Schools in Fife are making good progress in closing the attainment gap between pupils in well off areas and those from poorer backgrounds, it has been claimed.
Peter McNaughton, head of education and children’s services at Fife Council, told regional councillors that teachers and education officers should be proud of the work being conducted to create a level playing field for all pupils.
He was addressing members of the region’s education scrutiny committee, adding that Fife was leading the way in adapting its curriculum to assist youngsters.
“In a Fife context, irrespective of what is happening elsewhere, we are committed to doing the best for every child in school and to improve their employment skills.
“Attainment levels are good and getting better and literacy and numeracy scores have seen sustained improvement.
“S4 and S5 are also doing well.
“I don’t want to gloat but we should be proud of what we are doing,” said Mr McNaughton.
“This is not a case of us trying to fix anything but acknowledging that the world is changing fast and what we are seeking to do is take maximum advantage of available resources.”
Mr McNaughton told members that a series of initiatives was in place to assist pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.
At the forefront of this is the Raising Attainment for All (RAFA) initiative, the Scottish Government scheme that has been adopted by dozens of schools within the kingdom.
However, despite the positive outlook from McNaughton, Councillor Susan Leslie, chairwoman of the education scrutiny committee, said that more information was required to verify the claims.
“We have heard about the good work that is being done in many of our schools,” she said.
“But further information will also have to be brought forward to ensure that we have the evidence to support the claims of improvement.
“We do know that Fife compares well to other parts of Scotland in sustaining good performance in literacy and numeracy but we need to ensure that this is sustained, through the period of change that is being highlighted by the Scottish Government.”
