Latest news with #ScottishAttainmentChallenge
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:
Glasgow Times
27-04-2025
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow's Jordanhill School named best in Scotland
Figures, published by The Sunday Times, rank high schools based on the percentage of pupils who achieved the gold standard of five Highers or equivalents in 2024 and 2025. (Image: Image of Jordanhill School in Glasgow) Jordanhill School, in the West End of the city, has taken home the top spot for the eighth year in a row. The school, which is directly funded by the Scottish Government and is independently governed, as opposed to other schools which are funded by councils, surpassed its closest rival by 10 points and achieved a record 94 per cent of gold standard students in 2025 - according to The Scottish Sun. Schools in East Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire nabbed 10 spots within the top 20 list, with Strathaven Academy in South Lanarkshire coming 20th on the list. Mearns Castle High School in East Renfrewshire came second and Woodfarm High School in East Renfrewshire came in at third. The attainment gap between the country's richest and poorest pupils remains wide. For example, Drumchapel High sits at 334th place, just two miles from Bearsden Academy, where 78 per cent of students attained the gold standard. Keir Bloomer, chair of the Commission on School Reform think tank, said: 'Scotland needs to focus on raising standards for all, rather than simply on narrowing the attainment gap. 'In any case, tables such as this say nothing about the gap or, indeed, the quality of schools. 'They simply confirm the huge impact of socioeconomic circumstances on attainment. 'Jordanhill may or may not be a better school than Wester Hailes but it certainly has a more privileged intake. It does benefit from the freedom of action that its form of governance allows and we need to look again at the way that schools are run. This includes ensuring that smaller and less affluent schools get the support they require.' A Scottish government spokesman added: 'The Scottish government is providing direct investment in Scotland's education system and is providing £4.3 billion in this year's budget. This includes continued funding in the £1 billion Scottish Attainment Challenge as part of our key priority to close the poverty-related attainment gap. 'As a result of sustained investment, Scotland has record level of literacy and numeracy in schools, the lowest attainment gap since records began for literacy in primary schools and record number of young people entering work, training, college and university.'
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Scottish Government 'considering' scheme to make it easier to return to school
The Scottish Government is reportedly considering a pilot scheme which would make it easier to return to school, due to concerns over the numbers of pupils leaving in S4. Fourth year in secondary school is the last compulsory year of school, and the number of pupils choosing to leave at that stage is rising. In 2019-20 11.4% of S4s left following their final compulsory year, but that had risen to 14.4% over the past two years. The proportion leaving in S5 has also been rising, reaching 28.4% last year, the second highest level on record since 2009/10. Read More: Healthy or hurting, all of Scotland's universities face difficult choices Inspectors warn two Edinburgh schools are 'substantial fire risk' Warning over funding cut for Scotland's colleges As reported by The Scotsman, education secretary Jenny Gilruth raised concerns over the figures in a meeting with senior figures in the sector. The minutes of the meeting reveal that the Scottish Government is also considering introducing a pilot scheme which would make it easier for school leavers to return to education if they change their minds. A Scottish Government spokesperson told the newspaper: 'The percentage of leavers in a positive destination three months after leaving school is at 95.7 per cent - the second highest since records began. 'The most recent statistics also show the proportion of school leavers choosing to leave at S4 was similar to last year's figures. After a rise last year, we have been exploring why young people are deciding to leave school at S4. These factors include the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. 'We will continue to work closely with schools and partners to find ways to support young people stay in learning. This includes our £1 billion investment in the Scottish Attainment Challenge.'
