Numeracy Improves In Primary Schools

27th March 2012

Scotland's primary classes, implementing Curriculum for Excellence, are achieving and sustaining high performance in numeracy skills while more focussed action will be taken in secondary classes to raise standards, Education Secretary Michael Russell said today.

The findings were published today as part of the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy (SSLN), the first ever national survey of primary and secondary pupils' numeracy skills.

Speaking from Stenhouse Primary School in Edinburgh today, Mr Russell said:"Given that we have deliberately raised the bar with Curriculum for Excellence - with high standards expected at each level, the strong performance of primary pupils in maths and numeracy is hugely encouraging. It provides a clear picture that, alongside Scotland's teachers' unwavering commitment, learning and teaching under Curriculum for Excellence is improving life chances for our children and young people.

"A common and historic trend is for performance to dip between mid and upper primary and then dip again in early secondary. So it is particularly welcoming to see the high performance in P4 maintained through to P7 under Curriculum for Excellence.

"However, this high performance must also be sustained and improved through to secondary. The performance results taken from S2, who were the last cohort of pupils not to benefit from Curriculum for Excellence, shows that more is needed and the link between deprivation and attainment remains too strong.

"For the first time we have a detailed picture of numeracy across Scotland which enables us to focus in on the areas most needing support in pre-CfE secondary learning such as fractions.

"Education Scotland will today release the first in a series of teaching support materials designed to tackle these areas. Particular support for secondaries, in addition to the numeracy materials and networks already available, will also be put in place to drive improvement.

"We knew that more could be done to improve literacy and numeracy and raise attainment. This is why we introduced a new curriculum which is now paying off. This Government is committed to doing all we can to support our hugely talented and committed teachers as well as our tens of thousands of children and young people eager to learn."

Marlene Galashen, Head Teacher of Stenhouse Primary School, said:"At Stenhouse, teachers are aware that a crucial aspect of their work is to enthuse pupils as they develop fundamental numeracy skills, and learn how to apply their knowledge in everyday life, learning and work.

"As a result of the emphasis which Curriculum for Excellence has placed on numeracy, Stenhouse pupils experience an increased amount of time spent on number and mental maths and more opportunities to talk about their work, Where appropriate, the link between numeracy and other curricular areas is identified and taught within the selected context, enhancing enjoyment of learning about numbers."

Scotland's Chief Statistician today published the results of the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy (SSLN).

This is the first of what will be an annual sample survey monitoring national performance in literacy and numeracy in alternate years, for school children at P4, P7 and S2.

Some of the main findings are:

About 76 per cent of P4 pupils were performing well or very well in numeracy at first level, at P7 about 72 per cent of pupils were performing well or very well at second level and at S2 about 42 per cent of pupils were performing well or very well at third level.

The percentage of pupils not yet working within their respective levels in numeracy was less than one per cent in P4, about two per cent in P7 and about 32 per cent in S2.
Boys tended to outperform girls in numeracy at P4 and P7.

S2 pupils living in areas with lower levels of deprivation were twice as likely to be performing well or very well as pupils living in areas with higher levels of deprivation.

The vast majority of pupils said they enjoyed learning, though the strength of agreement reduced among older pupils. Over 90 per cent of pupils agreed that what they were learning would be useful to them outside school.

Over 90 per cent of primary school teachers and over 80 per cent of secondary school teachers reported they were very or fairly confident that they can improve learning using the CfE experiences and outcomes for their area.

More than 5,000 teachers and 11,000 pupils took part in SSLN which is a sample survey conducted in May last year.

The survey results published today relate to numeracy. The 2012 survey will focus on literacy, with the results published in 2013

The Scottish Government, through Education Scotland, is providing a range of support materials to teachers to help develop the numeracy skills of their pupils.

Education Scotland has today published online teaching materials on fractions and percentages. These resources will support secondary pupils in particular by placing appropriate emphasis on mental calculation with a wide range of fractions, decimal fractions and percentages and on using the results to make real, informed choices.

Similar materials supporting 'measurement' will be published by June, 2012 and a further package of support by September. This online support will be supplemented by CPD sessions addressing any key weaknesses identified from a detailed analysis of the SSLN results.

Scottish Study for Literacy and Numercay Full Report at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2012/03/5285/0