Are schools really failing to teach the basics?

If you have seen some of the newspaper headlines recently, you may have wondered about the state of our primary schools. Well ... read on

Recently published data seemed to show wide differerences in the numbers of young children achieving basic standards in reading, writing and arithmetic. The first "league tables" of academic skills in Scotland's primary schools showed that in about half of Glasgow's primary schools the majority of pupils leave without reaching "minimum standards" in reading and writing.

But as SPTC Development Manager, Judith Gillespie commented to "The Herald" (16th November 2005): "Glasgow doesn't hide the fact its youngsters don't do as well as kids in other places, but that's not attributable to the schools - it's the impact of deprivation on attainment. What these figures have done is draw a map of deprivation."

For more on this story, go to the following websites:

www.theherald.co.uk

www.parentzonescotland.gov.uk

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