Scottish schools are dedicating more time to literacy, numeracy and wellbeing as they emerge from the pandemic - but “in a few cases” this has been to the detriment of other subjects, finds a new review by school inspectors.
The Education Scotland review of approaches being taken to recovery from the Covid pandemic says “most schools” are putting in place “additional measures to support children and young people’s progress in key areas of literacy and numeracy”. This includes extra supported study sessions, senior learners acting as literacy mentors and the deployment of support staff.
However, the report adds that in “a number of schools” the curriculum has been reviewed and adapted to have a greater focus on literacy, numeracy and wellbeing, and that “in a few cases, the increased allocation of time in these curricular areas impacts on young people’s entitlement to a broad general education”.
A report published in England last year said that headteachers who had adopted a narrow curriculum that prioritised literacy and numeracy over other subjects to help with education recovery “tended to regret that pupils were missing out” and feared that staff were becoming “deskilled”.
The Education Scotland report, similarly, says that learning in the practical subjects has been among the hardest hit by the pandemic.
Schools narrowing the curriculum for Covid recovery
It says: “In secondary schools, senior leaders highlight that for many practical subjects, young people have gaps in their learning.”
The report adds that these gaps “are providing harder to address than [in] other subjects”.
According to the review, it was more difficult to develop practical skills during periods of remote learning because “teachers faced challenges in directly observing young people demonstrating their skills in practical science and drama” and pupils did not always have “access to appropriate resources, materials and equipment”.
The Education Scotland review of approaches to recovery is based on evidence gathered during visits undertaken in November and December 2021. Inspectors visited four nurseries; 15 primary schools, including 13 with nursery classes and one with Gaelic-medium education; 13 secondary schools; three special schools; three community learning and development services; three Gaelic schools; and Inverclyde Council’s education department.
The review says that most schools “are using existing approaches to further strengthen wellbeing for learners” but that a minority are also targeting specific cohorts. One school, it says, was targeting “young people in S3”, and particularly boys, who “are finding it difficult to manage situations of potential conflict” and among whom “the number of instances of misbehaviour has increased”.
One school featured in the report - Blairgowrie High in Perth and Kinross - employed a pastoral care worker with the remit of supporting female learners, after an analysis identified “issues of low mood and depression”.
But the report says that - although some school leaders are using the likes of their Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) money to appoint additional staff - staffing shortages are an issue and “often restrict senior leaders in using funding to recruit additional staffing to support recovery”.
When it came to Gaelic-medium education, one teacher told the inspectors that the gaps in pupils’ Gaelic language after periods of remote learning were “quite drastic”. This was particularly pronounced when there was no Gaelic being spoken at home.
According to the report, Gaelic-medium schools are tackling gaps in fluency “with interventions and adjustments to the curriculum”, including “having a focus on listening and talking using total immersion approaches”.
Another school featured in the report - Condorrat Primary in North Lanarkshire - adjusted the curriculum to deliver total Gaelic immersion to children in P4-7 for six weeks.
The report says: “Teachers’ monitoring noted children regaining confidence in speaking Gaelic and using it as a medium of learning.”
The full Education Scotland report can be read here.
