Help from iPads as Falkirk pupils outperform national average

Members of Falkirk Council’s scrutiny committee heard that the figures are part of a Scottish Government report, which takes data in Primary 1, Primary 4, Primary 7 and S3, to measure attainment at the end of each level of the curriculum for excellence (CfE).

The report found that Falkirk Council was outperforming the national average for all stages and in each of the areas reported on: literacy, numeracy, reading, listening and talking, and writing.

Falkirk’s head of education Jill Pringle said: “We are really pleased with the attainment that is recorded and reported in this paper.

“It is the culmination of a huge amount of work with our schools and local authority colleagues around raising attainment.”

The report notes that among P1/P4/P7 pupils (combined), the proportion achieving expected CfE Levels in 2023-24 was the highest ever recorded in both literacy (combined) and numeracy.

As in previous years, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected CfE levels across each primary school stage was highest in listening and talking, and lowest in writing.

For listening and talking, 88.58 per cent of pupils in primary stages combined achieved the expected CfE level compared to 79.56 per cent for writing.

Although S3 data has fallen slightly based on last year, Falkirk Council schools are ranked eighth out of 32 local authorities for numeracy and fourth out of 32 local authorities for literacy.

The data was submitted to the Scottish Government in August 2024 and the information helps measure and compare date across the country, before pupils go on to sit national qualifications.

Locally, members were told, it is also used to drive improvements and highlight any areas that need particular attention.

Provost Robert Bissett said it was “an excellent, positive report” and asked what was done to get Falkirk above the national average.

Ms Pringle said Falkirk had done particularly well during the pandemic to maintain “high quality learning provision”.

She also praised the work of individual headteachers and schools.

“There is obviously ongoing work with children with additional support needs, for example, or lower than expected attendance.

“The schools do an incredibly good job and that’s a testament to them and the tracking and monitoring that they do and the real focus on getting it right for every child in every single school.”

Councillors were interested to know if pupils being given an iPad for school work was contributing to the results.

Director of education Jon Reid said: “I have no doubt that the impact of that technology is contributing to increased levels of attainment, particularly within additional support needs.”

He said that “a vast array” of accessibility features in the iPad were allowing pupils to work independently, at their own pace, and added that recent inspection reports had all mentioned digital learning and how teachers are using it to support pupils.

“I think it’s had a significant impact and we are beginning to see the evidence of that,” he said.

Provost Robert Bissett said: “I think we can all agree this is a fantastic report and it’s a testament to the effort the pupils have put in, particularly as we came out of covid.

“Education is so important – it changes people’s lives and to see these figures today is remarkable. Well done to everybody involved.”

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