Pupil Equity Funding in East Lothian David Scott Quality Improvement Officer

PEF Funding £1,569,600 allocated to East Lothian 1,308 ‘eligible’ pupils – pupils eligible for free school meals Allocated across 6 secondary schools and 34 primary schools Section 3F, 3H and 6 of the 2000 Act imposes the following duties on Education Authorities

Focus of PEF Part of SG Attainment Challenge Focussed on narrowing the poverty related attainment gap Focused on ‘additionality’ – not provision that should already be in place At the discretion of the HT, in consultation with pupils, parents, staff and the local authority.

Focus of PEF Should be part of school current planning and reporting procedures Should have a clear rationale Should be focussed on ‘the gap’ – where is it? How do we know? Should provide targeted support Should have a clear plan for evaluating impact

East Lothian context Smaller number of pupils in SIMD 1 and 2 can mask the issues HTs given clear support and guidance in planning how to use their PEF allocation Framework in place and LA officers providing a support and challenge role Some proposals required ‘revision‘ Spending now well underway in most schools

Challenges How do we ensure the PEF has an impact? How do we secure improvement through the most appropriate interventions? How can we think more ‘out of the box’ rather than traditional solutions? How can we better engage the Third sector in future?