Scottish Government
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Commitment to raising attainment for all
Education Secretary pledge as £1.5m awarded through Access to Education fund
Schools across Scotland have secured funds totalling £1.5 million to help reduce barriers to learning experienced by pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Angela Constance confirmed the Access to Education funding awards are part of wide-ranging work by the Scottish Government to ensure that all pupils, regardless of background, have an equal opportunity to succeed.
Making her first school visit in her new post, Ms Constance also announced a further £1.5 million will be made available for another round of awards next year.
Ms Constance was speaking at Forthview Primary in West Pilton, which was one of 247 successful applicants from across Scotland for funding. The school has received £5,000 to further develop its ‘whole school reading culture’, which has improved attitudes to reading for enjoyment across the school community and has been well received by pupils and parents.
Computing, mentoring experiences and parental engagement are among other projects at Scottish schools that received funding yesterday.
Ms Constance said yesterday:
“I congratulate all of today’s successful Access to Education applicants. We know that too many children are held back by barriers to learning.
“That’s why initiatives such as the Access to Education fund are so important. At Forthview Primary, great strides are being made to improve reading within the school, led by teachers and fully supported by parents.
“The Access to Education fund has an important role to play and that’s why I’ve committed a further £1.5 million to support many more projects across Scotland. While attainment in Scottish schools is good, and improving, we must continue to do all we can within the powers and resources to narrow that attainment gap and drive up standards at all levels.”
Notes To Editors
A full list of amounts awarded to each local authority can be accessed here:
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/supportinglearners/accesstoeducationfund.asp
Read more here about initiatives to improve attainment announced by the First Minister in the Programme for Government: http://news.scotland.gov.uk/Speeches-Briefings/First-Minister-Programme-for-Government-12b1.aspx
