This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Primary and Secondary teachers exchanging skills
14/09/2004
Pupils who need extra help during the early years of secondary school are now being taught by primary teachers in parts of Scotland.
A series of pilot projects have primary teachers working with pupils in secondary schools and vice versa. The approach could soon be rolled out across Scotland.
Many pupils struggle to make the transition from primary to secondary schools and attainment for many can dip.
Ministers want to explore new ways of tackling the problem as part of the modernisation of secondary schools.
Five pilots will are running in schools this year:
- Some S1 and S2 pupils at Eastbank Academy in Glasgow have literacy and numeracy (one-third of their lessons) taught by primary teachers
- In North Lanarkshire, up to 20 primary teachers are being offered a new qualification allowing them to work with pupils from P6-S2
- Also in North Lanarkshire, six secondary teachers have been appointed literacy and numeracy coaches and will help teach P7 pupils
- A similar scheme in East Ayrshire sees two secondary English teachers and two secondary maths teachers providing literacy and numeracy lessons to P7 pupils
- Also in East Ayrshire, a team of primary teachers is helping teach literacy and numeracy to S1 and S2 classes of 20.
Visiting the Glasgow pilot, Education Minister Peter Peacock said:
"The crucial early years of secondary are often the ones when too many pupils fall behind, lose their motivation and begin to disengage from learning.
"We have to find ways of building on the progress which pupils make in primary so that every child gets the best possible chance to succeed.
"Last week we made clear our determination to transform secondary schools. Major reforms are on the way - reforms that will be characterised by greater flexibility and choice and more innovative, creative approaches to learning.
"The schools involved in these pilots are demonstrating exactly that kind of creativity and innovation. They are breaking down old and increasingly artificial barriers which existed between primary and secondary teaching for the benefit of their pupils. This is another achievement for devolution in Scotland.
"Transforming secondary education means allowing schools the space to adopt new methods and approaches and design learning around individual pupils' needs.
"These pilots do just that and we will not hesitate to expand the approach as we support and challenge schools to set their sights higher."
Steven Purcell, Education Services Convener at Glasgow City Council, said:
"Eastbank Academy has been leading the way in this area with its Enable programme and we are delighted that schools in other areas of Scotland are now piloting a similar scheme.
"Eastbank recognised the value in providing some pupils with a more measured transition between primary and secondary and so far over 100 youngsters have benefited from the scheme.
"Since the Enable programme started, the literacy and numeracy skills of the pupils involved have improved at a greater rate than those of children of a similar ability in previous years.
"This is extremely encouraging and other schools in Glasgow are already expressing an interest in adopting such a scheme. This is something we will be exploring over the coming months."
The pilot projects have started this school year. The Glasgow project at Eastbank Academy is an expansion of the Enable programme which the school has been running for two years.
Pupils who have made least progress in local primaries are selected for the Enable programme and during S1 and S2 receive lessons in literacy and numeracy (one-third of all their lessons) from a primary-trained teacher.
By reducing the number of teachers pupils encounter in a week and by delivering the literacy and numeracy elements of the secondary curriculum using primary teaching methods, pupil transition from primary to secondary is eased.
The aim is to ensure that by the end of S2 pupils have attained the basic skills needed to effectively tackle the S3/S4 curriculum.
Results to date indicate that the Enable pupils have made better progress than would have otherwise been the case.