Aberdeen aims to build on educational achievements

13 December 2016

Aberdeen City Council has underlined its confidence in education provision following the publication of national performance statistics today (13 December).

The Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Levels 2015/16 report provides information on a range of indicators.

Councillor Angela Taylor, Convener of Aberdeen City Council’s Education and Children’s Services Committee, said: “The report is based upon experimental statistics, using data under development, and we have to be cautious about how this is interpreted on a national level. Each local authority has developed its own approach to this assessment which makes direct comparisons impossible.

“The Aberdeen City Council figures are based on an assessment by our teachers, utilising CfE levels as a sole assessment tool for the first time. We believe it is an honest representation of that professional judgement but we are confident other more established long term data sets we have provide a more rounded picture of education in Aberdeen.

“At National 4, National 5 and Higher level we have demonstrated year on year improvement in attainment and are proud of our achievements, which have brought numerous awards for our commitment to innovative and engaging teaching across all age groups.

“As an authority we spend more per head on primary and secondary education than any other city in Scotland and are in the midst of an ambitious programme of investment in new schools and the existing estate at a time when resources are being stretched across Council operations. We have also invested in training and development to support the effective delivery of the curriculum.”

The report released today includes data gathered in each local authority in Scotland, with the information provided by individual Councils.

Cllr Taylor added: “We continue to face an enormous challenge in recruiting teachers in Aberdeen and in light of ongoing vacancies it is vital that the skilled and dedicated teachers we have are being given the opportunity to work with pupils, rather than devoting time to the moderation of data which remains under development.

“As an authority we place great value in the evaluation of data and have extensive longstanding measures upon which we gauge our progress. We will of course assess this new report in detail as we continue to build for the future and strive for improvement. We will also be looking at ways in which we can ensure our reporting and assessments are in line with those being used nationally to provide a clearer picture moving forward.”