Published 12 June 2024
Children attending early education in West Dunbartonshire are progressing well in reading, writing and numeracy.
A report to the Educational Services Committee showed a ready improvement across early years education in the last seven years.
Across the early years setting, the service recorded a seven percent increase in writing with 26 percent of children already meeting this benchmark set for the end of primary one, an increase of 15 per cent.
The service reported strong progress in the Early Arithmetical Learning Programme which is a key driver for raising attainment in numeracy and will work alongside the new numeracy programme, ‘Count with me in WDC’. Figures show 12 per cent of children have met this benchmark which spans to primary 1, an increase of eight per cent and 71% of children on target to reach the benchmark, an increase of 6 per cent.
Laura Mason, Chief Officer of Education, said: “We are committed to early learning and it’s great to see the progress being made across all learning in our ELCCs. This is testament to the commitment and dedication of our colleagues who ensure children within our centres learn and achieve every day. Our regular literacy and numeracy assessments allow us to monitor and track children’s progress to ensure we are on course to meet our ambitious targets. These ongoing assessments means we are continually reviewing and assessing our practices which is having a positive impact on the services we deliver within all our centres.”