Meeting of the Parliament 27 January 2016
I will not, at the moment.
There would also be an opportunity to deliver on ministers’ promises on early learning and childcare. Currently, a mere 7 per cent of two-year-olds from more disadvantaged backgrounds are reaping the benefits of free provision, rather than the promised 27 per cent. South of the border, the percentage is 42 per cent. That shortfall is unacceptable and does nothing to help to address the attainment gap.
Save the Children and others make it clear that the foundations for the attainment gap are established in the earliest years—often before a child is even born. Evidence shows that for every pound that is spent before a child is three, £11 is saved later in life. As well as helping to close the attainment gap, that represents investment in our economy and the social wellbeing of our country. Consequently, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have placed a high priority on targeting resources at the early years and at those who need it most. The approach is reflected in our consistent argument for extending free early learning and childcare to two-year-olds from the poorest backgrounds, and it is why we have challenged this Government’s approach to its attainment fund.
As I have done on many occasions, I again welcome the additional resources, but how ministers have decided to spend the money is wrong. First, it was targeted at a mere half a dozen councils. Since then, more local authorities and schools have been added to the list to the point at which the minister boasts that 64 per cent of disadvantaged pupils now benefit from funding. However, 11 councils, including Orkney Islands Council, Shetland Islands Council and Aberdeenshire Council, remain excluded. Children from poorer backgrounds in those areas, whose needs may be every bit as great as their counterparts elsewhere in the country, are deemed by this Government to be ineligible for that support. They are not alone: it appears that almost 30,000 children are set to lose out in a postcode lottery that is entirely of ministers’ making.
I thought that lain Gray in the education debate earlier this month summed up the absurdity of the situation very well when he talked about Cochrane Castle primary school and St David’s primary school in Johnstone. They share one building, but while one school gets attainment funding, the other does not. In some cases, the inconsistency is not just between neighbouring schools but between neighbouring streets. How on earth can that be squared with the First Minister’s promise to close the attainment gap completely?
I assume that the First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning are serious in their intentions, so they must recognise that funding should be based on the needs of the individual child wherever they live. That is the underlying principle behind the pupil premium. It works south of the border—thanks to the Liberal Democrats. We want to see the same principle being applied here in Scotland.