Northern Alliance colleagues leading our Raising Attainment and Closing the Poverty-Related Attainment Gap workstream are pleased to have delivered a very successful week-long series of events relating to all aspects of the curriculum, drawing from the expertise of a wide range of colleagues. Events were delivered in partnership with a number of organisations including Education Scotland and the Children’s Rights Commissioner’s Office.

The team has received some fantastic feedback from practitioners across the Northern Alliance, including this lovely testimonial:

‘A number of our staff participated in events throughout the Northern Alliance’s Promoting Equity Week and all who did commented on how much they had gained from the experience. We all gained much from the input from contributors and also from colleagues from across the Alliance. From this we have made links with a number of schools to hear more about what they are doing or who want to hear more about initiatives we have tried.

‘Working in schools can be quite isolating, and particularly in our current circumstances, and to feel part of a bigger group of professionals all dealing with the same issues is a positive experience. We would certainly welcome similar initiatives in the future on different topics and would again encourage our staff and pupils to participate.’

This was sent to us by Irene Sharp, Head Teacher, Fraserburgh Academy.

The aim of Promoting Equity Week was to help schools across the region consider the barriers faced by young people living in poverty and investigate the pressures the pandemic has had on vulnerable and disadvantaged children. Those who took part were given the opportunity to explore mitigating measures they can use in practice, explore how they could best use Attainment Scotland funding and share ideas and best practice with peers on how to address the poverty-related attainment gap.

The team had over 1050 sign ups for events from across all eight local authorities which was a fantastic turnout. We continue to evaluate the feedback from the week and try to meet the needs of our staff. We will continue to offer further CLPL opportunities relating to Promoting Equity Week including a workshop delivered by Susan Sey (Ed Scotland) and Marc McWhirter (Digital DHT, Moray) looking at the digital divide in Scotland and how now more than ever digital access and digital skills are important for our young people. Sign up here: https://bit.ly/DigitalEq

Lead officer Scott Calder explained: “At this time of pandemic, achieving equity for all our young people has never been more important or more challenging. We are very proud of the collaboration achieved through Promoting Equity Week and hope the pack of resources which continues to be available will support the work of educators across the Northern Alliance in the months and years ahead.”

Find out more on the dedicated Promoting Equity Week website: https://sites.google.com/as.glow.scot/promotingequityweek/home
You may also wish to follow this workstream on Twitter: @NAPovertyGap