NEARLY one-third of secondary schools serving the most deprived areas in Scotland are failing inspections, according to a major report on the state of the nation's education system.
A study found 29% of secondaries in the poorest communities were rated "weak" or "unsatisfactory" compared to an average figure of 10% for all schools.
Inspectors assess areas such as the quality of teaching, how pupils' needs are being met, and the leadership displayed by the head and principal teachers.
Last night, one leading expert called for incentives to encourage Scotland's best teachers to seek employment in the most disadvantaged areas.
Numerous studies have shown a relationship between deprivation and low attainment, but councils say this is not because of the quality of their schools.
The report by national schools body Education Scotland, which evaluated inspection reports between 2008 and 2011, found that, across Scotland, 90% of nursery, primary and secondary schools were evaluated as satisfactory or better, 69% were good or better and 19% were very good or better.
Last night, the Scottish Government stressed additional support had already been provided to schools highlighted as having performance issues.
Subsequently, in half the cases the schools were now rated as "satisfactory", while the other half were still being monitored.
Education Secretary Michael Russell said: "For too long, the attainment levels of Scotland's children and young people have been determined by social background.
"I passionately believe the work of Education Scotland in identifying where more support is needed and swiftly working with partners to put it in place is a crucial part of improving children's life chances."
Eileen Prior, executive director of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, said: "The gap between schools in areas which are least and most deprived is shocking, but should be no surprise.
"Schools in our most deprived areas have a huge mountain to climb and many support their pupils to achieve great things, but the report shows clearly there is a long way to go until who you are stops mattering."
Brian Boyd, emeritus professor of education at Strathclyde University, said: "We need to think in a much more creative way about how we deal with the difficulties faced by schools in deprived areas.
"We need to think about giving financial incentives to actively recruit the most gifted and effective teachers and leaders to work in these areas."
However, Mr Boyd added: "In my experience, schools that serve the most disadvantaged areas are often the very best and the staff work incredibly hard to do everything they possible can to turn around young people's lives.
"The criterion used by Education Scotland does not necessarily reflect this work and they may also be less prepared to criticise schools in middle class areas which do well enough in exams, but add little to the experience of their pupils."
LibDem education spokesman Liam McArthur MSP said: "The fact that positive criteria were not met in 29% of the most deprived secondary schools should give pause for thought.
"This figure is three times higher than for schools in more affluent areas, and suggests that something of a postcode lottery exists at present.
"One option would be for ministers to take forward the pupil premium. Liberal Democrats have allocated over £1 billion to this initiative at a UK level, delivering extra funding to schools with pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds."
Conservative spokeswoman Liz Smith said: "There are still too many youngsters going through the system who do not have sufficient literacy or numeracy skills.
"And with that there are a few teachers who don't feel sufficiently confident in teaching these skills to a high standard."
Bill Maxwell, chief executive of Education Scotland, said: "The evidence indicates much progress has been made in embedding new, improved approaches in everyday educational practice. In particular, focus is still needed in the first years of secondary to maintain the earlier gains in primary school."
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