Social Focus on Urban Rural Scotland 2003
Absence
A significant factor in the level of attainment of a pupil can be the extent to which they miss school. The link between authorised and unauthorised absence and attainment at all levels of schooling is marked, although it is not necessarily a simple linear relationship. Large levels of absenteeism can have a strong influence on and be influenced by the ethos, attainment and functioning of a school and the local community.
The latest information shows as one might expect, absence form school increases with age. There is also evidence that levels of absence vary across different areas of the country. Across all Scotland's primary schools just over 5 per cent of all possible half day attendance is lost to absence. In schools located in large and other urban area the comparable figure is 5.4 per cent and just over 4.3 per cent in schools in the other parts of Scotland.
In secondary schools, the average figure for Scotland is that just under 11.1 per cent of all possible half day attendance is lost to absence. In schools located in the large and other urban areas this figures rises to 11.8 per cent, in schools in accessible areas (accessible small towns and accessible remote) the equivalent figure is 9.9 per cent. Those secondary schools located in the small remote towns and remote rural areas lose 8.6 per cent of all possible half day attendance to absence.
Table 3.6 shows how the level of absence varies across Scotland. Considering authorised absence, there is evidence to show that for both primary and secondary schools this type of absence is more significant in the large and other urban areas than across the schools in other parts of the country. Temporary exclusions in primary schools account for relatively small amounts of absenteeism, but the indication is that the more urban a school's location is, the higher the level of temporary exclusions. The figures for secondary schools are more significant and show that the more remote the location of the school the lower the level of temporary exclusion. The third type of absence measured covers truancy and other forms of unauthorised absence. In primary schools the figures show three clear groupings. The highest levels are in large and other urban areas, followed by towns, with accessible and remote rural areas showing significantly lower levels of this type of unauthorised absence. In secondary schools, this type of absence is relatively more common in urban and accessible areas than in those school located in remote small towns and remote rural areas.
Table 3.6: Absence in Primary and Secondary schools, 2001-02 |
Percentages of half days |
Area | Authorised absence | Temporary Exclusion | Unauthorised absence due to truancy or other |
Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary |
Large Urban Areas | 5.4 | 11.0 | 0.03 | 0.33 | 0.38 | 1.2 |
Other Urban Areas | 4.6 | 9.3 | 0.02 | 0.25 | 0.38 | 1.5 |
Accessible Small Towns | 4.3 | 8.3 | 0.01 | 0.18 | 0.26 | 1.2 |
Remote Small Towns | 4.3 | 7.5 | 0.01 | 0.12 | 0.25 | 1.0 |
Accessible Rural | 4.0 | 8.7 | 0.01 | 0.22 | 0.16 | 1.2 |
Remote Rural | 4.1 | 7.9 | 0.01 | 0.08 | 0.09 | 0.6 |
Scotland | 4.7 | 9.6 | 0.02 | 0.25 | 0.32 | 1.26 |
Source: Education Department of the Scottish ExecutiveFree school meals entitlement
The levels of free school meal entitlement (FME) has been used for a wide range of purposes ranging from funding, informing the setting of attainment targets and as a measure of deprivation. Pupils are entitled to free school meals if they or their parents are in receipt of Income Support or Income based Job Seekers Allowance as are children of asylum seekers in receipt of support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
The suggested under-recording of FME figures has been a live issue with schools and Local Authorities for a number of years with issues such as take-up and availability. The latest figures attempt to account for under-recording by allowing the inclusion of estimates to cover those pupils who would be eligible, but who do not take up FME for some reason. Across Scotland just over 20 per cent of primary school pupils are eligible for free school meals compared with just under 16 per cent of secondary school pupils.
Chart 3.7 shows how the levels of free meal entitlement are higher in the large and other urban areas than across the rest of Scotland, with over 28 per cent of pupils at primary schools in Large urban areas having FME, compared to only 11 per cent of pupils at primary schools in accessible rural areas.
Chart 3.7: Free School Meals, January 2002: Pupils in Education Authority schools recorded as entitled to free school meals |
Percentages |
Source: Education Department of the Scottish Executive
Internet and e-mail
The use and availability of Internet and e-mail technologies is widespread across Scotland's schools. The spread of technology has opened up educational opportunities for pupils across Scotland. In some schools web-sites promoting the school and providing links to inspection reports, attainment, school activities are available, whilst others use e-mail to assist in improving communications between staff, pupils and parents.
The latest available figures from the 2001 School census show that all of Scotland's publicly funded secondary schools have access to the Internet with 84 per cent of publicly funded primary schools also having Internet access.
Related to this are the figures on e-mail addresses. Whilst all secondary schools in remote small towns have e-mail addresses, over the whole of Scotland the equivalent figure is 91 percent, with over 10 per cent of secondary schools in the large urban areas not having an e-mail address. In primary schools, some 63 per cent of primary schools in remote small towns have an e-mail address compared to an average figure of 75 per cent and a figure of 81 per cent for schools in accessible rural areas.
Destinations of school leavers
Another area of significant interest when comparing schools and pupils across the country is what happens to pupils when they leave secondary school. Chart 3.8 shows how pupils leaving schools in various parts of the country take different paths.
Chart 3.8: Leaver destinations, 2001/02 Percentages |
Source: Education Department of the Scottish Executive
Across Scotland the most common desti-nation for school leavers is to go into full time Higher Education. Of those leavers from schools in remote rural areas, almost 38 per cent go onto HE, compared to just under 30 per cent of leavers from schools in the large urban areas. If leavers are not going into HE, the next preferred option is to enter into the employment market, followed by full time Further Education. Whilst the type of choices made by school leavers are broadly similar across all areas in Scotland, there are some noticeable differences in certain regions. For leavers from remote rural schools, 7 out of every 10 go onto HE or employment compared to only just over 1 in every 2 leavers from schools in large and other urban areas. The percentage of leavers going onto FE is broadly similar across Scotland at around 1 in every 5 leavers, except for leavers from remote rural areas where the figure is nearer 3 in every 20 leavers.
The other significant difference in destinations is picked up by the 'Other Known' category. This covers unemployment, gap-year, unpaid caring and sickness and it is clear that leavers from school in large and other urban areas and accessible rural areas are more likely to be in this category than leavers from schools in other parts of Scotland.
References
Information, Analysis and Communication Division of the Education Department of the Scottish Executive. www.scotland.gov.uk/stats
Contacts
Contact points for further information relating to Education Chapter: