The SNP Government has increased its allocation of Pupil Equity Funding to North Ayrshire schools from £4,482,149 to £5,154,472.
This 15% uplift, the Pupil Premium, takes the total investment for North Ayrshire to £22,722,442 since the beginning of the programme.
The allocations follows on previous funding rounds of £4,297,771 last year; £4,464,240 in 2019/20 and another £4,413,960 in 2018/19, while the first ever round in 2017/18 NAC was allocated £4,392,000 NAC.
Pupil Equity Funding is allocated directly to schools and is aimed at helping Head Teachers to level attainment.
Following the £750 million the previous SNP Government’s Attainment Scotland Fund over the last Parliamentary term, the gap between the most and least deprived pupils getting a Level 5 award – for example, National 5s – has shrunk by more than a third. At level 6 – for example, Highers – the gap has shrunk by a fifth.
In line with the Manifesto, the SNP Government will now build on this progress, by:
· Investing £1 billion over the next parliament in measures to recover from Covid, improve attainment and close the attainment gap;
· Increasing teacher numbers and classroom assistants by a further 3,500 on top of the increase over the last Parliament;
· Implementing a clear, funded package of support for pupils who have fallen behind or seen their wellbeing suffer as a result of the pandemic, starting with a programme of activities this summer;
· Devolving more powers and financial control to the people who know the pupils best – teachers; and
· Taking forward the recommendations of the OECD review of Curriculum for Excellence.
Kenneth Gibson MSP welcomed the 15% Pupil Premium:
“The coronavirus pandemic has had a profound impact on our pupils and educators and this significant £672,322 uplift for NAC is just one manifestation of how seriously the SNP Government takes the task of giving all children in the best start to life.
“I know educators at NAC will continue to make the best use they can out of the funding provided and they have reported real progress over the past few years towards improving learning, raising attainment and closing the poverty-related attainment gap.”
ENDS
