Na h-Eileanan an Iar SNP MSP Alasdair Allan has welcomed the news that schools in the Western Isles will benefit from a £275,000 funding boost as part of the Scottish Government’s drive to improve standards in schools.

The share each school is due to receive from the Scottish Government’s new £120 million Pupil Equity Fund has been revealed by Deputy First Minister John Swinney, with schools set to receive additional support worth thousands of pounds.

It will be up to teachers and school leaders to decide the best way of using the funding to close the poverty related attainment gap in their schools.

Alasdair Allan MSP commented:

“Every child in Scotland should have the best possible start in life. It is simply wrong for children from the poorest backgrounds to have their chances limited by circumstances outside their control.

“The SNP in government has made closing the poverty-related attainment gap our number one priority. This new £120 million Pupil Equity Fund is aimed at doing just that – supporting 21 primaries and 4 secondaries across the Isles.

“This new announcement will let parents, teachers and school leaders see how much funding they can expect to drive up standards and tackle the inter-generational cycle of deprivation in their school.”