Union calls for teachers to have say

Fewer than one in 10 schools have set up committees to look at how extra cash from Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) is spent, a new survey has revealed.

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) asked schools if they had a committee to monitor how the cash was used.

Of the 262 schools that answered, 239 said there was no a committee to monitor the funds.

Just 23 schools have committees in place, according to the research.

PEF was set up by ministers as part of efforts to close the attainment gap – with the Scottish Government confirming that 2,387 schools will share more than £120 million from the scheme in 2018-19.

EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said: “The EIS believes that all teachers in schools, working collaboratively on a collegiate basis, should agree how PEF funding should be utilised in their school.”

He added: “It is disappointing to discover, through our national survey, that fewer than 9% of schools have a finance committee in operation to agree how PEF funding should be used.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Pupil Equity Funding is provided directly to schools for head teachers to spend at their discretion to close the povertyrelated attainment gap. What’s more, there is clear feedback that it has been widely welcomed and is working in schools the length and breadth of Scotland.”