Orkney and Shetland Labour
6 December 2019
Nicola Sturgeon once said that education was her priority and yet in this General Election she has tried very hard not to talk about education.
Given her and the SNP's record it is little wonder she has avoided talking about her record of failure in education.
Under her watch, spending per pupil in Scotland has plummeted, there is an attainment gap for both literacy and numeracy between the richest and poorest children, teachers are under pressure and suffering from workplace stress, teachers numbers are down by 3000 since the SNP took power and in colleges there has been underinvestment, students numbers are down 120,000 and staff numbers have declined.
This week’s report from the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has shown again attainment levels have fallen in key areas including Maths and science.
The class based attainment gap for both literacy and numeracy between the richest and poorest children, which continues to grow at every stage of primary school shows that, under the SNP, the poorest children are more likely to fall behind than peers from better off homes.
It is no wonder that a poll this week showed how nearly half of Scots feel that the current SNP government are not handling the education system properly.
Commenting on the SNP's record on education, Scottish Labour Leader Richard Leonard said:
"Nicola Sturgeon claims that her priority is education. Unfortunately for her, the consensus across Scotland is that she has failed Scotland's children.
"The SNP Government has been forced into screeching u-turn after screeching u-turn.
“They were forced to put their flagship Education Bill in the bin when it was clear they didn't have the support of Parliament while over 30,000 teachers recently took to the streets of Glasgow and balloted for strike action to demand better pay for the first time since Margaret Thatcher was in power.
"That is why only Labour can be trusted with Scotland’s education system.
“We will increase investment in infrastructure and staffing including additional support needs specialists.
“And we will increase attainment by providing free school meals to all school children 365 days a year while introducing a minimum student income for students domiciled in Scotland.
"A vote for Labour is a vote for investment in Scotland's education system because when Labour wins, Scotland wins.”
Nicola Sturgeon once said that education was her priority and yet in this General Election she has tried very hard not to talk about education.
Given her and the SNP's record it is little wonder she has avoided talking about her record of failure in education.
Under her watch, spending per pupil in Scotland has plummeted, there is an attainment gap for both literacy and numeracy between the richest and poorest children, teachers are under pressure and suffering from workplace stress, teachers numbers are down by 3000 since the SNP took power and in colleges there has been underinvestment, students numbers are down 120,000 and staff numbers have declined.
This week’s report from the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has shown again attainment levels have fallen in key areas including Maths and science.
The class based attainment gap for both literacy and numeracy between the richest and poorest children, which continues to grow at every stage of primary school shows that, under the SNP, the poorest children are more likely to fall behind than peers from better off homes.
It is no wonder that a poll this week showed how nearly half of Scots feel that the current SNP government are not handling the education system properly.
Commenting on the SNP's record on education, Scottish Labour Leader Richard Leonard said:
"Nicola Sturgeon claims that her priority is education. Unfortunately for her, the consensus across Scotland is that she has failed Scotland's children.
"The SNP Government has been forced into screeching u-turn after screeching u-turn.
“They were forced to put their flagship Education Bill in the bin when it was clear they didn't have the support of Parliament while over 30,000 teachers recently took to the streets of Glasgow and balloted for strike action to demand better pay for the first time since Margaret Thatcher was in power.
"That is why only Labour can be trusted with Scotland’s education system.
“We will increase investment in infrastructure and staffing including additional support needs specialists.
“And we will increase attainment by providing free school meals to all school children 365 days a year while introducing a minimum student income for students domiciled in Scotland.
"A vote for Labour is a vote for investment in Scotland's education system because when Labour wins, Scotland wins.”