Thank you, convener. I welcome this opportunity to contribute to the committee’s inquiry into the attainment and achievement of school-age children who are experiencing poverty.
Let me start by reaffirming the Scottish Government’s commitment to improving Scottish education and closing the poverty-related attainment gap. Our work in that regard is part of the wider getting it right for every child agenda. We want every child or young person and their family to be offered the right help at the right time, from the right people.
The Government is taking a broad-based approach that draws together the contributions of various policy areas, including health, justice and housing. The focused approach of the Scottish attainment challenge represents the education aspect of the agenda, which is set in our national improvement framework vision of “excellence through raising attainment” and “Achieving equity” for all in Scottish education.
We have committed to putting £750 million into the attainment Scotland fund over this parliamentary session and to supporting schools and local authorities to tackle the attainment gap. We are providing £120 million of pupil equity funding on an annual basis. That money goes straight to schools, for headteachers to spend on supporting children and young people who are affected by poverty to achieve their full potential.
The approach that we are taking with the funding is designed to empower schools with the means whereby we can address the challenges of the poverty-related attainment gap. Naturally, the approaches that are taken will vary according to the individual circumstances of schools around the country; it is for schools to judge what is appropriate for the needs of their pupils.
Over recent weeks, a range of approaches to utilising pupil equity funding has been shared widely across social media channels, as we have encouraged consideration of the most effective interventions for improvement in performance.
We are already seeing the impact of the Scottish attainment challenge and the pupil equity fund. The policy is making a real difference in classrooms across the country and it is impacting on the lives of children and young people. The recent attainment Scotland fund evaluation showed the positive impact on schools in Scotland’s most deprived communities.
The national improvement framework is giving us more data than ever before, which is enabling us to gain a deeper understanding of strengths and weaknesses at all levels of the education system. Our consultation on a framework for assessing our progress in closing the poverty-related attainment gap established that there is a broad consensus that a single measure cannot properly describe the attainment gap. It also confirmed that there is general support for a package of indicators and improvement goals, building on the range of measures that are already in place.
There is great strength in Scottish education, but we must do more for children who are affected by poverty. That is why we are investing in the attainment Scotland fund. I look forward to considering the committee’s conclusions on the subject, which will have value in informing forthcoming Government policy.