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Education in Scotland

E M Lindsay Griffiths MA Hons (St Andrews);
former Classics Teacher at The High School of Dundee, Gordonstoun and Head of Classics at The Queens School, Chester reports:

Before coming to my wife's report writes David P Griffiths, it needs to be known that in Scotland we have moved from having the best education system in the world, overseen originally by presbyteries of the local Kirk, a Kirk now bound by "woke" ideology  to the lockdown ravaged system we have today overseen by Holyrood and its "ideologies" that ignore our precious constitutional acts and heritage. 

 

Scottish education requires a radical return to the old paths, teaching family values alongside the Constitution of Great Britain of which Scotland has an equal part.

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The Nuffield Foundation reports that Scottish pupils perform better at a younger age than the other UK countries, but after that this quickly recedes, with performance levels less than England particularly in the area of Maths. It is the view of the Scottish Heritage Party that the nation can resolve these issues by bringing into Scotland the finest teachers from other parts of the UK, Scotland offering a far higher standard of living, and training our own teachers in the traditional way outside of the "woke" path of modern day universities.

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The current Scottish Government path of introducing an LGBTQ+ curriculum will be replaced with foundational courses in Religious Education, particularly as it was the Kirk who founded our schools, and if we neglect this heritage how can education stand? Understanding of other faiths will be given too to encourage dialogue and understanding, tackling too the sectarianism of the west in particular teaching to understand each other without pressure to compromise one's faith.

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With the foundations being removed, Scottish education is rapidly declining and this is being acknowledged even by the SNP. In 2015 this was acknowledged by the then Scottish Secretary John Swinney who offered radical reforms, reforms that have made matters worse. The Spectator reports: In 2019-2020, the proportion of pupils passing three or more Highers was 43 per cent, lower than any year from 2015 onwards.

 

Audit Scotland, an independent watchdog, concludes that the attainment gap between rich and poor ‘remains wide’ and that progress ‘falls short of the Scottish government’s aims’. Scottish children from poor backgrounds remain significantly less likely than their English counterparts to go to university.

 

In view of all this, the Scottish Heritage Party presents a report from Party Member E M Lindsay Griffiths MA Hons (St Andrews), a retired teacher formerly of the High School of Dundee and Gordonstoun in Scotland as well as being Head of Classics at The Queens School in Chester.

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E M Lindsay Griffiths MA Hons (St Andrews)

Current Situation: By the SNP Government’s own admission, the impact of Covid-19 on education (2020-22), has led to a decline in literacy and numeracy levels and an increase in the poverty-related educational attainment gap which is now 15%.

Furthermore, there are 4 Current Issues presented to the Scottish Government by educational directors, council chiefs, school leaders and parents:

  • Staff absence

  • Uncertainty over exams

  • Already vulnerable pupils have become more vulnerable

  • Persistent non-attendance

In addition to the above, we also have an increased gap in achievement between state and independent schools. There is also growing concern over Scottish Government policy regarding non-examination syllabi in schools, especially Relationships and Sex Education and negative attitudes to the expression of socially conservative and faith beliefs in schools – in short, freedom of speech.

Our Response:

We would concur that the response of both Scottish and UK Governments to the pandemic has greatly exacerbated these issues, especially through the lockdowns and closure of schools, resulting in greater attainment gaps, massive suffering to children, young people and families nationwide (including higher levels of child and domestic abuse), impaired development of babies and young children, and greater numbers of ‘forgotten children’ who have never returned to school. It is time to face and admit to the reality of this, and to put our children first as the future of our nation!

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Our Policy:

We will ensure that pupils and students are once again taught ‘how to think rather than what to think.’

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Curriculum:

This will involve a wider range of school subjects for 12–18-year-olds, e.g., traditional history for all, the return of classical education, a better choice of languages to study, and high quality religious and citizenship classes. This will include the history of Christianity from a Scottish perspective: the Celtic saints, the Reformation, Covenanters and Scottish missionaries, also the British Constitution.

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In other words, the Scottish Heritage Party is to restore the true heritage of Scotland so that children and young people from 3-18, rescued from the ‘woke’ agenda, may re-discover their true identity. This must, and will, include spiritual development as a priority.

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‘Children to be Children’:

‘Children to be children’: All subjects must be age-appropriate with full parental consultation and involvement regarding curriculum development and subject options.

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Role of Parents:

Parental Responsibility: We recognise that parents have primary responsibility of the nurturing and upbringing of their children, with school staff being ‘in loco parentis.’ Therefore, full information on every educational establishment must be available on-line and via hard copies to parents and others who have a genuine interest in young people’s welfare, to include:

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  • School handbook

  • School website

  • Most recent inspection reports

  • Including policy and rules on discipline and rewards.

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All these should be written in clear and concise language – not ‘woke’ catchphrases as at present!

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Parental choice must also be respected regarding education, whether it be to choose an independent school or where appropriate to educate their children at home.

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Additional Needs and Attendance Issues:

We will make every effort, in co-operation with appropriate agencies and charities, to identify such needs at an early stage, and to nurture such children in an atmosphere of love, acceptance and security with extra staffing and accommodation provided as required. This will replace the environment of fear, insecurity and social isolation endured since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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