Achievement profiles for P7 pupils next step in Scottish schools reform

EVERY child leaving primary school in Scotland is to have their key achievements documented under plans being drawn up for the further expansion of the new curriculum.

By next summer, P7 profiles for pupils in their final year of primary school will chart the progress made before secondary school.

The initiative was among those outlined by education secretary Michael Russell at the Scottish Learning Festival in Glasgow yesterday as he discussed the further implementation of Curriculum for Excellence, which was introduced last year.

There will also be additional support for parents and for teachers to improve understanding of new qualifications which are currently under development.

Mr Russell said: “The introduction of Curriculum for Excellence to all Scottish schools represented a significant and positive step forward in raising attainment and ambition in young people across the country.

“All the signs are that schools, teachers and pupils have adapted very well to what, for many, was a new way of working. But we are not simply going to sit back and let them get on with it.

“There is still much more to do to maintain the ongoing success of Curriculum for Excellence. This action plan will see a better flow of information between local authorities, schools, parents and pupils, not least around the development of new qualifications, due for introduction from 2013/14.”

The P7 profile, which will form the basis of a seven-year report card, is expected to focus on achievements made in literacy, numeracy and modern languages.

The outline of the plans came as Education Scotland, the recently formed body charged with driving improvement in Scotland’s schools, admitted that teething problems remained with the new curriculum.

Bill Maxwell, the organisation’s chief executive, said: “That was always to be expected. We see some schools fantastically ahead of the curve and others that need support to be up to pace and we are targeting those which need help.”

Addressing the Scottish Parliament’s education committee earlier this week, Education Scotland’s chief inspector, Ken Muir, said some schools had “embraced the philosophy of Curriculum for Excellence” while others had struggled.

The pupil profiles, which will be made available to both the child and teachers in the receiving secondary school, will focus on strengths and weaknesses.

As well as detailing how the pupil has performed academically, the profiles will also chart the child’s individual characteristics and how he or she has interacted with teachers and classmates.

Later this month will see the publication of guides for schools as to how to draw up the profiles, with the first lot expected to be produced in time for the start of the next school year.

Eileen Prior, executive director of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, said: “The P7 profile has been on the cards for some time and it will be interesting to see the publication of exemplars later this month because I know it’s been an issue for teachers, who have wondered what these profiles are going to look like.

“The transition from primary to secondary has always been an issue in a learning sense. The profiles will be a critical development and they have the potential to help a great deal.”