The Scottish Government has announced £520 million of Pupil Equity Funding support the refreshed Scottish Attainment Challenge Programme.
We welcome today’s announcement that £520m of Pupil Equity Funding will be provided over the next four years to support the refreshed Scottish Attainment Challenge Programme.
The renewed funding will provide greater opportunity for school leaders to plan and deliver through sustainable partnerships within the community, drawing on youth work providers and other services to secure the best outcomes for their young people, tailored to their needs.
The announcement that the funding will be spread across four years will provide more security for head teachers and allow longer-term planning with community partners to help close the poverty-related attainment gap.
The Cabinet Secretary made this announcement during a visit to St Francis RC Primary School, where she saw the impact of the school’s partnership with the Jack Kane Centre.
Watch our video featuring St Francis Primary School’s head teacher Margot MacAllister, who discusses youth work’s role in improving the wellbeing, readiness to learn and educational outcomes of children at her school alongside Jack Kane Centre’s Scott Fraser.
St Francis Primary School headteacher Margot MacAlister said:
“Pupil Equity Funding has been key in allowing me to deliver my vision for the community I serve. From the beginning it has provided me with stability in terms of funding posts previously reliant on my devolved budget.
“This has allowed me to build purposeful and trusting working relationships with partners over time that bring a great richness to a child’s learning experience.
“Our nurture programme and now our EXCEL programme has become embed in the culture and ethos of the school and addresses the whole child now and in the future.”
“Tackling the poverty-related attainment gap and giving every young person the chance to fulfil their full potential remains our priority, and we are investing an increased £1 billion through schools and local authorities over the course of this Parliament to support this ambition. “Our headteachers and teachers know their pupils best and have told us that our measures are working. We are determined to ensure they are empowered to take the approaches that are right for the children and young people in their schools to help improve attainment. “Our allocation of more than £520 million of PEF for the next four years will give headteachers the confidence and security they need to plan long term. However, we know schools can’t do this alone, and headteachers should work in partnership with each other, Education Scotland and their local authority, to agree the use of the funding.”
Shirley-Anne Somerville, Education Secretary
St Francis Primary School headteacher Margot MacAlister said:
“Pupil Equity Funding has been key in allowing me to deliver my vision for the community I serve. From the beginning it has provided me with stability in terms of funding posts previously reliant on my devolved budget.
“This has allowed me to build purposeful and trusting working relationships with partners over time that bring a great richness to a child’s learning experience.
“Our nurture programme and now our EXCEL programme has become embed in the culture and ethos of the school and addresses the whole child now and in the future.”