IT is one of the biggest and most complex challenges in Scottish education: how to close the attainment gap and ensure that every child has the same opportunity to succeed whatever their background. But where should we look for answers?
In the past, politicians have sometimes tended to look outside Scotland. Some of the Scottish Government’s policies have been inspired by the London Challenge initiative, which has achieved some impressive results since 2003. And last year, the education secretary John Swinney set up a council of international advisors made up of educationalists from the US, Canada, Finland, Sweden and other countries.
These initiatives may still prove useful – however, it is just as important that we do not overlook what is happening at home, specifically in Glasgow. According to new figures, there have been dramatic improvements in the achievements of pupils in the city in the last ten years. The number securing one or more Higher has risen by 91 per cent over the decade and the rise in those achieving five or more Highers has been even higher at 94 per cent.
The improvements look even more impressive when put in context. Glasgow has huge levels of poverty and deprivation and yet it is often the schools in areas of the city with the biggest challenges that are achieving some of the most impressive results. Take Castlemilk High School for example. There was a time when the school had no pupils achieving five or more Highers, but this year nine per cent of its pupils reached that level. The numbers involved may still be relatively small, but the improvement is significant.
So what lessons can we take away? The first is that you do not necessarily need a big budget or flashy policy initiatives to make a difference. Much of the improvement in Glasgow in the last ten years has been achieved quietly and behind the scenes; it is about simple targets, improving teaching standards and removing those who are not up to the job, and above all, changing what was often a culture of negativity. There was a time when some teachers and council officials would say of poor results that it was just the way Glasgow was; now there is an increasing expectation that pupils can and should go on to college or university.
A change in the way many schools handle exclusions has also helped. It can be tempting to think that excluding troublesome pupils is good for the school overall, but the opposite would appear to be the case, with standards improving as exclusions have fallen. The reason seems clear: pupils will only improve if they are in school and teachers can work with them. Exclude a pupil and they are less likely to achieve.
Of course, there is no one single explanation for the improvement in Glasgow, and there is still a long way to go to close the attainment gap. But there are beginnings of real hope in what is happening in the city: improvements in teaching, a focus on working with pupils rather than excluding them, and above all an optimistic approach to what pupils can achieve
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