April was an important month for all those who care about literacy, education and the progress of social equality in Scotland.
Three major reports were published: the Government's comprehensive Survey of Literacy in schools, Education Scotland's three to18 Literacy and English Review and the final report of the Standing Literacy Commission.
Together, they give us a picture of how Scotland is performing in the task of ensuring every Scot becomes literate, one of the fundamental social duties of any nation. Drawn from a large sample, the biennial survey provides comparative data relating to educational attainment in a range of literacy skills for primary four, P7 and second year secondary pupils. It is contextualised by Education Scotland's Review of how these skills are being delivered across Scotland's new curriculum. Meanwhile, the Commission's report gives an overview of all that has been done in the last five years by national, regional and local bodies to tackle illiteracy, establishing a platform from which further efforts will be launched later this year.
Summarising all this data succinctly is not straightforward, but a consistent headline about the nature of illiteracy in Scotland does emerge. Overall, Scotland sits just above the educational average in reading and writing compared to other nations, notwithstanding some variation in performance over time. But look more deeply into the figures and a particularly worrying fact emerges: the attainment gap in literacy between children from deprived and better-off backgrounds is unusually acute. In fact it is huge. As the survey reveals, by S2 the gap is 22 percentage points in reading, for instance. And this gives rise to a set of educational results that perpetuate an ever-widening social gap between Scots who come from different backgrounds. Around two in every three pupils from Scotland's most deprived areas leave school without any qualifications, compared to just over two in every five of those from the least deprived areas.
This glaring difference in attainment, correlated so strongly to the social background of a child, is shocking in a society that aspires to be egalitarian. And it gives rise to a whole set of effects that are bad not just for the individuals and communities concerned, but also ultimately for everyone. On the plus side, the work of the Standing Literacy Commission and the many national, regional and local partners it has dealt with over the last four years demonstrates that the complex and multifaceted nature of the problem of illiteracy has been fully understood.
It is now clear that it is not just a question of, or for, formal education, of how children are taught to read and write. The attainment gap is a symptom of a deeper inequality that requires a more sophisticated and holistic response if there is to be any genuine chance of success of bridging it. This response starts from the early years of a child's life and builds from there. It is not a quick fix because the problem of poverty is deep rooted. The sharp industrial decline of the 20th century left many Scottish communities trapped in a cycle of inter-generational deprivation. Breaking that cycle requires persistence, patience, and determined long-term social effort and investment.
Tackling illiteracy is key to those efforts because this lack sits at the centre of a whole set of related ills. An illiterate person is much more likely to suffer poor health, to be out of work, to have a lower life expectancy, and to be isolated from society and community than one who isn't. The fact that around 80 per cent of Scottish prisoners are functionally illiterate is a stark illustration of the consequences of not learning to read and write.
It is clear therefore that being literate is, as the Commission's report states, a "prerequisite for full, informed and responsible participation in social, economic, cultural and political life". Ensuring that we all, regardless of background, have the ability to participate in that life through being literate is one of the prime social tasks of our time. While the reports cited may give cause for concern in so clearly identifying the problem, they also demonstrate that tackling it has become a priority in Scotland.
Marc Lambert is Chief Executive of the Scottish Book Trust and chairman of Literacy Matters, Children in Scotland's literacy conference which is being held on June 5 in Glasgow. For more information and to book visit www.childreninscotland.org.uk/training-and-events/literacy-matters.
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