In the last month the Scottish Government has issued guidance to head teachers Equity Funding National Operational Guidance 2018” “Pupil – – which for the first time asks schools to equality when developing “consider” Equity Fund projects: shows that some children and young people from equalities “Evidence groups can be disproportionately affected by deprivation and can therefore face significant additional barriers to learning. Education authorities have responsibilities to actively address inequality and the promotion of equity is a shared responsibility held by all staff, partners and stakeholders. In this context, headteachers should consider additional steps that might be required to close the educational attainment gap for pupils affected by poverty who may also experience disadvantage for other reasons. For example, disadvantage related to; a protected characteristic (disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex (gender) and sexual orientation); a need for which they require additional support; being looked after; or having caring responsibilities”. The EHRC welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter further with the Committee to ensure that all pupils experiencing poverty irrespective of their postcode can benefit equally from this significant investment in our children’s future.
In the last month the Scottish Government has issued guidance to head teachers “Pupil Equity Funding – National Operational Guidance – 2018” which for the first time asks schools to “consider” equality when developing Equity Fund projects: “Evidence shows that some children and young people from equalities groups can be disproportionately affected by deprivation and can therefore face significant additional barriers to learning. Education authorities have responsibilities to actively address inequality and the promotion of equity is a shared responsibility held by all staff, partners and stakeholders. In this context, headteachers should consider additional steps that might be required to close the educational attainment gap for pupils affected by poverty who may also experience disadvantage for other reasons. For example, disadvantage related to; a protected characteristic (disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex (gender) and sexual orientation); a need for which they require additional support; being looked after; or having caring responsibilities”. The EHRC welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter further with the Committee to ensure that all pupils experiencing poverty irrespective of their postcode can benefit equally from this significant investment in our children’s future.
attainment_and_achievement_of_school_aged_children.docx