SCOTLAND has put more money into education catch-up for pupils than any other part of the UK, a study has found.
The Education Policy Institute (EPI) found this week’s Holyrood commitment of an extra £60 million for teachers and classroom support staff means that the Scottish Government has laid out more cash to help pupils cope than their counterparts in Westminster, Stormont or the Senedd.
The total Scottish Government spending on education catch-up of £200-per-pupil – £140m overall – compares with £174 each in England, £88-a-head in Wales and £82 for every learner in Northern Ireland.
The think tank called the uplift in Scottish Government funding “significant”, with the cash commitment just £114-per-head before.
But it says ministers could do more to help the poorest pupils and youngsters with additional support needs.
READ MORE: MSPs back a call for major reform of the SQA in non-binding vote
EPI research fellow Luke Sibieta said: “All four UK nations have faced common challenges following the massive disruption to education, but this analysis shows that despite this, their approaches to academic catch-up programmes contrast significantly.
“The Scottish and UK governments have so far committed the most catch-up funding, however the programmes for both Scotland and England are poorly targeted.
“In comparison, we find that the programmes of Wales and Northern Ireland have lower funding in total, but focus more resources on the poorest pupils, who we know have been hardest hit.
“We know that the adverse effects of the pandemic will persist well beyond this academic year, so policymakers across the UK must look at providing additional catch-up funding over multiple years, with far greater levels targeted at the most disadvantaged pupils.
“Only then will we begin to meet the scale of the challenge posed by this crisis.”
Scotland’s youngest learners in nursery and P1 to P3 will return to their classrooms from Monday. A small number of senior students will also be able to return if this is necessary for practical work.
Remote learning continues for other groups, with the First Minister saying it is unlikely that they will go back to class before mid-March.
Education Secretary John Swinney says there is “every possibility” that secondary schools may have to use blended learning when more youngsters are allowed to return to the classroom, due to the continued need for social distancing.
He told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme yesterday that “there is a very successful programme of remote learning being delivered by schools around the country, which is delivering education in the home to many, many pupils”.
“From Monday those senior pupils who need to have access to schools for practical exercises will be able to get that access from Monday onwards.
“We are working to reduce the prevalence of the virus, to make sure we can restore education on a safe basis.
“We will take considered decisions based on the evidence that is available to us about when we can return pupils to face-to-face learning, and I am absolutely crystal clear, I want to make sure we return pupils to face-to-face learning as soon as it is safe to do so.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon dismisses Willie Rennie's conspiracy theory about schools report
“But I have to be mindful of the clinical and scientific advice that is put to me to make sure that everybody, staff and pupils, are safe in this process.”
According to the EPI, around half of catch-up funding in Wales and Northern Ireland has been targeted towards poorer pupils, compared with 30% in England and 20% in Scotland.
The Scottish plan spans the longest period, covering the next academic year while others end in the summer.
But the institute says all nations’ plans are “insufficient” and multi-year blueprints that “address the scale of learning loss” should be drawn up instead.
It also says all nations have “failed to provide adequate guidance on supporting vulnerable pupils” with additional support needs to manage their remote learning. While other administrations have announced funding specifically for this group, the Scottish Government has not.
The Scottish Government said: “We know that Covid is affecting the learning of all children and young people and we have published an Equity Audit examining the particular impact on children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
READ MORE: 'World first': Scottish scientists predict epidemic size and evolution
“We have committed to investing over £300m in education recovery over 2020-21 and 2021-22 that has helped recruit an additional 1,400 teachers and over 200 support staff. This funding has also helped address digital exclusion supporting local authorities to provide over 63,000 devices and over 11,000 connectivity solutions to disadvantaged children and young people.
“We are investing £182m in the Scottish Attainment Challenge in 2021-22, including £127m in Pupil Equity Funding to support those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Since March 2020, this has enabled the provision of tablets to support digital learning at home and support for home-school link workers to maintain regular contact with children. It has also supported summer learning and support programmes, free food and additional learning materials. This builds on the £750m investment in the Scottish Attainment Challenge over the course of this Parliament.
“Separately, we have provided £51m to councils in 2020-21 for free school meal alternatives during remote learning and school holidays. £15m invested from our Connecting Scotland programme has distributed 23,000 Chromebook and iPads and two years unlimited data to low income families with children and young people leaving care who are digitally excluded.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here