Argyll and Bute Council’s Community Service Committee has welcomed the allocation in 2018/19 of £1.4 million to schools in the area through the Scottish Government’s Pupil Equity Fund (PEF).

The fund aims to improve the educational outcomes of children affected by poverty. There is currently a gap between the educational progress made by those living in Scotland’s least and most deprived areas, often known as the ‘attainment gap.’

In 2017/18 schools in Argyll and Bute received just over £1.3million in Pupil Equity Fund payments which are provided as a core element of the Scottish Attainment Challenge.

Publicly funded primary, secondary and special schools within the council area received a funding allocation for each child in primary 1 to S3, or equivalent, based on particular eligibility criteria.

The Council’s Policy Lead for Education, Councillor Yvonne McNeilly said: “We wholeheartedly welcome the allocation of this latest tranche of PEF funding to schools in Argyll and Bute, and as an authority we look forward to working together with both individual schools and the Scottish Government when determining how best it can be used to produce the outcomes for young people that we all want to see.

“We are expecting to see positive, measured outcomes that will make a real difference to the lives of pupils as a result of this extra funding.

“It is important that the life chances of all children and young people in Argyll and Bute are equal. We recognise the importance of rural issues and how this impacts on the life chances for our children, and look forward to the Pupil Equity Funding helping to address these issues.”

Schools in Argyll and Bute have focused resources to addressing the gaps within literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing.