Question reference: S3O-04178
- Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 18 September 2008
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Current status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 18 September 2008
Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the OECD report that states that the largest educational attainment gap in Scotland exists at P4 and P5.
Answer
We have made it clear that we see the OECD report as a seminal document for Scottish education. In the debate on the review in Parliament on 16 January this year I said that the report will continue to be a catalyst for change as it challenges all of us, including this government, about educational thinking.
The report does not in fact state that the largest educational attainment gap in Scotland exists at P4 and P5. The report discusses the need to reduce the achievement gap that the authors state opens up about P5 and continues to widen during junior secondary school.
In my day of discussion with the OECD Education Policy Committee they agreed that this government''s attention to and focus on the early years and early intervention in nursery and P1 to P3 will help build better foundations and resilience to prevent that gap from opening in the first place.