Shirley-Anne Somerville – 2021 Comments on the Attainment Scotland Fund

The comments made by Shirley-Anne Somerville, the Scottish Education Secretary, on 19 June 2021.

Closing the poverty-related attainment gap and ensuring every young person has the chance to fulfil their potential remains central to this Government’s work. Our ambition is a long-term one and we know that the challenges presented by the pandemic mean our efforts to deliver equity in education are more vital than ever.

This first instalment of the expanded Attainment Scotland Fund, with record funding of more than £215 million, will allow headteachers, schools, councils and other partners to provide targeted help for some of our most disadvantaged pupils.

We are providing investment across a number of diverse programmes which will benefit looked after children, support pupils in our most deprived areas and empower headteachers to invest their funding on initiatives that are right for the children in their schools.