The gap in literacy between primary school pupils from Renfrewshire's most and least deprived areas has grown wider, councillors have been told.
Across the combined P1, P4 and P7 measure, the gap rose from 18.9 percentage points in 2024/25 to 21.5 percentage points in 2025/26.
The figures were discussed at Renfrewshire Council's education and children's services policy board on Thursday 29 October.
Younger pupils driving the change
An education officer told the board that the change was mainly down to P1 attainment, and linked the difficulties facing younger children to the effects of the pandemic.
“In relation to the primary literacy gap in particular, we are aware of it and we are currently working on an improvement plan and some of the interventions that are around it,” the officer said.
Overall, 76.8% of pupils across the combined primary stages reached the expected level in literacy in 2025/26.
Numeracy went the other way, with the gap between the most and least deprived areas narrowing slightly from 14.9 to 14.6 percentage points.
National figures for 2025/26 are not yet available, so it is not yet possible to say how Renfrewshire compares with the rest of Scotland.
What is being done
Councillors heard that the council's targeted schools programme has a particular focus on P1 pupils, backed by extra staff training.
Renfrewshire is also taking part in a Scottish Government writing programme aimed at P4 pupils. Officers said the approach could be extended to other year groups if the pilot works.
An early language and communication toolkit has also been put together by early years staff, speech and language therapists and educational psychologists, which officers hope will help children as they move from nursery into school.
Read more: Renfrewshire pupils beat national literacy figures in 2026 exams, but S4 numeracy slips and school attendance below target, council report finds.
Photo: Langcraigs Primary School, Paisley, by Richard Sutcliffe, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.