Targeting Excellence - Modernising Scotland's Schools

Chapter 2 - Targeting Excellence in Learning

"Each school must provide an environment which gives a sense of purpose in the curriculum, in teaching and in learning."

As this White Paper demonstrates, the learning environment for each child is much wider than the school: it embraces the home, the community and the everyday life of the child. Each school must provide an environment which gives a sense of purpose in the curriculum, in teaching and in learning, so that each child progresses with confidence from one stage to the next. What happens in the classroom is also important in ensuring that individual children have respect and care for others and develop a sense of social responsibility.

Aims for the Curriculum: Key Priorities

1. The school curriculum should ensure that all children develop A commitment to learning Respect and care for self Respect and care for others A sense of social and civic responsibility.

2. Certain skills are essential to foster the personal and social development of young people; to enable them to develop a healthy lifestyle and to become equipped to enter employment. These include Personal and interpersonal skills The ability to work with others Literacy, communication and language skills Numeracy skills Information and communication technology skills Problem solving skills Learning and thinking skills.

3. The programmes and courses within 5-14, Standard Grade and Higher Still build on the traditional strengths of the Scottish system and provide a comprehensive framework for the development of these skills. The Government will pursue the following key priorities Improving learning at the S1 and S2 stage A determined national strategy to provide all pupils with appropriate literacy and numeracy skills Improving arrangements for assessment, 5-14 Improving the teaching of science, particularly at the 5-14 stages Ensuring all pupils receive 6 years of effective teaching in modern languages from P6 Challenging the most able Ensuring that attainment in S3/S4 continues to rise, as measured by Standard Grade performance Improving the quality and coherence of the post-16 experience through the progressive implementation of Higher Still

The 5-14 Programme

4. The principles of the curriculum established by the 5-14 Programme are clear. It must deliver a sound education to all children in the basic skills on which further learning will be based, ie literacy, numeracy, science and wider language skills. This must be achieved within the context of a broad and balanced programme which encourages children to explore all the areas of learning essential to realising their potential.

5. Schools and teachers have already put huge efforts into implementing the programme. The interests of children will best be served by full implementation from P1 to S2 at the earliest possible date. The target for achieving full implementation is the end of the present school session. This must be achieved.

Improving S1 and S2

6. It is vital that we ensure proper continuity and progression in learning from the early years, through the middle years of primary into upper primary and early secondary. Effective transition from primary to secondary is particularly vital. Too many pupils fail to make sufficient progress in the first 2 years of secondary school. Inspection, international surveys and the Assessment of Achievement Programme surveys into English language, mathematics and science continue to provide evidence of unsatisfactory progress. Vigorous and sustained action is required.

S1-S2 - Cause for Concern

HM Inspectors' report on Standards and Quality in Scottish Schools 1992-95 drew attention to a dip in the quality of learning and teaching and in meeting pupils' needs at these stages.

The Standards and Quality in Scottish Schools 1995-98 shows some further decline in standards at these stages The curriculum is weakest in S1/S2 More than half of secondary schools need to improve the pace of lessons and raise expectations of what pupils can achieve, particularly in S1/S2; and meeting pupils' individual learning needs in S1/S2 was fair or unsatisfactory in more than half of secondary schools Performance in English and maths was poorer than in 1992-5. In English it was good or very good in only 60% of schools, in mathematics in only 40% of schools.

7. HM Inspectors of Schools set a clear agenda for improvement in Achieving Success in S1/S2. They noted The failure of secondary schools to implement 5-14 guidelines Slow progress by pupils at these stages A fragmented curriculum, the result of too many courses being delivered by too many teachers Too little account being taken of pupil's experience in primary school Limited opportunities for pupils to benefit from direct teaching.

8. Action is necessary to address these failings. From the start of the session 1999-2000, we must ensure that for each pupil in both S1 and S2 Teaching and learning in every area of the curriculum is based on 5-14 curriculum and assessment guidelines They have a coherent curriculum, timetabled in accordance with the criteria published by HM Inspectors in Achieving Success in S1/S2 Class organisation or grouping within classes allows teachers to take full account of the pupil's previous learning and individual needs across different subject areas Support is given from an identified teacher who is responsible for monitoring the pupil's progress towards well understood targets and for supporting and encouraging the pupil in work across the curriculum There is good quality teaching which is clearly focused on learning objectives which includes a substantive amount of direct interactive teaching, and is supported by appropriate homework.

9. In the longer term, to support the development of an ethos of achievement at S1 and S2, the Government will Promote closer working between secondary and primary teachers as children approach the critical transition to S1 Pilot the development of a Statement of Achievement. This will summarise the achievements of all pupils at the end of S2, marking the achievements of S2 pupils before they stop certain subjects in order to start their Standard Grade courses Keep advice on the curriculum especially at S1 and S2 under careful review. The Government looks forward to receiving final recommendations from the Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum on the revised guidelines on curriculum design for the secondary school. It expects that particular attention will be paid to the need to focus teaching and learning so that classroom time in S1 and S2 is used to best effect, and to allow flexibility in curriculum design so that the curriculum can be tailored to pupils' needs.

A National Strategy for Literacy and Numeracy

10. It is important that the focus on literacy and numeracy in the early years is not lost as children progress. A survey of attainment at 5-14 stages carried out between April to June 1998 indicated that an average of only 53% of children achieved the level expected for their age group in writing, 68% in reading and 72% in mathematics. Figures for S2 were worse: 33% for writing, 38% for reading and 39% for mathematics. The information in this survey was not complete and it may not be a wholly accurate picture; but it is clear that we must do better. The Government has therefore embarked on a national strategy for improving our level of achievement in literacy and numeracy. The strategy includes Expanding the Early Intervention Programme to a total of £60m over 5 years Developing a framework for setting targets in primary and secondary schools to raise the level of achievement in literacy and numeracy in line with the national benchmark of 80% of children achieving the relevant stages in primary schools and 75% at S2 £30m over 3 years from the Excellence Fund to support in-service training of teachers with particular emphasis on literacy and numeracy in the P6 to S2 stages £15m over 3 years from the Excellence Fund to support family literacy schemes - helping parents to help children to read New guidelines for initial teacher education which emphasise that the training of teachers must take particular account of the need to improve literacy and numeracy Support for the National Year of Reading which celebrates the written word in all its forms and engages the whole community in a national effort to raise literacy standards. £100,000 has been made available for a writing competition for school pupils.

11. In addition, authorities and schools should implement the recommendations of HM Inspectors' report Improving Mathematics 5-14 and Improving Reading at the Early Stages 5-14.

5-14 - Assessment Arrangements

12. Reporting to parents on children's progress improved under the 5-14 programme, but the present system of assessment still does not provide a sufficiently consistent or reliable basis for measuring the achievements of the individual child or schools. Teachers' professional judgement has been reinforced by the national tests available, but there is a need for more consistent models and practices in assessment so that Children are appropriately challenged and their learning is planned to meet their needs Parents have confidence that their child's progress is being accurately assessed; that their school is doing what it should Parents understand the meaning of the reports Teachers know how effectively they are adding value The community know how well schools are performing.

13. HM Inspectors of Schools were asked in November 1998 to review current arrangements for 5-14 assessment and testing. Their review will present a number of options for improvement to ensure that the needs of the children, their parents and their teachers are most effectively met. The Government intends to consult widely on these options with the objective of putting in place a national system for assessment and testing which will ensure for every pupil a system which is fair, helpful, clear, accurate and consistent across the country.

Improving the Teaching of Science

14. Recent national and international surveys have provided evidence that Scottish pupils are underachieving in science, particularly at the upper stages of primary and in S1/S2. Many primary teachers also lack confidence in teaching science. Given the importance of science for our economic future, the Government is committed to improving pupils' attainment in this vital area and the following action is in hand National guidelines 5-14 on environmental studies, including science, are being reviewed and simplified HM Inspectors of Schools are publishing a report on Improving Science 5-14 later this year HMI's review of assessment will cover the assessment of pupils performance in science.

TIMSS - Cause for Concern

The most recent international study which Scotland participated in was the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 1995. Over 40 countries were involved and the knowledge and skills of pupils aged 9 and 13 were assessed using both written and practical tests In both the written and practical tests in mathematics Scottish pupils performed lower than the average for all countries at both ages - the only good performance in written tests was in geometry at the age 9 stage In the written tests in science Scottish pupils performed slightly better than the average for all other countries, though our performance was not particularly good on any aspect and especially poor on life-sciences Scotland's best performance was in the science experimental tasks where we came 4th out of 19 countries.

Improving Modern Languages

15. Despite improved approaches to the teaching of languages, most Scottish pupils have difficulty in communicating effectively in other languages in real situations. The reasons for this may be embedded in our society and culture. They must, however, be tackled if Scotland is to maintain and improve its position in European and World markets in the next century and if we are to develop our understanding and sympathy for other nations and cultures. HM Inspectors of Schools have recently published a report, Standards and Quality in Primary and Secondary Schools 1994-1998: Modern Languages, which raises important issues about provision for the teaching of modern languages in primary and secondary schools. It commends much good practice but is generally critical of the approach to language teaching. In the light of that report the Government has set up an Action Group on Languages. This Group will work with organisations, including the Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum and the Scottish Qualifications Authority to Review the 5-14 guidelines on modern languages Secure the place of modern languages in the 5-14 programme Develop exemplar materials for 5-14 modern languages Develop assessment materials for 5-14 modern languages Advise on attainment targets for modern languages in primary and secondary Advise on further training of teachers of modern languages 5-14.

16. We will also Ask the Scottish Qualifications Authority to review the Standard Grade arrangements for modern languages to address the question of over emphasis on speaking at the expense of reading and writing Develop an enhanced role for the Scottish Centre for International Language Teaching and Research in promoting modern languages by bringing the best research in modern language teaching from around the world to Scottish teachers, and promoting best practice in modern language education Ensure that HM Inspectors monitor the response of schools to Standards and Quality in Primary and Secondary Schools 1994-1998: Modern Languages over the coming years.

Challenging the Most Able

17. It is vital that every child can develop to his or her full potential and for some children that will mean stretching them well beyond the average for their age and stage. Additional ways must be found of providing able children with sufficient challenge. As a start, the Government proposes to Complete the development and introduction of Level F to provide a further level of attainment for pupils who have attained Level E Consider adding targets for more able children to the targets for primary and secondary schools for the 5-14 stage. For example, schools might set targets for the achievement of Level E at P7 Support the Scottish Network for Able Pupils and consider ways in which the network can further promote its work with schools and local authorities.