John Swinney

Nine local councils with the highest concentrations of deprivation in Scotland, known as “Challenge Authorities”, will share £43m of investment from the Attainment Scotland Fund.

In addition, a further £7m will be shared from the Schools’ Programme between 73 additional schools with the highest concentration of pupils from areas of deprivation.

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

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

Deputy First Minister John Swinney, said: “Closing the poverty-related attainment gap remains the defining mission of this Government and the challenges presented by the current pandemic mean that efforts to deliver equity in education are more important than ever. This funding will allow local authorities and schools to provide targeted help for some of our most disadvantaged pupils.

“I have given local authorities additional flexibility in how this funding is deployed in light of the unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in. This will allow schools and councils to swiftly adjust plans and to work together to identify opportunities to undertake collaborative approaches in response to the current crisis. It is important that Headteachers continue to be directly involved in any decision made about the deployment of Schools’ Programme funding and Pupil Equity Funding.

“This work will be supported by our £9m investment in 25,000 laptops and tablets to assist pupils learning at home.” 

• Read all of our articles relating to COVID-19 here.