Angela Constance says she wants to accelerate efforts to improve attainment in schools and will listen to all those in the education community.

Angela Constance says she wants to accelerate efforts to improve attainment in schools and will listen to all those in the education community.

It is customary for a minister new to their brief to promise to engage with the public, and to make broad, but largely unspecific pledges.

That may be an overly unkind interpretation of new Education Secretary's comments. Many in the education sector will welcome her commitment to visit and listen to the perspectives of teachers, pupils, their parents and others.

Meanwhile, the emphasis on closing the attainment gap between the best and worst performing pupils is also laudable. This is one of the most significant challenges facing Scottish education and while concrete progress is being made, achievements remain modest.

However, Mrs Constance will need to explain her vision in more detail - and sooner rather than later.

There is a pressing need for a coherent approach to the tough decisions facing our education system. With mammoth public sector cuts still expected, councils inevitably have to look hard at education, always the biggest item in their budgets.

We are already seeing evidence of that pressure. East Renfrewshire council has proposed having pupils volunteer in school libraries to cut staffing costs, while Falkirk Council is considering cutting libraries altogether in its primaries - while also axing breakfast clubs. Meanwhile Cosla says the councils it represents would like to cut teacher numbers.

While she insists that decisions about priorities should be taken at a local level, Mrs Constance must surely realise her goals for improving the attainment of the poorest pupils can only be undermined should initiatives such as breakfast clubs be sacrificed.

Any councils making the choice to employ fewer teachers will also face further decisions which risk widening the difficulties facing pupils from deprived backgrounds.

These include larger class sizes, amalgamating subjects and asking non-specialist teachers to teach them. Some schools plan on offering fewer exams such as a narrower range of highers or advance highers.

It is not sufficient any more to expect councils to do more with less, or to make savings through efficiencies alone.

Mrs Constance says tackling the attainment gap is her biggest priority. She speaks of the importance of early intervention and boasts, rightly, that Scottish Government chivvying has driven forward spending to prevent problems rather than solve them later at greater cost.

But she must know that such spending is under threat across the country as councils concentrate on delivering their statutory obligations. Challenging decisions are being taken and many of them run counter to the new ministers's stated goals.

It is understandable that any new minister wants some time to get acquainted with his or her brief. But fundamental decisions are already being taken around the country. Mrs Constance needs to explain the detail behind her laudable ambitions,to give councils a lead on how the progress already delivered can be sustained, and how further improvements can be achieved against a backdrop of intense financial strictures.