Gap closing too slowly in schools

Survey reveals that only quarter of teachers think Government fund has helped kids from poor areas

FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon could not have been clearer about her Government’s top priority.

She has repeatedly said – the last time being this week – that closing the attainment gap for poorer pupils is her mission.

It is a national scandal that a young person’s performance at school can be determined by their postcode, and the First Minister was correct to call out this injustice.

However, the Government’s deeds do not match their words.

The key policy for closing the attainment gap was the £120million-ayear Pupil Equity Funding, which was supposed to empower heads by giving them extra money to spend on schools.

This was fine in theory, but risky in practice, and a number of projects funded by PEF have been questionable.

Today’s story about the views of teachers is also important. Although most believe the money has been targeted at poorer pupils, only 26 per cent of those surveyed believe PEF has raised attainment for the disadvantaged.

Nearly 60 per cent of teachers also made clear that council education cuts, which fall at the door of the Scottish Government, have hit the poor. An understandable suspicion exists that PEF is making up for cuts elsewhere.

Ahead of the next Holyrood election, Sturgeon will have to show that big progress has been made in our schools. As things stand, voters would struggle to give her a pass mark.

BARELY one in four teachers believes the Scottish Government’s top education policy has helped pupils from poor backgrounds.

A trade union survey revealed that only 26.2 per cent of school reps agreed that a £120million-a-year fund has raised attainment for disadvantaged children.

Nearly 60 per cent said council education cuts, for which the SNP Government has been blamed, have hurt poorer families the most.

Labour MSP Mary Fee said: “Education Secretary John Swinney should be embarrassed by these figures.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed last week that education remains her No1 priority.

Her flagship policy is Pupil Equity Funding (PEF), which has provided more than £300million since 2017 for schools to spend.

Its aim is to close the huge performance gap that exists between pupils from wealthy and poor areas.

Some of the funding has been used to buy equipment, employ new teachers and promote classroom leaders.

But findings from a survey launched by the EIS union, which represents teachers, have raised questions about the success of the policy.

Of the 556 teachers who were asked whether the money had raised attainment for the poorest pupils, 42.6 per cent did not know, 31.1 per cent said no, while only 26.2 per cent replied by saying yes.

Nearly 58 per cent of those surveyed said their council had reduced education funding and 92.4 per cent said the cuts had “adversely” affected pupils with additional support needs. A majority – 56.8 per cent – added that the most deprived families had been hit the most.

Fee described the report’s findings as a “damning verdict on the SNP’s performance.”

But a spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said last night: “We know that closing the attainment gap will take time but we also know that what we are doing is having a tangible effect.”