Pupil Equity Funding: national operational guidance 2023

Misconceptions

"Only children in receipt of FSM can benefit from Pupil Equity Funding"

False. Although funding is based on free school meal registration of pupils in P1-S3, this should not necessarily exclude any children and young people outside of this range. Headteachers have flexibility when deciding which children and young people can benefit from the funding.

"Unspent allocations can be carried forward to be used in conjunction with the following years allocation."

False. Pupil Equity Funding can only be carried forward to the next academic year in exceptional circumstances with the explicit agreement of local authorities. Attainment Advisors can provide advice and guidance on ensuring full and effective investment of Pupil Equity Funding.

"Pupil Equity Funding must only be spent on interventions"

False. Interventions and approaches should be considered within the context of the school improvement planning cycle and must be targeted towards closing the poverty-related attainment gap. These approaches can include interventions, staffing and ICT, which help close an identified gap within a whole school improvement priority using additional funding or resource.

"Evidence for interventions and approaches using Pupil Equity Funding can be supported using only school data"

False. The use of school and learning community data is strongly encouraged. Headteachers must develop a clear rationale for use of the funding, based on a robust analysis of the poverty-related attainment gap data in their schools and learning communities. Plans must then be grounded in evidence of what is known to be effective at raising attainment for children affected by poverty.

"Pupil Equity Funding is not intended to support children identified with Additional Support Needs (ASNs)"

False. Research shows the interconnection between poverty and additional support needs. If a child is affected by poverty, they are more likely to be identified as requiring additional support. Funding can be aimed at supporting children affected both by poverty and identified as having additional support needs.