FUNDING of £4.4m awarded to schools across North Ayrshire has been welcomed by the shadow education portfolio holder for the SNP group.

Councillor Willie Gibson praised the Pupil Equity Funding scheme, which was announced last week as part of the Scottish Government's budget.

More than 2,300 schools across Scotland will receive additional support worth thousands of pounds to be spent at the discretion of teachers and school leaders to close the poverty-related attainment gap.

Mr Gibson, Councillor for Saltcoats and Stevenston, said: "This additional funding will make a huge difference to the children at our schools. 

“We have made significant progress in closing what is referred to as the attainment gap – the gap in performance of children from less well-off families compared to those from better off families.

“These funds are specifically allocated to allow our schools to continue that work. This is a very exciting initiative.

 “As a former teacher I am delighted at the additional focus that is being brought to bear on improving the opportunities for every child in North Ayrshire.”

Under the new funding allocation, Ardeer Primary School is set to gain £98,400, St John's Primary £48,000, Glencairn Primary £79,200 and Hayocks Primary £160,800, whilst Dalry Primary will receive £121,200 and Garnock Academy (Primary) £38,400. 

Some of the most generous provision in North Ayrshire will be allocated to secondary schools in the local area, with Auchenharvie Academy receiving £127,200, Ardrossan Academy £124,800, St Matthew's Academy £181,200, and Garnock Academy (Secondary), £114,000. James MacFarlane School in Ardrossan will also receive £6,000.

The Scottish Government said that allocations are based on the number of pupils from P1 to S3 who are eligible and registered for FSMs, with schools receiving around £1,200 per pupil.

But when the Herald analysed the figures, the funding appears to fall short for schools across North Ayrshire. 

Based on this estimate, St John's Primary should receive £57,000, more than £10,000 more than what it actually receives (£48,000). Similarly, St Palladius gets £21,000, which is £3,000 less than what it should receive based on the £1,200 per pupil estimate (£24,000), while Mayfield gets £79,200, instead of £94,800, and Blacklands gets £48,000 as opposed to £56,400.

There were also schools that got more than they should have. Castlepark and Dykesmains received more than they should be getting based on the estimate, the former getting £217, 200 instead of £196,800 and the latter receiving £81,600 instead of £73,200. 

We also noted that Dykesmains has 61 FSM registered pupils and they received only £81,600, yet Glencairn Primary has 70 FSM registered kids but they got less money, at £79,200.

When we put these findings to the Scottish Government, a spokesperson said: “Allocations are based on registrations for free school meals. Local authorities are under a duty to ensure that those who are eligible for free school meals, are encouraged to take one. 

“This approach to estimating free school meal registrations is currently the best available measure, but will be kept under review as the Government seeks to improve the quality of data for identifying children living in households affected by poverty.”