SCOTTISH schools are facing further reform in a bid to improve basic skills and close the attainment gap between rich and poor, the Education Secretary has said.

Writing in The Herald a day before a major announcement on the future running of schools John Swinney said the status quo was not an option.

Tomorrow, Mr Swinney will set out his thinking on Scottish Government proposals to create educational regions aimed at providing more uniform support for schools across the country.

Precise details of the plan have not been disclosed prior to an official announcement in the Scottish Parliament.

However, it is known Mr Swinney is frustrated by what he sees as the variable quality of support for improvement that exists in different council areas.

A number of surveys have also pointed to a decline in standards of basic literacy and numeracy in recent years following the roll-out of the Curriculum for Excellence.

Mr Swinney said: “Fundamentally, Scotland has a good education system, with great teachers and engaged pupils. To suggest otherwise does a massive disservice to our young people and teachers.

“However, the recent PISA and literacy scores show the genuine challenges we face in raising the bar for all and closing the poverty-related attainment gap.

“As part of the relentless drive to improve Scottish education, we must therefore embrace the need to reform and reshape our education system. We need to get the whole system pulling in the same direction.”

Mr Swinney said reforms already undertaken by the Government such as direct funding to help disadvantaged pupils were designed to make teachers and parents the key decision makers in the life of a school.

Under Pupil Equity Funding £120 million has been allocated directly to headteachers this year to help close the attainment gap between rich and poor.

However, Mr Swinney said this “vision of empowerment and devolution” had to go further.

He added: “It is a vision that requires the Scottish Government and local government to work together with all partners to drive improvement in Scottish education.

“There are some who say nothing needs to change. But it is clear that doing more of the same will not achieve our ambitions for our children and their future.

“We must go further to drive improvements, putting young people at the heart of Scottish education and supporting and empowering headteachers, teachers and parents.”

Proposals to create educational regions have already provoked widespread concerns from teaching unions, parents and councils.

Fears have been voiced that the move would undermine local democracy, create an additional layer of bureaucracy and kickstart a damaging turf war over who was in charge of education.

Proposals to change the law to make headteachers accountable for standards have also sparked alarm with critics warning of the potential for disgruntled parents to take legal action against individual schools.

Teachers have also argued that a period of stability is absolutely vital to allow the changes that have already taken place to bed down.

Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland teaching union said: “Improving learning in our classrooms can be achieved by providing greater support to teachers through improved resourcing and creating time to teach.

“None of these require organisational change, but all of them require change in the culture of local and national government.”

Swinney under mounting pressure on teachers’ workload and pay

TEACHERS have hit out at their rising workloads, blaming exam bureaucracy, shortages of staff and the “constant” cycle of new initiatives.

The concerns have been aired in a survey of more than 1,000 teachers by the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) union.

The poll shows 86 per cent of teachers believe their workload has risen in the last year and fewer than half say they would recommend teaching as a career.

The results come despite a pledge last year by Education Secretary John Swinney to reduce workload.

One teacher who responded described “lots of extra work and pressure in regards to measuring raising attainment”.

Another said: “The workload is far more than I should have to deal with and I could say “No”, but then this has a negative impact on pupils.”

A third said: “The number of different and changing systems to use every year makes it difficult to stay ahead of the workload as does constant changes to the curriculum.”

Another teacher added: “We are getting too many new initiatives without negotiation, no resources and management expect that we will work whatever number of hours required.”

Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the EIS, described the findings as “worrying”.

He said: “The findings indicate the pressures on teachers are excessive and growing.”

Mr Flanagan called for an immediate cut to workload as well as action to address a real terms reduction in teacher pay of 13 per cent since 2003.

Tavish Scott, education spokesman for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, called on the Scottish Government to “get its head out of the sand”.

He said: “Teachers believe their workload is rising despite a year of assurances from the Government that they are tackling this major problem.”

However, Mr Swinney said the Government was “absolutely committed” to freeing up teachers to teach.

He said: “We have already acted to reduce workload as agreed with the EIS and others and we are removing mandatory unit assessments. We have also issued a definitive statement that clearly sets out, for all teachers, what they should and should not be asked to do.”

On the issue of pay, Mr Swinney urged school staff to negotiate rather than take strike action.

However, he accepted it was difficult to continue to accept public sector pay constraints with rising inflation and said the Government would look at it.