More Dundee pupils face leaving school without even one qualification thanks to tumbling attendance figures, according to a new analysis.
Labour Holyrood candidate and education specialist Barry Black has said a drop in the numbers of pupils attending school is likely to worsen already falling levels of attainment in the city.
He said: “Given what we know about the numbers of young people having to miss school due to Covid-19, it seems inevitable that there will be an impact on attainment.
“Decisions around education must be made with that in mind. Young people, their teachers and their schools must receive all the support and resources they need,” he added.
Pupils staying away from school
Mr Black is a postgraduate researcher at the University of Glasgow’s Urban Big Data Centre. He completed an analysis on qualifications gained and attendance in Dundee schools during the pandemic.
He compared school attendance on one day in November with the 2018/19 average.
On November 17 in Tayside almost 89% of the potential school roll attended. More than 92% turned up for class on average during the previous financial year.
Mr Black said Dundee schools had seen a 1.75% reduction in attendance compared to the figures for 2018/19.
Attainment among city pupils fell between 2016 and 2019, he added.
The number of school leavers gaining at least one qualification dropped over three school stages.
Those with at least one National 5 certificate dropped 2.3%. Leavers with a Higher or more fell 3.2% . Older teenagers with at least one Advance Higher dropped 1%, according to his analysis.
He said: “Young people and teachers in Dundee work incredibly hard, but they have been let down over years of real-terms cuts from the Scottish Government.
“More support was needed before the pandemic to support the attainment and achievement of young people in the city. This is made ever more urgent due to the impact of Covid-19 on education.”
Dundee schools have ‘improved significantly’ under SNP
Dundee City Council children’s convener Stewart Hunter said exam results, attainment results and positive destinations have “improved significantly” since the SNP took council control in 2009.
He said: “While there is still a lot of work to be done this has been achieved through the hard work of our young people, their parents and, of course, our staff. This is something the Labour Party consistently refuse to acknowledge.
“The figures that Labour have ‘uncovered’ were actually reported to committee last year. We also took to committee an action plan explaining the work schools were doing to ensure young people were given all the support they needed to leave school with qualifications.
“Unfortunately, as has been the case since 2009, the Labour Party have consistently opposed any proposals to improve education in the city.
“It is this illogical approach that has seen credibility in the Labour Party evaporate both in Dundee and Scotland over the last fifteen years.”
School absences driven by need to isolate
A Scottish Government spokesman said 0.9% of total absences across Scotland are due to a Covid-19 related sickness.
“The rise in overall Covid-19 related absences has been very substantially driven by pupils who are isolating. This demonstrates that caution is being applied where we know there are enhanced risks of transmission,” he said.
“In Dundee City, 91.7% of 2018-19 school leavers were in work, training or study within nine months of leaving school. That is up from 89.8% the previous year,” he added.
