Big County schools are improving education

Oct 28 2008 by Our Correspondent, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

BIG County schools have seen a steady improvement in reading, writing and mathematics attainment over the last five years.

This is one of the key points that will be highlighted in a report to the Lifelong Learning Committee’s tomorrow.

Councillors will consider an analysis of 2008 results from across Perth and Kinross schools, covering attainment by primary and S2 pupils and performance in this year’s SQA exams diet.

As well as continued steady rises in attainment in literacy and numeracy, in the past year there has been significant improvement in reading and writing for pupils by the end of S2, with 98% achieving functional levels in both areas.

Pupils are performing better at Standard Grade in a range of subjects including English and mathematics.

Ongoing work to support pupils and promote positive behaviour has also borne fruit with a reduction of 20% in exclusions from school in the most recent (2007-2008) school session.

Further work to maintain and build on these achievements is planned.

Resources are being targeted to help vulnerable learners achieve more.

The ongoing development of A Curriculum for Excellence is intended to ensure every child can develop skills for learning, life and work, with greater opportunities for personalised learning.

Additional training for teachers is being provided to further improve the quality of learning and teaching, and a continued focus is being given to using assessment information to plan next steps for learning.

Lifelong Learning Convener, Councillor Liz Grant said: “We cannot be complacent though and we are very much focussed on building on what has already been achieved.”