Looking for an innovative way to spend your PEF money?

Posted by Shirley Lawson on the 21st November, 2023

Category Assistive Technology

Have you ever wondered if the technologies you see making a difference to your learners would be a wise investment of this money and is it possible to do this?

There are some misconceptions about the use of Pupil Equity Funding:

Only children in receipt of Free School Meals can benefit from Pupil Equity Funding.

False. Although funding is based on free school meal registration of pupils in P1-S3, this should not necessarily exclude any children and young people outside of this range. Headteachers have flexibility when deciding which children and young people can benefit from the funding.

Pupil Equity Funding is not intended to support children identified with Additional Support Needs (ASNs).

False. Research shows the interconnection between poverty and additional support needs. If a child is affected by poverty, they are more likely to be identified as requiring additional support. Funding can be aimed at supporting children affected both by poverty and identified as having additional support needs.

Pupil Equity Funding must only be spent on interventions.

False. Interventions and approaches should be considered within the context of the school improvement planning cycle and must be targeted towards closing the poverty-related attainment gap. These approaches can include interventions, staffing and ICT, which help close an identified gap within a whole school improvement priority using additional funding or resource.

Misconceptions (Pupil Equity Funding: national operational guidance 2023).

Pupil Equity Funding can be used to procure digital technologies, including hardware and software, where its allocation and use is particularly focused on supporting children and young people affected by poverty to achieve their full potential.

Considerations for using PEF (Pupil Equity Funding: national operational guidance 2023).

You can make excellent use of your Pupil Equity Fund money by carefully investing in technology (and associated training) to support pupils with Additional Support Needs. How could this be done in your school? Here are some ideas:

Invest in new or additional assistive technologies.  Not sure what to buy? Have you explored our Loan Bank of equipment? You can borrow an item for two months free of charge.  This gives you the opportunity to find out if it is what you are looking for.

Book your staff on one of our Assistive Technology training workshops or fund them to undertake our self paced online learning modules.

Work together as a school and book an expert trainer from the CALL Scotland team to come out and deliver a Professional Learning session in person (or online) with the focus on using Assistive Technologies to support learners with ASN.

Work with a member of the CALL Scotland team who can come out and do a school technology audit then provide advice, support, training and make recommendations for your next steps to creating an inclusive learning environment with assistive technologies at the forefront

Please contact us if you want to discuss your options further, we would be delighted to discuss with you how this wise investment of Pupil Equity Funding could make a real difference and produce tangible results with a measurable impact.