Government funding to boost the prospects of pupils in poverty

Glenrothes councillors have been updated on how more than £1.6 million in Scottish Government funding is being used towards closing the attainment gap at local schools.

Fife Council received a total of £9.3m in pupil equity funding (PEF), launched in March 2017, to help young people disadvantaged through poverty reach their full potential.

Across the Auchmuty, Glenrothes and Glenwood cluster schools, there is an allocation of £1,667,000.

Councillors heard interventions under the PEF were in the early stages. So far, schools have been mainly working to identify how best to spend the money available.

As a result of this work, the funding will be spent on schemes promoting literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing.

The meeting heard from Victoria Dolatowska, head teacher at Southwood Primary School, who said the funding would help ensure existing schemes were sustainable.

She said it would take forward previous work, which included the appointment of a principal teacher of literacy, with training for staff across the school.

Glenrothes area committee convener Fiona Grant said: “The pupil equity funding allows us to target additional support to identified young people within schools and address the barriers to learning they experience.

“The extra resources will help pupils who may be struggling for reasons beyond their control and will help to put them on a more a more equal footing with their fellow pupils. I look forward to hearing more about the progress of the projects over the coming months.”