The worrying trend of Dumfries and Galloway primary pupils lagging behind in attainment levels has been highlighted once again this week.
Pupils in P1, P4, and P7 were found to be trailing the Scottish national average in all four key areas of learning: reading, writing, literacy and numeracy.
Assessments are carried out again when pupils reach S3 in high school, but by that time only their numerical skills have caught up with the country’s national average.
The figures have been collated in a new attainment report, which is due to be tabled at Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Nithsdale Area Committee next week.
This comes a month after a teaching representative told councillors that attainment levels are suffering due to a lack of staff and limited resources.
The attainment summary report for the 2022/23 school year gives a breakdown of attainment figures for primary schools in Nithsdale, regionwide, and also compares them to the Scottish national average.
The report explains: “The Scottish Government requested Curriculum for Excellence teacher judgements to be recorded and collected at individual pupil level, for all pupils in the stages of P1, P4, P7 and S3.”
Teacher judgements cover the four organisers of reading, writing, listening and talking and numeracy.
Pupils for whom the teacher has been unable to make a professional judgement are not included in the published results.
Here are the attainment levels for Dumfries and Galloway P1 pupils in 2022/23, with the Scottish average figure in brackets: reading – 74.7 per cent (80.6 per cent); writing – 72.7 percent (78.4 per cent); literacy – 68.5 per cent (75.7 per cent); and numeracy – 78.1 per cent (84.7 per cent).
P4 pupil attainment levels: reading – 70.8 per cent (77.9 per cent); writing – 63 per cent (70 per cent); literacy – 59.7 per cent (69.7 per cent); numeracy – 69.5 per cent (76.9 per cent).
P7 pupil attainment levels: reading – 75.4 per cent (80.3 per cent); writing – 69 per cent (75.2 per cent); literacy – 65.5 per cent (73 per cent); numeracy – 73.7 per cent (77.7 per cent).
At last month’s education committee, a teacher warned councillors that it is becoming “impossible” to properly educate youngsters in Dumfries and Galloway classrooms due to a lack of staff.
Julie Irving, who teaches at Gatehouse Primary School, claimed that many teachers are too busy struggling to manage pupil behaviour rather than teach – which is then having a knock-on effect on attainment levels.
Mrs Irving called for an increase in learning assistants which would result in teachers being given the support they desperately need in the classroom.
She said: “I’m speaking from personal experience, but I’ve also had a lot of teachers contact me since the start of term saying they are struggling to teach because all we are doing is managing stressed behaviour.
“We’re doing the best we can with the resources we have.
“But those resources are limited.
“We don’t have enough staff to help us support these children displaying these distressed behaviours.
“It’s not the child’s fault they’re displaying distressed behaviours.
“As teachers, we want to help them and get them an education, enjoying our classrooms and learning.
“But their behaviour has a knock-on impact on how we can teach, on when we can teach, on what we can teach – and therefore attainment.”