Fewer than one in 10 schools has a finance committee providing oversight of a flagship Scottish government fund designed to improve the education of children in deprived areas, a survey has found.
The EIS union, which carried out the survey, has raised concerns that too much control over how to spend the money is in the hands of heasteachers. It insists that all teachers should be involved in deciding how to distribute the funds, which are divided among about 95 per cent of state schools in Scotland.
The survey of 262 schools found that only 9 per cent of schools had any form of committee oversight over the spending of Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) money, with some respondents saying that their headteacher decided how to use their school’s allocation without consulting any other staff.
Last week the Scottish government announced details of PEF allocations for 2018-19, the second year of the scheme, which sees £120 million going to schools and is allocated depending on the number of pupils entitled to free school meals.
EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said: “The EIS fully supports the aim of reducing the impact of poverty on children’s education, and welcomes the additional resources that have come to schools through the Pupil Equity Funding scheme - although we retain concerns over the level of paperwork associated with the model.”
He added: “It is disappointing to discover, through our national survey, that fewer than 9 per cent of schools have a finance committee in operation to agree how PEF funding should be used.
“The EIS supports the important role of the headteacher as the leader of learning within the school, but we believe that collegiate decision-making that involves all teachers is an essential component of effective schools.”
A Scottish government spokeswoman said: “Pupil Equity Funding is provided directly to schools for headteachers to spend at their discretion to close the poverty-related attainment gap. What’s more, there is clear feedback that it has been widely welcomed and is working in schools the length and breadth of Scotland.
“We encourage schools to work with a wide range of stakeholders to decide on the use of the funding but we are committed to ensuring the use of this funding remains at the discretion of the headteacher and does not become weighed down by committee structures or unnecessary bureaucracy.”
Local authorities body Cosla was also contacted for comment.
When announcing details of the latest round of PEF allocations last week, education secretary John Swinney said: “Last year’s allocation is already making a big impact. I have visited a number of schools up and down the country where this funding has empowered teachers to put in place creative new initiatives that are tackling the attainment gap in their schools right now.”
MSPs on the Scottish Parliament’s Education and Skills Committee recently heard in focus groups with teachers that PEF money had led to a “catfight” over resources, MSPs have been told. They also heard from teachers and heads that the teacher shortage was “hampering” schools’ ability to spend the Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) money as they would like.
One head said that, while welcome, PEF - which gives schools an extra £1,200 for every pupil registered for free school meals - had “merely topped up resources to where they were 10 or 12 years ago”.
Last year, Tes Scotland reported that concerns were mounting that PEF money was often simply “shoring up” local budget cuts.
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