THERE remains a “strong, shared commitment” to achieve the best for children and young people in Wee County schools, despite complex challenges.

That is according to the National Improvement Framework Plan for 2020-2021, published by Clackmannanshire Council's Education Services this week.

The document said: “Clackmannanshire is Scotland's smallest local authority, but also one of the most deprived, with 27 per cent of children living in poverty; no change from the previous year and remains higher than the Scottish average of 24 per cent.

“The challenges faced by schools and their communities in achieving excellence and equity are significant and complex; however, there is a strong, shared commitment to achieving the best for our children and young people, enabling them to achieve regardless of their circumstances.”

According to the report, the percentage of school leavers who achieved three or more awards at SCQF Level 4 improved in 2019/20 to 84 per cent.

The percentage of school leavers who achieved five or more awards at SCQF Level 4 also improved to 72 per cent.

The number of pupils who achieved three more awards at SCQF Level 5 went up to 63 per cent, and to 47 per cent when it came to achieving five at this level.

Looking at SCQF Level 6, 22 per cent achieved three or more awards and 11 per cent achieved five or more, which remained constant over the past three years.

The overall pass rate for National 5 English in 2019/20 improved to 90 per cent from 77 per cent and the National 5 Maths rate improved to 81 per cent from 55 per cent.

Numeracy has improved in P7, however, other areas, including reading and writing at P7 and P4 showed little to no improvement.

The achievement gap in reading narrowed at P4 and P7 level but widened at S3; the same goes for writing.

In numeracy it widened at P4 and S3 but narrowed at P7 level.

In a video released with the report, Councillor and education spokesman Graham Lindsay thanked school staff in the Wee County, particularly for their work during the pandemic.

He said: “I do want to start by paying tribute to all staff, teaching and non-teaching, across Clackmannanshire for your commitment, your relentless work rate and level of resilience that you've shown in ensuring our schools remain safe and that they remain ready for learning.”

The councillor also highlighted the “exceptional” digital offering put in place in the wake of the pandemic.

The full report is available here.