Public satisfaction with schools in Scotland has hit the lowest level on record, figures show.
The data from the Scottish government’s annual Scottish Household Survey - which has been carried out since 1999 - shows that 80 per cent of households with a pupil in 2023 were satisfied with local schools.
This is the lowest level since the survey began in 2007-08, and compares with a peak of 90 per cent in 2012.
It also represents a fall of 5 percentage points compared with 2022, when the figure stood at 85 per cent. This is the largest year-on-year drop in the satisfaction level since the survey began.
The survey also shows that, in 2023, 69 per cent of the adult population as a whole was satisfied with local schools. This is the joint-lowest level since 2007-08 and 16 percentage points lower than the peak of 85 per cent reached in 2011.
Both results highlight a downward trend in the level of satisfaction with local schools since peaks in 2011 and 2012.
The lowest level of satisfaction among the adult population was in Dumfries and Galloway (54 per cent), with the highest in East Renfrewshire (84 per cent).
Satisfaction with school lower in poorer areas
Satisfaction was lower in the poorest parts of Scotland: two-thirds of adults in the 20 per cent most deprived areas were satisfied with local schools, compared with three-quarters in the 20 per cent least deprived areas.
Miles Briggs, the Scottish Conservatives’ education spokesperson, described the survey results as a “damning indictment of the SNP’s record on schools”.
He added: “Despite insisting education was their top priority, standards have slipped, teacher numbers have fallen and the poverty-related attainment gap has widened on their watch.”
Willie Rennie, the Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson, said: “Under the SNP, there is an overwhelming feeling that Scottish education is no longer the powerhouse it used to be.
“[Former first minister] Nicola Sturgeon once said that education would be her defining mission. Instead, the SNP’s legacy is mismanagement and neglect.”
Pam Duncan-Glancy, Scottish Labour’s education spokesperson, said: “These damning survey results show parents, staff and pupils are quickly losing confidence in the SNP’s ability to run our schools.
“It’s little wonder satisfaction has taken a nosedive at a time when exam results are plummeting and reports of violence in classrooms are soaring.”
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