FLAGSHIP legislation designed to close the school attainment gap is "seriously unclear" and will lead to more red tape, according to leading academics.

The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) called for greater clarity on the Scottish Government's proposed Education (Scotland) Bill.

The organisation also warned Scotland was making "slow and erratic" progress in closing the gap in performance between rich and poor pupils.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has already made it a priority to close the attainment gap, unveiling a four-year funding package of £100 million for councils earlier this year.

Under the proposed Bill a new statutory duty will be placed on councils to report to Holyrood on the progress they are making with the drive led by new chief education officers.

However, in a briefing paper to the Scottish Parliament's education committee the RSE said: "The government's strategic approach is seriously unclear. Without more knowledge of how a reduction in inequality might effectively be achieved, the reporting duty will be of limited value."

The RSE accepted the new reporting duty had the potential to focus attention on educational inequality, but said it would be of limited value "unless something is known about how that might effectively be achieved". It added: "It is certain, however, that it will lead to an increase in bureaucratic activity."

An official report last November found only four per cent of pupils in Scotland's most deprived communities managed to get three A grades in their Higher exams compared to 24 per cent in the wealthiest areas.

By the age of five, pupils from poorer backgrounds can be up to 13 months behind their peers in literacy and numeracy.

Liz Smith, Scottish Conservative young people spokeswoman called on the Scottish Government to introduce "meaningful reform" rather than "buzzwords".

However, a Scottish Government spokesman said the Bill would give everyone the opportunity to reflect on the progress made and what further work still needed to be done.

He said: "In the coming months there will be the opportunity to debate the best ways to do this and build on the many supportive voices who have backed the Bill and made constructive suggestions.

"We are working with seven local authorities benefitting from the first round of our investment so it has the biggest impact on literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing of children in those areas with the greatest levels of deprivation."

Holyrood's education committee also received a submission from Professor Sue Ellis, from Strathclyde University's school of education.

She said most Scottish pupils in poverty do not live in "poor" areas and that therefore directing all resources at schools in disadvantaged areas would only reach 41 per cent of the intended recipients.

"Poor families do not lack high aspirations for their children. What they lack is the practical know-how and networks that will help them navigate and overcome barriers when they arise," she said.

"Families in poverty give their children just as much homework help as middle-class families, but the help is less well-informed because the parents may not have sufficient knowledge themselves, and may not have social networks with such knowledge."

Meanwhile, the Scottish Government was accused of a "complete lack of transparency" on national testing for pupils by the Scottish Conservatives.

It had been suggested ministers were considering re-introducing standardised testing to track the attainment of pupils in primary schools.

However, Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland, said Education Secretary Angela Constance had given "categoric assurances" national testing would not be reintroduced. The Scottish Government said last night "nothing was off the table".