Pupil Equity Funding: national operational guidance 2023

Planning

Whilst Pupil Equity Funding allocations have been confirmed until March 2026 meaning opportunities to implement longer term interventions can be realised, Pupil Equity Funding can only be carried forward to the next academic year in exceptional circumstances with the explicit agreement of local authorities. Careful consideration should therefore be given to shorter term interventions which support the mission to use education to improve outcomes for children and young people impacted by poverty, with a focus on tackling the poverty-related attainment gap.

It is important that Pupil Equity Funding is maximised effectively and fully for the current financial and academic year. A high evidentiary bar should be placed on interventions or more holistic uses of Pupil Equity Funding when planning strategic approaches to closing the poverty related-attainment gap. It may be useful to use a 'top down' approach when assessing interventions for implementation – beginning with the proven, most effective way of closing, for example, the literacy or numeracy gap. Headteacher's professional judgement and expertise should then be utilised to make an evidence-informed decision about whether this approach will be as effective in their school environment. Utilising longer-term approaches through planning the use of Pupil Equity Funding over multiple years should be used in conjunction with short and medium term approaches to allow for more effective planning of spending, recruitment and development.

Planning can be supported by the logic model, which can be found as a supporting document to the Framework for Recovery and Accelerating Progress, which shows how a programme produces change. The SAC logic model can help bring detail to programme goals, aid planning, evaluation, implementation and communication. It incorporates outcomes reflecting the mission, which encompasses child poverty, broader achievement and an increased focus on health and wellbeing and family and community support.

As set out in the Framework for Recovery and Accelerating Progress, there should be alignment between aims set by schools to improve the outcomes for children and young people affected by poverty and the stretch aims of the local authority. Local authorities will provide guidance on how approaches to the use of Pupil Equity Funding at school level can contribute to local aims. School plans should inform the local authority stretch aims and local authority aims should be reflected in school plans as part of a two-way collaborative process.

Headteachers will need to be familiar with local policies and procedures – such as the Local Code of Corporate Governance, Local Schemes of Delegation, the Role of the Section 95 officer, the local Devolved School Management policy and local school planning cycle. Local authorities can advise on these policies.

Scotland's Equity Toolkit has been designed to support practitioners in their practice and decision making by providing access to a range of evidence, research and practice, and importantly identify the conditions contributing to success in one place. It includes key information which may be helpful to consider or guide implementation and sustainability in different settings.

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) Toolkits are based on real life data about what has happened when particular approaches have been used in schools before. The Toolkits do not make definitive claims as to what will work to improve outcomes in a given school. Rather they provide high quality information about what is likely to be beneficial based on existing evidence – 'best bets' for what might work in your own context.

An 'Interventions for Equity' resource has been developed to support the planning and implementation of interventions and approaches to meet the needs of children and young people affected by poverty in order to close the attainment gap. The examples cited act as a stimulus for wider reflection of what might suit your local context and are by no means the only interventions that should be considered.

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Collaborative: Actively engage children, young people, families, communities, staff and partners in planning process.

Evidence informed: Plans are based on data and a clear understanding of the context of communities they will be implemented. 

This data should include: local & national data and reference to research including SAC Theory of Change and Logic Model.

Setting ambitious and SMART aims: Aims should be smart, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed. They also need to be ambitious enough to achieve long term goals of closing poverty related attainment gaps.

Measuring progress: SMART measures and baseline data are needed to be able to show progress towards aims. Regular tracking and monitoring will support staff respond timeously to interventions which are not having the desired impact and make adaptations.

Evaluative: All plans should have aims and measures which allow leaders to clearly state whether aims have been achieved.

Quality assurance processes embedded to support the development and implementation of SAC plans. This can be both internal or external, involve peers or senior leaders.

Unspent funds

Pupil Equity Funding can only be carried forward to the next academic year in exceptional circumstances with the explicit agreement of local authorities. This practice should therefore not be routine or form part of the planning process. Whilst Pupil Equity Funding allocations have been confirmed until March 2026 meaning opportunities to implement longer term interventions can be realised, it is important that Pupil Equity Funding is maximised effectively and fully for the current financial and academic year. Careful consideration should therefore be given to shorter term interventions which support the mission to use education to improve outcomes for children and young people impacted by poverty, with a focus on tackling the poverty-related attainment gap. Utilising longer-term approaches through planning the use of Pupil Equity Funding over multiple years should be used in conjunction with short and medium term approaches to allow for more effective planning of spending, recruitment and development.

Schools should liaise closely with their authority to agree arrangements for carrying forward the funding into the new financial year (and, in exceptional circumstances, into the new academic year). Pupil Equity Funding should be considered separately from other funding within the devolved school management budget.

Headteachers should utilise the Framework for Recovery and Accelerating Progress to help shape School Improvement Plans to achieve a robust and effective plan for Pupil Equity Funding which will not result in any predicted underspend of funds. They should work in close collaboration with Attainment Advisors to ensure effective planning thereby identifying appropriate opportunities for improvement and to close the poverty-related attainment gap.