Extra school funds must be protected

HENitwas launched last year, the aim of the Scottish Government’s Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) was clear. The £120 million available was to be targeted at primary pupils from poorer backgrounds and allocated directly to schools where the headteachers would decide how to spend the money. The aim was to close the attainment gap, with teachers making the decisions.

At the time, the scheme was broadly welcomed, although there was also recognition the money could not be, on its own, a solution for such a profound problem. Just a few days ago, the persistence of the problem was revealed by the latest school league tables – at the top are councils such as East Renfrewshire, where 66 per cent of pupils go on to higher education, while in Clackmannanshire, the figure is 25 per cent – all in a system that purports to offer broad equality.

The PEF was a welcome attempt to change those figures, but it would appear that in one council area at least, the principles of the scheme are at risk. According to an email sent to its primary headteachers last week, North Lanarkshire Council would like to slice £1.3m from the £8.8m PEF money allocated to the area and use the money instead to pay for existing classroom assistants and an administrative team at the council’s HQ.

The move has been rightly criticised by the Association of Headteachers and Deputes Scotland, whose general secretary Greg Dempster has said that the North Lanarkshire proposal is at odds with the conditions attached to the PEF money. The entire idea was heads would decide how the money was spent based on the sound principle that, where possible, decisions should be made at school level where staff are aware of the pressing issues and problems. Headteachers should consult councils of course, but North Lanarkshire should not be allowed to undermine the general principle.

The proposal to slice off 15 per cent of the PEF money also flouts the promise made at the start of the scheme that the new money would pay for activities in addition to those that were already planned. What North Lanarkshire proposes to do isusethemoneytofundexisting services, in particular classroom assistants, which to some extent is understandable – many schools in more deprived areas have more than their fair share of pupils who require learning support, making classroom assistants a vital resource. It also raises the question, once again, of whether the Government – initiatives such as PEF aside – is giving schools the overall funds they need.

However, the act of robbing Peter to pay Paul proposed by North Lanarkshire is not the answer. A range of policies, of which PEF is just one part, will be needed to close the attainment gap in primary schools, but the solutions will have to be driven by headteachers and their teams. The PEF specifically recognised this principle by promising a serious, targeted attempt to tackle the gap, with the decisions made on the ground.

North Lanarkshire Council, or any other council for that matter, should not be allowed to undermine the good work before it has even begun.