the same year, the A Scotland where everyone matters strategy was published. It said the objective for children was to break the cycle of deprivation faced in particular by the 17% estimated to be living in households where no one is working.  The educational milestones were: access for all to quality care and early learning before entering school, increased standards in reading, writing and maths, and the overall target for 2020 was that every young person should leave school with the maximum level of skills and qualifications possible and that every 19-year-old is engaged in work, education or training.

Following this the Standards in Scotland's Schools Bill was published in January 2000. The report recognised that school performance should be seen as more than exam results but it recognised that: "Qualifications do open doors to wider opportunities and literacy and numeracy remain fundamentally important skills." Curriculum debates have raged back and forth between those who fear rigidity and those who fear over concentration on literacy and numeracy would narrow the curriculum.

In June 2002 the Scottish Executive released the National Statement for Improving Attainment in Literacy in Schools. This included the establishment of the Home Reading Initiative to get parents reading with their children, visit www.readtogether.co.uk. In 2003, the executive backed up this statement by announcing that they would take action against schools which fail in this area.

In 2004, the Executive findings into children's competence in the three Rs showed that half of early years to secondary pupils were not reaching national standards in writing. The Executive launched its reform package, Ambitious, Excellent Schools, in November 2004. Literacy and numeracy had a greater emphasis at the heart of learning, with the new 3-18 curriculum offering "more opportunity to study in depth earlier and still within a broad curriculum." The first stages were to be implemented from 2007. In 2006 Building the Curriculum 3-18 was published. It stated: "Competence and confidence in literacy, including competence in grammar, spelling and the spoken word, is essential for progress in all areas of the curriculum. Because of this, all teachers have responsibility for promoting language and literacy development. Every teacher in each area of the curriculum needs to find opportunities to encourage children and young people to explain their thinking, debate their ideas and read and write at a level which will help them to develop their language skills further. With an increased emphasis upon literacy for all children and young people, teachers will need to plan to revisit and consolidate literacy skills throughout schooling and across the curriculum."

In Scotland boys have been rapidly closing the attainment gap on girls at the Higher and Advanced Higher qualification since their introduction in 1999. A crucial factor is said to be the architecture of the Higher Still programme, specifically its courses and units as well as the focus on internal assessment.

There have been two particularly successful, and much publicised, local literacy programmes in Scottish schools: West Dunbartonshire and Clackmannanshire. In November 2007, the TES reported that English schools were being condemned for almost the same standards that had recently been praised in West Dunbartonshire (WD). At the start of November 2007 Gordon Brown said that if schools in England followed the example of WD than every pupil in the country would reach the ‘expected level’ in literacy. While the TES praises WD’s literacy initiative it pointed out that ‘expected levels’ in England and Scotland are different. To read this article in full visit, www.tes.co.uk/search/story/?story_id=2460038

In 2007, the Progress in Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) found that the progress of Scottish 10-year-olds was significantly above the international average. However, 19 out of the 45 countries/regions had significantly higher mean scores than Scotland compared with 12 out of 35 in 2001. It also showed that Scottish pupils' attitudes towards reading and perceptions of their reading ability have worsened in comparison with the 2001 results.

Adults

 
In 2007 the Scottish Executive published 'Skills for Scotland: A Lifelong Skills Strategy'. The development of a Skills Strategy for Scotland was announced as part of the Scottish Government's first 100 days commitments by Fiona Hyslop during an education debate in June. The Strategy is a framework to show how all of the constituent parts of the education and learning systems can contribute to giving Scotland a skills base that is world class. For more information visit www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2007/09/10100853

In June 2000, the Scottish Executive announced new political commitment and financial support of £24 million for adult literacy and numeracy, the first significant investment for over 20 years. Learning Connections, a team based within Communities Scotland, was charged with developing and delivering a strategy for improving basic skills. The then Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Henry McLeish, launched the adult Literacy 2000 team, which over six months focused on how to raise standards in Scotland. The resulting document, Adult Literacy and Numeracy in Scotland, was published in 2001. You can download this document at www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/.

The report recommended that a 'development engine' be set up to transcend sectoral differences. It would oversee the development and implementation of a national training programme and curriculum and create an online databank for researchers, practitioners and volunteers. It would raise public awareness, including an annual literacy event on international literacy day (8 September). It would include a national research programme and eight pathfinder projects to target priority groups. Family literacy was higlighted as an effective mechanism in which adults have the chance to extend their own abilities while helping their children at the same time.

Success should be measured on learners' goals and their improvement, building on the core skills framework and progress file. The target set was to raise support for those with low literacy and numeracy problems from 2% of the adult population to 4.25% by 2004.

In 2001, Professor John Fairley of Strathclyde University and Norma Hurley of Blake Stevenson consultants investigated Scotland's lifelong learning strategy. Their study said provision was patchy, overlapping and fragmented, and lacking a coherent planning at the community level. The study said: "In one part of one city, different projects, courses, initiatives and programmes - often targeting the same potential unemployed individuals and offering the same sort of provision - can be offered by a social inclusion partnership, the employment service, the local enterprise company, a voluntary organisation, an FE college and a department of the local authority."

Workplace learning took a focus in 2002. After an initial investment by the Executive of £1.2 million in 2001 for the Scottish Trade Union Learning Fund to be used to encourage the take-up of workplace learning opportunities, in 2002, Wendy Alexander, the then Minister for Lifelong Learning, launched the first national projects to boost literacy in the workplace. Four pathfinder projects developed new approaches to improving adult literacy. The projects were focused in the prison service, the road haulage industry, trades unions and in the North Lanarkshire community. A report Delivering Work Based Learning was also published by the Scottish Executive Central Research Unit and the key findinges are available online at www.scotland.gov.uk/cru/resfinds/ell5-00.asp.

In September 2004, ministers hailed the success of the Scottish Adult Literacy and Numeracy Strategy in supporting over 71,000 people in its first three years, and announced that employers would be the focus of a fresh drive to boost literacy and numeracy. The Executive launched the Big Plus for Business campaign, using TV and radio adverts which aimed to raise awareness within the workplace and encourage employers to develop provision within their businesses, visit www.lds4partners.com/Why+work+with+us/Joint+campaigns/The+Big+Plus/

In 2005, HM Inspectorate of Education published Changing Lives: Adult Literacy and Numeracy in Scotland, a report which found that adult learning programmes were delivering real and positive benefits for people. For example, in 2000, it was estimated that about 800,000 people needed help with literacy and numeracy. By 2004, an estimated 71,000 had received support. For more information, visit www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/clalns.html However, in 2006 the Executive's NEET advisory group reported that Scotland came second only to the Slovak Republic in the numbers of young people aged 15 to 19 who were not in education, employment or training.

In 2007, the Executive published an information sheet Helping you meet the costs of learning: a guide to funding for older learners 2007-08. You can download it from www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/08/20114659/0

In 2008, the New Light on Adult Literacy and Numeracy in Scotland report found that many adults wanted to improve their literacy and numeracy skills, however only a relatively small number had participated in relevant programmes. The report says that this implies a need to examine the reasons for non take-up, to increase opportunities and create new ways of engaging with potential learners.

In 2008 the Scottish Labour party launched a commission into the state of literacy in Scotland. A Vision for Scotland: The Report and Final Recommendations of the Literacy Commission, was released in December 2009 and recommended that Scotland should have a ‘zero tolerance approach’ to illiteracy. 

The final report can be found at: http://www.scottishlabour.org.uk/uploads/