West Dunbartonshire Council unites to oppose "unfathomable" decision to slash attainment gap funding

dailyrecord.co.uk:

An “unfathomable” decision to slash £2million of funding for West Dunbartonshire’s most deprived children has been slammed as new stark figures revealed the attainment gap is widening.The Lennox Herald reported last year how the region will lose a huge portion of the Scottish Government’s Attainment Challenge cash, which aims to reduce the poverty-related attainment gap in the country’s poorest areas.And last week, new statistics showed the pandemic has led to the gap widening – prompting calls for the funding to be reinstated immediately.Councillors voted unanimously to back a Labour motion rejecting the planned cuts at a full council meeting last week.West Dunbartonshire Council chief executive Joyce White, council leader Jonathan McColl and leader of the opposition Martin Rooney will write to the Scottish Government demanding the funding is restored.The SNP leader told a full council meeting of his disgust at the decision, saying he was “flabbergasted” by it.He said: “The reduction in funding for the attainment challenge fund is going to have a significant and serious impact on our ability to reduce inequalities in education, and help those in areas of deprivation.

It is an unfathomable decision taken at a national level.“What makes me even more angry at this point is that I asked for some information from the Scottish Government as to how they expected me, as an SNP leader, to defend the indefensible.“In West Dunbartonshire we have been able to employ some extra staff and retain some teachers.

We can do our best to try and minimise the impact. But nobody can say that this isn’t going to have an impact. Because it is.“We will continue fighting, cross-party.