Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels: 2021/22

Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Levels 2021/22 provides information on national performance in literacy and numeracy, based on all pupils in publicly funded Primary 1, Primary 4, Primary 7 and Secondary 3 classes, and for all pupils based in special schools/units.


Chapter 6: Achievement of CfE Levels of pupils based in special schools/units

Key Findings

  • Around a quarter of pupils based in special schools/units were reported as following their own individual milestones.
  • A further quarter of pupils were assessed as 'Not yet achieved Early Level'.
  • About 12 per cent of pupils were reported as studying beyond Broad General Education (BGE) level.
  • For each organiser, around one third of pupils based in special schools/units were reported as having achieved a CfE Level.

Around twenty-five per cent of pupils within special schools and standalone special units were following their own milestones, around a quarter of pupils had Not Yet Achieved Early Level and 5 per cent of pupils in special schools and standalone special units were not assessed (see Table 5 below). For further information see Section 9.1.3.1.

Of the pupils who achieved a CfE level within special schools/units, this was highest for numeracy at 34 per cent, followed by listening and talking (33 per cent), reading (32 per cent) and writing (30 per cent). It should be noted that these proportions cannot be directly compared to those presented in other Chapters of this report. In order to show the full range of information recorded for pupils in special schools and standalone special units the calculations in this chapter include pupils recorded as Not Assessed. Pupils recorded as Not Assessed are excluded from the analysis in other chapters. It should also be noted that these proportions cannot be directly compared to earlier years due to the introduction of a new recording option as set out below.

From 2021/22 onwards, a new recording option, 'studying beyond BGE level', has been introduced for pupils in special schools and standalone special units. In 2021/22, 12 per cent of pupils in standalone special schools and units were recorded in this way. As this recording option was not available in previous years, caution should be exercised if making comparisons over time, particularly when comparing the proportions of pupils recorded as 'Not Assessed'. For further information see Section 1.2.1.

Table 5: Percentage of special schools/units pupils achieving CfE levels, 2021/22

Year

CfE level

Reading

Writing

Listening & Talking

Numeracy

2021/22

Not Yet Achieved Early Level

26

28

25

25

Achieved Early Level

17

17

17

19

Achieved First Level

10

9

10

11

Achieved Second Level

4

3

4

3

Achieved Third Level

2

2

2

1

Achieved Fourth Level

1

1

1

1

Not Assessed

5

5

5

5

Child following individual milestones

25

26

25

25

Pupil studying beyond BGE level

12

12

12

12

2020/22

All Levels

[no data]

[no data]

[no data]

[no data]

2019/20

All Levels

[no data]

[no data]

[no data]

[no data]

2018/19

Not Yet Achieved Early Level

26

28

25

26

Achieved Early Level

18

18

19

20

Achieved First Level

11

10

11

10

Achieved Second Level

4

3

4

3

Achieved Third Level

2

2

2

1

Achieved Fourth Level

1

1

1

1

Not Assessed

12

12

12

12

Child following individual milestones

27

27

26

27

2017/18

Not Yet Achieved Early Level

25

26

24

25

Achieved Early Level

14

14

14

17

Achieved First Level

12

11

12

10

Achieved Second Level

4

4

4

3

Achieved Third Level

2

2

2

1

Achieved Fourth Level

0

0

0

0

Not Assessed

16

16

16

16

Child following individual milestones

27

27

27

27

2016/17

Not Yet Achieved Early Level

25

26

24

25

Achieved Early Level

15

15

15

16

Achieved First Level

8

8

9

8

Achieved Second Level

3

3

4

3

Achieved Third Level

2

1

2

1

Achieved Fourth Level

0

0

0

0

Not Assessed

17

17

17

17

Child following individual milestones

29

29

29

29

Chart 11 shows the highest CfE level achieved for all pupils in special schools and standalone special units.

Chart 11: Percentage of pupils in special schools/units achieving CfE levels, 2021/22

Bar chart showing the percentage of pupils in special schools/unit achieving CfE Levels, 2021/22.

Contact

Email: school.stats@gov.scot

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