£1 MILLION FUNDING BOOST FOR FIFE SCHOOLS

Published date : 11 Jun 2020

SNP GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCE PACKAGE TO IMPROVE ATTAINMENT

Mid Fife and Glenrothes MSP, Jenny Gilruth, has welcomed investment from the Scottish Government’s Attainment Scotland Fund, which is focused on closing the poverty-related attainment gap. Fife Council is set to receive over a million pounds worth of investment from the SNP Scottish Government to support pupils from deprived backgrounds.

To help mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, schools and local authorities will have flexibility to redirect some of this funding from existing plans to best support the most vulnerable and disadvantaged families, with a continued focus on equity in education.

The £50 million package is in addition to the £250 million Pupil Equity Funding package announced in May for the next two years and an investment of £9 million to provide 25,000 laptops to assist pupils learning at home.

Commenting, former teacher and Fife MSP Jenny Gilruth said:

“In Government, the SNP has put closing the poverty-related attainment gap front and centre of its plans to improve education.

“This latest funding boost for Fife demonstrates this Government’s ambition to transform our schools and ensure that every young person gets the chance to succeed in life, regardless of their background.

“The Education Secretary, John Swinney, has also handed councils the flexibility to use this funding to help respond to the coronavirus pandemic so no child gets left behind.

“There’s still a lot to do in reducing poverty and inequality in Scotland – but universal benefits like free school meals for our youngest pupils, free prescriptions and free higher education are helping keep more money in the pockets of hard working families here in Fife.”

ENDS

Notes:

The Attainment Scotland Fund was established to support the Scottish Attainment Challenge in 2015. This is a £750 million commitment over the course of this parliamentary term. The Attainment Scotland Fund is a targeted initiative focused on supporting pupils in the local authorities of Scotland with the highest concentrations of deprivation. The nine ‘Challenge Authorities’ are Glasgow, Dundee, Inverclyde, West Dunbartonshire, North Ayrshire, Clackmannanshire, North Lanarkshire, East Ayrshire and Renfrewshire.

The Schools Programme supports schools outwith these Challenge Authorities. These schools have been identified on the basis of supporting a significant proportion of pupils and families from communities which are facing some of the greatest challenges across Scotland.

Breakdown of funding provided to Challenge Authorities:

Local Authority

2020/21 LA ASF Allocations

Clackmannanshire

£1,571,821

Dundee

£6,223,466

East Ayrshire

£3,762,790

Glasgow

£8,050,000

Inverclyde

£3,467,107

North Ayrshire

£5,767,252

North Lanarkshire

£7,478,859

Renfrewshire

£4,558,000

West Dunbartonshire

£2,043,815

Total

£42,923,110

Breakdown of funding provided via the Schools’ Programme:

Local Authority

2020/21 LA Level ASF Allocations

Aberdeen City

£631,766

Argyll & Bute

£23,892

Dumfries & Galloway

£137,343

Edinburgh

£845,595

Falkirk

£272,500

Fife

£1,003,921

Highland

£1,193,340

Scottish Borders

£173,528

South Ayrshire

£399,523

South Lanarkshire

£1,963,488

Stirling

£181,803

West Lothian

£256,424

Total

£7,083,123

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