'Dramatic decline': Scottish school satisfaction drops to lowest level in a decade

Parents’ satisfaction with Scotland's schools has dropped to its lowest level in a decade amid concerns about rising classroom violence. Figures from the annual Scottish Household Survey show 69 per cent of adults said they were satisfied with their local schools. In some council areas, the figure fell as low at 50 per cent. While this figure remains static in comparison with 2022 and 2023, it is a sharp drop from an 85 per cent high recorded in 2011. Opposition politicians called the survey results “damning”, particularly in local authority areas where the satisfaction rates were below average. First thing Monday to Friday, The Steamie newsletter bring you the best political news and analysis Labour education spokesperson Pam Duncan-Glancy said the “damning survey results” showed parents were “losing faith” in the SNP’s ability to run schools. “Scotland’s education system was once the envy of the world, but under the SNP violence is rife in our schools, the attainment gap is stubbornly wide, and teachers are struggling with unmanageable workloads,” she said. East Lothian recorded the lowest level across Scotland at 50 per cent. Midlothian also sits at the bottom of the table at 53 per cent while Dumfries and Galloway was at 58 per cent. Parents in affluent East Renfrewshire, where schools routinely top league tables, came in top at 88 per cent followed by North Ayrshire at 84 per cent and East Dunbartonshire at 83 per cent. While the report said the variations year-to-year are statistically significant, it did say some shifts may be due to sampling variation. Miles Briggs, the Tory shadow cabinet secretary for education and skills, said: “Under the SNP, we have seen a dramatic decline in Scottish schools, which were once world-renowned for their excellence. “Dissatisfaction has shot up and remains at a record high, as the nation has plummeted down international league tables and the poverty-related attainment gap has widened.” Mr Briggs said Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth was “asleep at the wheel”. Satisfaction among what the survey calls ‘service users’ — households with a school-aged child — remains higher at 81 per cent than among non-users at 63 per cent, but has reached its lowest point since the series began in 2007/08. Satisfaction for families of children with additional needs is down at 70 per cent, compared to 83 per cent. The survey also detected a rise in dissatisfaction, up from 7 per cent in 2023 to 9 per cent in 2024. Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie said: "Scottish education just isn't what it used to be. We used to have one of the best education systems in the world. but under the SNP it is now just average. "Children with additional support needs aren’t having their needs met, too many pupils are frequently absent, and schools are more violent than ever before. Pupils, parents and teachers deserve better than a third decade of the SNP.” The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.