Education, Children and Families Convener, Councillor James Dalgleish writes in the Evening News today about the narrowing of the attainment figures in our schools across the city.
The saying commonly goes that ‘school days are the best days of your life’ and this is a concept I’ve been considering in my new role as education convener.
While some will look back on their time at school fondly, there are others, including myself, who had a more mixed experience.
Since taking on my new role last month I’ve been learning more about the fantastic work that goes on in Edinburgh’s schools every day to support learners of all ages and stages - whether an academic or vocational route or a mixture of the two.
I was particularly eager to hear about work undertaken to improve attainment and support learners in new and engaging ways in our secondary schools. A report on attainment and pathways, set to be discussed at committee next week, highlights our curriculum pathways strategy.
We want to provide inclusive, equitable and relevant learning opportunities, ensuring that there is access to a curriculum that works for our young people.
One of the ways we are doing this is by offering learners the opportunity to experience a varied, dynamic and engaging school day, where they see the relevance of their learning in relation to real-world career opportunities.
Across our secondary schools, this includes our roofing, construction and stone carving pathway designed for senior phase learners to develop workplace-ready skills, enabling them to gain qualifications and to make informed choices about life beyond school.
These courses are delivered through a range of partnerships between schools, local colleges, universities and employers. This includes our construction courses which are organised using a place based approach with Edinburgh College staff delivering courses in schools across the city. Similarly, Kier Construction and Balfour Beattie have partnered with schools to deliver learning within the school setting.
I’m pleased to hear that some of our young people have already gone on to secure jobs, apprenticeships and college places as a result of our collaboration with industry.
With Scottish Government figures published earlier this year revealing an increase in the number of pupils in Scotland leaving school at the end of S4, we want to buck this trend. The structure that the school environment offers a young person is hugely beneficial, and a curriculum beyond classroom-based learning, is one of the ways we are driving school attendance and attainment.
It’s encouraging to see that the performance of the most disadvantaged learners in our city has improved across all measures with the gap between the most and least disadvantaged young people narrowing. There is of course always more that can be done in this area, particularly for care experienced young people and learners in receipt of free school meals. We are focused on looking at ways to raise attainment and achievement across the board and ensuring our curriculum offer meets the needs of all learners.
The reality is that a curriculum that focuses on exams and academic achievement alone isn’t for everyone. We are starting to see the impact of a broader and more innovative approach to learning that caters for a range of student capabilities.
Integration of vocational courses is at the heart of this so that young people across Edinburgh leave school having had the opportunity to reach their potential, and hopefully with an abundance of positive memories of their school days.