Latest news with #PupilEquityFunding
Daily Record
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Record
Primary pupils ask Education Minister for more maths and play time during visit to North Lanarkshire school
Jenny Gilruth MSP was in Wishaw to see how Pupil Equity Funding from the Scottish Government was benefitting young people. More play times, more school trips, more topics and somewhat surprisingly, more maths and homework were some of the suggestions from pupils when Cabinet Secretary for Education Jenny Gilruth visited St Ignatius' Primary. The MSP, a former teacher herself, met with pupils, staff and parents at the primary school in Wishaw to see and hear first-hand how the Scottish Government's Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) is benefitting children in the community. The visit coincided with the publication of a report on PEF highlighting the direct investment of over £1 billion from the Scottish Government. First introduced by the Scottish Government a decade ago, PEF has the specific aim of closing the poverty-related attainment gap between children from the most and least deprived communities. The extra funding can range from £1225 to £350,00 a year per school, and is being used to drive improvements in attendance and engagement. Around 97 per cent of schools receive some PEF which is directly allocated to schools, who then have the autonomy to use it in a manner best suited to their specific needs. St Ignatius invested the funding in developing a bespoke tracking system, which allows the school to target tailored interventions such as Forest clubs. There were dozens of raised hands, and a few surprising answers, when the Education Minister asked pupils at morning assembly what they would like to see more of in school. 'My favourite suggestion today was 'more sharing' and I think that's the one I'll remember from today's visit,' said Jenny Gilruth. 'It's been brilliant being here today at St Ignatius' and seeing the impact the extra funding has had in supporting an extra depute and extra staff around the school, and supporting the agenda that the school has here. You can feel the ethos as soon as you come into the school and it's fantastic to see the difference it is making. 'It was really interesting to hear a bit more about the school having a specific depute that's involved in leading the work in terms of the Forest School and hearing from the teachers and the kids about the difference that's made to their learning. I was speaking to parents about the importance of that, which compliments the academic work, and having that opportunity to be outside engaging with nature and how that impacts on attainment.' She continued: 'PEF was announced nearly 10 years ago and was meant to be a 10-year funding stream. We'll continue the funding until 2026/27 and then it will be in the gift of the Scottish people and those are elected next year to run the government. "In every school I am in now, head teachers say this funding can't go and that we have to have it continue as it has made such a difference. 'I think PEF needs to continue and the next government will need to consider what else we can do to support our schools. 'It's direct funding going to head teachers and there was some resistance to that, as some thought it should go to councils. 'When we introduced it we trusted head teachers to make a difference in our schools, and that's proven to be absolutely correct. 'Every day they are making a transformative impact and they know the interventions to put in place. They know the needs of their young people. 'Today's visit has been a really heartwarming reminder to me of the importance of trusting the professionals who are at the top face every day to get it right for our young people, and PEF funding really compliments that approach.' Ms Gilruth also took the opportunity to highlight other examples of measures being taken by the SNP government to improve the lives of children. She added: 'We are also taking further steps to tackle child poverty through education, including through funding early learning and childcare, free school meals and the delivery of free breakfast clubs.' St Ignatius' head teacher Anne Marie Pearson, said: 'Pupil Equity Funding has had a transformative impact on our school community. Through the strategic use of data and high-quality, targeted support, we've seen real improvements in attainment, achievement, and engagement – especially among our focus pupils. "These children are now taking pride in their successes, raising their aspirations, and becoming active contributors to our school life.' She continued: 'Families are now more engaged than ever, proactively communicating with us and understanding that support is available to all. 'We've also expanded access to enriching experiences, like lunchtime and after-school clubs, ensuring equity for pupils who might not otherwise have these opportunities." Mrs Pearson highlighted the introduction of the school's innovative tracking system which shows raised attainment across all groups in the school. 'Ultimately, PEF has enabled us to create a nurturing inclusive environment where every child is supported to succeed – and we're incredibly proud of the journey we're on together,' she added. And did you know Lanarkshire Live has its own app? Download yours for free here.
The Herald Scotland
01-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Have we tried this novel idea that will close the attainment gap?
This week The Herald has published a special report on child poverty in Scotland. The series has been led by my colleague Rebecca McCurdy, who wrote an extremely personal and powerful essay about her experience of growing up in poverty, and who has brought together a range of stories, including brand new data, to shine a light on the harsh reality for too many children in this country. The Scottish Government is under pressure to increase the Scottish Child Payment (SCP) – a hugely successful new benefit – from £27.15 to £40 per week. According to experts this could lift thousands and thousands of children out of poverty and quite literally transform their lives. But the government doesn't seem so keen. In an exclusive interview with The Herald, First Minister John Swinney suggested that raising the payment much further might disincentivise people to look for work. That response has, unsurprisingly, angered many. Even if Swinney changed his mind, however, he'd still need to find the cash to pay for it, and as has been the case for a decade and a half now, we're being told that times are tough and there's not enough money to go around. Read more: Lessons to Learn | It's exams time again – what scandal will the SQA have this year? So let's talk about money and how it goes around. The Scottish Government currently spends about £130 million per year on a programme called Pupil Equity Funding, which it introduced as part of its pledge to eliminate (later downgraded to close, and then narrow) the 'attainment gap' between rich and poor pupils. Indeed, it is often referred to as 'anti-poverty funding'. Schools receive £1225 per year for each child in receipt of free school meals and must ensure that it is used to deliver 'targeted support for children and young people (and their families if appropriate) affected by poverty.' Ultimately, that PEF money is supposed to mitigate the consequences of poverty in an educational context, with schools introducing new support programmes, hiring new staff, bringing in new consultants, or buying new resources in pursuit of that goal. As it turns out, there's lots of money going around. When you get right down to it, the plan here is to find clever ways to make sure that poverty doesn't follow pupils through the school gates and into the classroom or the exam hall. There are lots of examples of schools using PEF money to very good effect, and plenty of examples of them using it to plug other funding gaps. But what this scheme and the wider Scottish Attainment Challenge (total cost: £1.75 billion) definitely have not done is eliminate, close, or even meaningfully narrow the attainment gap. So maybe we need to ask some potentially difficult questions. Is spending hundreds of millions for each percentage point of progress really the best use of limited cash? Are there any other ways to spend that money that might have a bigger impact on people's lives, or broader society, or both? Well here's one idea: instead of trying to mitigate the effects of poverty in schools by spending money on behalf of poor people, why don't we just mitigate the poverty itself by giving that money directly to poor people? What if we tackled the scourge of poverty by just making people less poor? This week The Herald has revealed that 80,000 children in Scotland are living in very deep poverty. New figures from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation show that a higher proportion of young people are classed as being in the most extreme form of poverty than was the case in the mid-1990s, and that the current total is equivalent to every child currently living in Edinburgh. If the government took the £130m Pupil Equity Fund and simply divided it up amongst the 80,000 poorest children in the country then each one would receive £1625 per year. If the cash were instead added to their SCP, the amount their parents receive each week would more than double to £58.40. That sort of increase could have an astronomical impact on the lives of children and their families. It might even close the attainment gap. You can get in touch with our education writers by email:
