Serious questions over adult literacy in Scotland

Seonag Mackinnon
BBC Scotland Education Correspondent

I could be wrong here but there's a chance there may have been a flaw for many years in the way teachers were trained to teach children to read and write.

The Scottish government estimates that an astonishing 23% of adults (800,000) have weak literacy skills.

Questions have been raised about Scotland's literacy skills

Now a new report from a public watchdog suggests their troubles may not be at an end if at some point they muster the confidence to seek help.

HM Inspectorate of Education has found the staff involved in this work are highly committed and build strong relationships with learners.

But inspectors have also found that the availability and quality of adult literacy classes is extremely patchy.

For the most part further education colleges seem to be providing a well planned professional service but it is a less than glowing report for local councils and prisons.

Unlike Ofsted the education watchdog in England, the inspectorate here is a government agency accountable to ministers rather than parliament. It is rare for it to be openly critical of government.

Without these skills it is difficult for example to give a child the right dose of medicine, send text messages, read bus time tables, choose food stuffs

(Indeed its assessment of any level of the education service is usually extremely muted.) So a call for the Scottish government to take action over adult literacy classes, is for HMI relatively high on the Richter scale.

In a foreword to the report "Improving Adult Literacy in Scotland" Graham Donaldson, outgoing head of the inspectors, says literacy lessons constitute a "vital area of work in developing an inclusive society".

They listened to many moving accounts of the impact of illiteracy on everyday lives. Those affected went to enormous lengths to try to hide their problems from friends, family and colleagues - if they were lucky enough to be able to hold down a job.

Without these skills it is difficult for example to give a child the right dose of medicine, send text messages, read bus time tables, choose food stuffs in a supermarket. The owner of a contract cleaning firm once said he struggled to recruit staff as it was essential for them to be able to read instructions for diluting cleaning products.

Provision gaps

But those who seek help with basic skills may say inspectors find themselves in schemes run by local councils in substandard rooms. Online lessons which engage adults may be challenging as IT equipment may be obsolete or absent altogether.

And the courses often lack coherence - there are gaps in provision while some courses are duplicated.

Similar problems affect prisons where literacy classes which could pave the way to regular employment in the outside world, don't seem to be a top priority.

A spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service said it was committed to tackling literacy and numeracy.

He said: "HMCIE accepts that there are many areas of good practice in prisons and that the work done by staff from prisons and from Motherwell and Carnegie Colleges is often innovative and highly effective. Staff also work hard at persuading prisoners to take up educational opportunities.

"However, the professional approach taken is hindered by overcrowding and the fact that many prisoners with literacy needs are in prison for very short periods."

Inspectors suggest a central issue overall is that many learners are never formally assessed so there's a lack of reliable information indicating whether they are getting the right help and making progress in the classes provided.

Inspectors also say since the Concordat signed between central and local government in 2007, no national figures have been gathered. It welcomes Scottish government plans in the spring to produce a new survey of skills.

If there is reliable information on adults' progress, or lack of it, alarm bells may finally ring.