SCHOOLS in Strathkelvin and Bearsden are set to benefit from extra funding to close the attainment gap, it has been revealed.
MSP Rona Mackay has welcomed additional funding of £1,564,800 to schools in the local authority area.
Teachers will be in direct control of the Pupil Equity Fund, which was based off the number of pupils in P1 to S3 eligible for free school meals.
Ms Mackay, the MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, said: “I came into politics to help children, so I am absolutely delighted this extra funding is going to help our most disadvantaged.
“The SNP government has pledged to close the attainment gap so we can give every child in Scotland the best start to life, and policies like this will certainly bring us closer to that goal.
“I very much welcome that the money goes directly to the schools to be spent by teachers, and does not get caught up in the bureaucracy of local government.”
ENDS
Notes:
Background
The £120 million Pupil Equity Fund was announced in the Scottish Government’s Draft Budget 2017-18: http://news.gov.scot/news/a-budget-for-scotlands-future-1
Allocations are based on the number of pupil from P1 to S3 known to be eligible for free school meals, with schools receiving around £1,200 per pupil. The full list of individual school allocations can be found here: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Education/Schools/Raisingeducationalattainment/pupilequityfund/Schoolallocations
A suite of information about the most successful approaches and interventions, based on practice examples from around Scotland and the best available international evidence, is being developed: http://news.gov.scot/news/new-attainment-tools-for-teachers