1+2 languages policy - local authority survey 2021: findings

2. Methodology

Survey returns were received from 30 out of 32 local authorities. This provided information collated from questionnaires completed by 1,722 primary, 315 secondary, and 40 special schools. This represents approx. 86% of primary, 88% of secondary, and 35% of special schools in Scotland.

The questionnaires for schools asked a number of quantitative and qualitative questions in order to measure their progress to implement the 1+2 policy. Local authorities were also asked a number of supplementary questions regarding professional learning, collaborative working, and successes in implementation in their localities.

The questionnaires for the 2020-21 survey also differed in a few respects from the preceding 2018-19 survey, in particular:

• Schools questionnaires were shortened in recognition of the pressures they have experienced in handling the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• In order to gain a more accurate picture of L2 implementation, schools questionnaires asked whether a full, partial or no entitlement was being provided (previous surveys did not ask about a partial provision).
• Special schools were asked a distinct set of questions, in recognition that the need of their learners may differ from those in mainstream schools. Findings from these schools are therefore presented separately in this report.

Unless indicated otherwise, percentages provided in this report are based on the number of schools or local authorities that responded to the survey, and not the total number of schools or local authorities in Scotland.

It should also be noted that the format of the survey has been developed continually to capture more detailed information on the state of 1+2 implementation. As a result, we do not have a statistical baseline that can be used to put these figures in context from the inception of the policy. Therefore any comparisons in this report are made only against the previous 2018-19 survey.