LABOUR LEAADER INSISTS SNP MUST DO BETTER ON ATTAINMENT IN OUR SCHOOLS

However, in West Dunbartonshire where we live and work and where our children go to school, it would be correct to say that Labour cannot be absolved  from this since they have been in power almost continuously since I started reporting on local government matters half a century ago.

Politics is a blame game with “It’s no’ oor fault” and “that wisnae us” consistently the plea in mitigation put forward by all the political parties and none.

Although, around these parts, there are just two parties in the frame. Labour and the SNP.

And there is no love lost between them where both are swift to take umbrage at even the mildest of criticism.

It was Labour’s turn to put the boot into the SNP at First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday.

Anas Sarwar alleged: “Almost a decade ago, when John Swinney was education secretary, he said that the defining mission of the Government was education.

“On Tuesday, it was revealed that, under the Scottish National Party, attainment in Scotland’s schools is declining across the board and that, shamefully, outcomes for young working-class Scots are getting worse compared with outcomes for those from wealthier backgrounds.

“Today, the Auditor General for Scotland [Stephen Boyle] said that the SNP had failed to properly provide support for pupils with additional support needs. He said: ‘The Scottish Government has failed to plan effectively’, and and he went on to say that ‘it is unclear whether all children’s right to have an education that fully develops their personality, talents and abilities is being met’.”

First Minister John Swinney replied: “I am always prepared to listen to reports from the Auditor General and to consider the implications for the Government and for local authorities, which are responsible for the delivery of education in our country.

“We take those issues seriously. It is important that I reassure members of the public about the progress that has been made on closing the attainment gap.

“Under this Government, the overall poverty-related attainment gap has reduced by 60 per cent since 2009-10.

“In relation to meeting literacy standards in primary schools, the poverty-related attainment gap between young people from the most-deprived areas and those from the least-deprived areas is 20.1 percentage points, which is a record low.

“In relation to additional support for learning—I accept the absolute necessity to ensure that good outcomes are achieved for those young people—the attainment gap between school pupils with additional support needs and those without has reduced by almost half since 2009-10, from 45.3 percentage points to 23.1 percentage points.

“I accept that more needs to be done, but important and substantial progress is being made on closing the attainment gap, and that is good for children and young people in our country.”

Anas Sarwar pressed on:”John Swinney was the person who was tasked with improving Scottish education, and he has failed. Last year, 42.6 per cent of pupils, almost 24,000 young people, left school without a single higher or equivalent qualification; 16.5 per cent, more than 9,000 children, left school without a single national 5 or equivalent qualification; and 1,300 young people left school without the most basic qualifications. The future of every one of those children should matter.

“Let us not forget that it was John Swinney who downgraded the exam results of working-class kids during the pandemic. Now, as First Minister, he is overseeing the betrayal of young Scots, with the attainment gap widening. Why is the SNP Government letting down a generation of young Scots?”

The First Minister  answered: “I am afraid that Mr Sarwar will have to learn to adapt his questions based on the information that I put on the record. Let me repeat that information …

“Mr Sarwar talked about the outcomes for young people leaving school. The percentage of young people in a positive destination three months after leaving school is 95.7 per cent, which is the second-highest level since records began.

“I accept that there is work to be done, but Mr Sarwar has to accept the evidence that I am putting on the record. As a consequence of the investment that this Government has made, we are making progress in improving outcomes for young people and in closing the attainment gap. The Parliament should support that endeavour.”

Anas Sarwar persisted: “The Government includes a zero-hours contract or voluntary work as a ‘positive destination’ for young Scots. I quoted the figure of 42.6 per cent of pupils leaving school last year without a single higher or equivalent qualification, and it is interesting that the First Minister did not respond to that statistic.

“Almost 45 per cent of young people are leaving our schools without a single higher. Teachers have been warning about that for years. This morning, education expert Professor Lindsay Paterson said: ‘The Scottish Government has never had a coherent strategy for dealing with the educational effects of poverty.’

“The promise that I make is that, as First Minister, I will make sure that every young Scot can reach their potential. We will agree new Scottish industry standards so that young people can see the future opportunities that their school subjects and qualifications will give them. That is the new direction that we offer.

“After nearly two decades, the SNP has nobody else to blame for the damage that has been done to Scotland’s education system. Is it not clear that the SNP’s defining mission is now its defining failure?”

The First Minister rejected the Labour First Minister’s claim: “Mr Sarwar might have conjured up that script before he asked me any questions, but I have refuted the detail that he has put on the record, because, as I recounted to him a second ago, we are making progress on closing the attainment gap. Under this Government, the attainment gap has reduced by 60 per cent since 2009-10, and I am absolutely determined to improve outcomes for young people.

“Why are we doing that? We are doing that because this Government put in investment, through the expansion of early learning and childcare, to give children the best start in life. This Government has put money in place to support improvement in the lives of young people living in poverty through the Scottish child payment—originally, it was set at £5 for every eligible child; now, it is £26.70—which is helping to lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty.

“That is why Scotland is the only part of the United Kingdom where it is projected that poverty among children will fall, whereas it will rise in every other part of the United Kingdom under the stewardship in England and Wales of the Labour Party.  People in Scotland should look at what the SNP has delivered to improve the opportunities and the life chances of the children and young people of Scotland, and they should then look at what a Labour Government does: it went into office promising to reduce fuel bills for individuals in our country, which then went up. Labour delivers broken promises to the people of Scotland, and Mr Sarwar will be no different.”