THE standard of primary school education delivered by a Scottish council has been branded “unacceptable” in an independent report.

An expert in primary education drafted in by Clackmannanshire Council found too many of their schools were being graded “weak” or “satisfactory” by inspectors compared to the national average.

The report, obtained by The Herald following a freedom of information request, said 40 per cent of Clackmannanshire primaries were classed as “weak” by Education Scotland for the curriculum compared to a national average of just 14 per cent.

In addition, 30 per cent were “weak” for improving their performance and 20 per cent were “weak” for meeting the needs of pupils.

The results of standardised testing backed up the inspection reports. 

By the final year of primary school only two per cent of Clackmannanshire pupils were above the national average for mental arithmetic with just five per cent higher than average in reading and general maths.

The report’s author, Chris McIroy, a former teacher, headteacher and school inspector who is now a visiting professor at Strathclyde University, said: “All of the reports praise aspects of the quality of practice and the commitment of teachers in the schools.

“The best stand comparison with primary schools across Scotland achieving excellent and very good practice.

“However, the proportion of critical reports in comparison with the national picture is unacceptably high for a proud education authority and community that is committed to providing the best education for its children.”

Mr McIlroy said the “most striking message” was that the quality of the curriculum in Clackmannanshire schools compared poorly with national norms. He stated: “Given all of the emphasis nationally and locally on developing Curriculum for Excellence to provide learners with the knowledge, understanding and skills for the modern world, this is a disappointing picture relating to a quality indicator that describes key foundations for learning.”
Mr McIlroy said this “bleak picture” was further highlighted in individual inspection reports over the past few years.

One said: “Listening, talking, spelling and the use of grammar are not well developed. Children now need to be taught early literacy skills with greater rigour to ensure the pace of learning is appropriate.”

He concluded that the reports indicated an educational service “whose outcomes for many children fall far short of its vision statement” of promoting high achievement, attainment and ambition.

And he went on to blame headteachers and the education service for failing to support teachers in the roll out of Curriculum for Excellence stating: “The quality of curriculum in Clackmannanshire schools compares poorly with national norms.

“They indicate that the support for teachers on curriculum by the education service and headteachers was slower, less helpful and less effective than in many other councils.”

The report went on to state that the council had made recent improvements and there was greater stability with the appointment of permanent headteachers.

Mr McIlroy was called in to investigate the running of Clackmannanshire’s 18 primary schools by Elaine McPherson, chief executive of the council
She said: “We are committed to providing the very best education service for our young people in Clackmannanshire, and as part of this we commissioned this report some time ago as part of our review of Education provision.

“We have developed a new structure for education in Clackmannanshire, and a new Chief Education Officer - Anne Pearson - has been appointed, and she has now been joined by a team of three new Improving Outcomes Managers. They are focused on establishing a cluster-led approach as part of an education service which sets high aspirations and expectations to ensure the best possible outcomes for children and young people. The senior team is also working closely with officers from Stirling Council to move from the shared service with Stirling in a structured way.

“The Attainment Challenge in Clackmannanshire is also underway, and the team is working to improve literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing of young children with a number of programmes and interventions.”