‘Mixed picture of improvement’ for literacy and numeracy attainment
A “MIXED picture” has been presented to councillors when it comes to literacy and numeracy attainment for young people in Shetland.
There have been a number of improvements, including in overall literacy attainment across P1, P4 and P7 and secondary three literacy and numeracy.
However some figures fell below improvement targets, while the attainment gap for P1, P4 and P7 literacy has widened.
Quality improvement manager Logan Nicolson said “stretch aims”, which were put in place in 2022 and have mostly not been met, were “deliberately aspirational”.
Stretch aims are goals or targets put in place over a period of time that could be described as ambitious.
Lerwick South councillor Neil Pearson said in his view it was a “huge concern” that some attainment figures were around three quarters, meaning one quarter missed out.
However his ward colleague John Fraser reiterated that children develop in different ways, adding that some may not flourish in numeracy and literacy but have strengths in other areas.
The discussion took place at a meeting of Shetland Islands Council’s (SIC) education and families committee on Monday.
Elected members were presented with the latest annual update on the SIC’s The Ambition – Excellence and Equity for Shetland’s Learners scheme, which was put in place four years ago.
The report said overall literacy attainment across P1, P4 and P7 has improved from 71 per cent to 72 per cent and remains above the four-year average.
Overall numeracy attainment for these years is said to have remained broadly in line with the four-year average, but declined from 77 per cent to 76 per cent.
Secondary three literacy improved from 77 per cent to 82 per cent, but is still below national performance and the local “stretch aim”.
Numeracy in secondary three improved from 87 per cent to 89 per cent and remains above the four-year average.
For school leavers, level five literacy and numeracy attainment “increased significantly” to 88 per cent, which is above the stretch aim and average.
Figures were also provided for closing the attainment gap between the “most and least disadvantaged children”.
The S3 literacy attainment gap reduced from 17 to 12 percentage points and exceeded the stretch aim. The numeracy gap for S3 also reduced, from 14 to 10 percentage points.
The P1, P4 and P7 numeracy attainment gap improved from 20 to 18 percentage points.
However, the literacy attainment gap for those year groups increased from 14 to 19 percentage points.
The report said during 2025/26 staff have worked under “increasing learner complexity, financial pressures and changing demographics while simultaneously striving to improve attainment, wellbeing and equity for all children and young people”.
Nicolson confirmed stretch aims are being revised and instead will set by schools themselves to reflect “individual context”.
He also said there has been a “great deal of positive work and impact” ongoing, and highlighted other schemes like the Bridges Project, which supports young people and adult learners who need additional help to engage with education, train or employment.
Following a question from Lerwick North and Bressay member Stephen Leask about attainment figures, Nicolson said work is also ongoing on to support improvement in teacher moderation and awarding of levels.
But Shetland Central member Moraig Lyall warned in debate that any potential regrading of work should not be used to “mask” an issue.
“I think genuine improvement in literacy and numeracy are what we are looking for,” she said.
Nicolson also said some schools use pupil equity funding, which totalled £254,575 for Shetland in 2025/26, to target particular areas.
Pearson said, however, that if councillors only see a marginal increase in figures in a year’s time then “I think we are letting our young people down”.
Lerwick South member John Fraser also questioned the methodology behind the attainment gap between most and least disadvantaged pupils.
Quality improvement officer James Johnston said the data was based off of free school meal uptake, and conceded it was “quite a blunt measurement”.
But he also said input from headteachers was also involved.
The discussion also heard that the number of school pupils with an attendance of less than 80 per cent has risen.
In debate, education and families committee chair Davie Sandison questioned whether the stretch aims were “realistic or correct, or where they too ambitious”.
But he said the data showed there was good progress in a number of areas which was “extremely encouraging”.
Fraser added that attainment figures for literacy and numeracy are very important but said he hoped they do not “stray away from the more holistic approach” to children’s development.
He said children develop in different ways and at different paces, and have different strengths.
Fraser concluded by saying the “development of the whole child” is “equally important”.
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