Schools in North Lanarkshire will benefit from a £8,871,600 funding boost as part of the Scottish Government’s drive to improve standards in schools, it has been revealed.
The share each school is due to receive from the Scottish Government’s new £120 million Pupil Equity Fund has been revealed by Deputy First Minister John Swinney.
120 primaries and 23 secondaries across North Lanarkshire are set to receive additional support worth thousands of pounds. It will be up to teachers and school leaders to decide the best way of using the funding to close the poverty related attainment gap in their schools.
Welcoming the announcement, SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor said:
Every child in Scotland should have the best possible start in life, and it is unacceptable for children from the poorest backgrounds to have their chances limited by circumstances outside their control. The SNP in government has made closing the poverty-related attainment gap our number one priority, and our new £120 million Pupil Equity Fund is aimed at doing just that – supporting 120 primaries and 23 secondaries in North Lanarkshire.
This new announcement will let parents, teachers and school leaders in Coatbridge & Chryston see how much funding they can expect to drive up standards and tackle the inter-generational cycle of deprivation in their school.”
Furthermore, Mr MacGregor put forward a question asking the Scottish Government what percentage of pupils has achieved at least one qualification at Higher level or equivalent in each year since 1999.
Depute First Minister John Swinney responded:
“The percentage of school leavers attaining at least one qualification at SCQF 6 (Higher and equivalents) or better from 1998-99 to 2014-15 is shown in the following table.”
Mr MacGregor says of these figures:
“It’s clear to see that devolution has had a positive impact on education in Scotland, particularly from 2007 when the SNP took office. It’s great to see our fantastic teacher’s hard work is paying off – and shows just how talented our youngsters are.”
Fulton MacGregor 