Efforts being made to the Close the Attainment Gap

Encouraging progress is being made to close the attainment gap in primary schools in Dundee. 

The Children and Families Committee will hear that since 2018/19, primary pupils living in the most deprived areas of the city have continued to show higher levels of literacy and numeracy attainment compared with the Scottish average. 

The report provides information on the proportion of pupils who have achieved their expected Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) levels in literacy and numeracy relevant to their stage in the academic session 2024/25. 

The statistics, based on teacher judgement, report on the percentage of school pupils in Primary 1 (P1), Primary 4 (P4), Primary 7 (P7), and Secondary 3 (S3) who have achieved the expected CfE levels relevant to their stage. The results show: 

• 69% of primary pupils living in SIMD Quintile 1 (the most deprived areas) are achieving their expected literacy levels, a higher rate than the Scottish average. 

• The literacy attainment gap for primary pupils between the most and least deprived areas in Dundee was over 20 percentage points in 2020/21. It has now reduced to less than 14 percentage points, better than the Scottish average. 

• In 2024/25, the percentage of S3 Dundee pupils from SIMD Quintile 1 (most deprived areas) achieving CfE Third Level or better in literacy improved compared to the previous year for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic. 

• Dundee has shown improvement in primary numeracy achievement levels, rising from 77% in 2020/21 to 80% in 2024/25 matching the Scottish average. 

• Dundee primary school pupils living in SIMD Quintile 1 (most deprived areas) have seen an improvement in numeracy attainment from 71% in 2020/21 to 76% in 2024/25 

• The numeracy attainment gap for primary pupils between the most and least deprived areas in Dundee was over 17 percentage points in 2020/21. It has now reduced to less than 10 percentage points, better than the Scottish average. 

The poverty-related attainment gap for primary pupils within Dundee remains narrower than the national average. This is mainly due to increased performance by pupils living in the least deprived areas. 

Children and Families Convener Councillor Stewart Hunter said: "We are committed to closing the attainment gap and creating better outcomes for our children and young people. 

"This report highlights key improvements in a number of areas. I am particularly pleased to see the attainment gap continuing to narrow for our primary pupils. This is a trend that I hope will continue as our children get older.  

"We know how important it is to get it right for every pupil, and we are committed to ensuring best practice across all our schools. We have several ways in which we are working to achieve this, including using data to drive improvement and investment in our schools. 

"I want to thank the staff who are doing a great job delivering for our young people and getting their education off to the right start. 

"We will not become complacent, and we will continue to work to give every Dundee learner the best start to their learning journey." 

The Children and Families Committee will meet on Monday 2^nd March 2026.