Local Government budget cuts will make closing the attainment gap harder.
The Scottish Borders is 8th highest of all local authorities for children who live in families with limited resources. This means that 1 in 4 children in the Scottish Borders live with material deprivation. That’s equivalent to 7 children in a class of 28.
In numeracy and literacy Scottish Borders pupils from the most deprived areas of the authority achieve less well than those from the least deprived. This is known nationally as the Poverty Related Attainment Gap.
The greatest gaps exist in Primary 1 (32%) and Primary 7 (24%) Numeracy, P4 (23%) Writing, Primary 1 (22%) and Primary 4 (21%) Reading and in Primary 4 (22%) Listening and Talking.
£1.8 million has been allocated in funding to close the attainment gap in the Scottish Borders. The allocation is based on the number of Free School Meals. However, the Scottish Borders Council has raised concern that this measurement does not fully appreciate the challenges felt in rural areas, like the Scottish Borders.
The Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland have also highlighted concern that the funding may miss or overlook rural areas because poverty is less concentrated.
Rachael Hamilton MSP said: "Local budget cuts will make closing the attainment gap harder. The Scottish Borders is 8th highest of all local authorities for children who live in families with limited resources. The Scottish Borders needs adequate funding to combat the attainment gap and overcome its rural challenges.
"Headteachers must be given the power to decide on how this money should best be spent without any need to be under the direction of the relevant local authority or central government.
"Headteachers are best placed to know exactly where the money will be most effective. They should not face any unnecessary bureaucracy or straitjackets when it comes to making the key decision."
Cllr Shona Haslam, Leader of the Scottish Borders Council said: "Tackling poverty is a challenge in the Borders – the draft budget settlement makes tackling this difficult due to the lack of understanding about the uniqueness of a rural authority – but the Conservative and Independent led administration of SBC have made this a key priority moving forward.
"Reducing the attainment gap is essential to ensuring that poverty does not become a cycle, that our children can see and value their own worth. That they can believe that they can achieve anything that they set their minds to.
"Since May we have opened 3 new primary schools, a new High School and the Jedburgh Campus is moving forward quickly. This demonstrates our commitment to building the best possible infrastructure to allow our young people to succeed."