Cost of the School Day in West Lothian

Arlene Black, Pupil Equity Fund Officer with West Lothian Council and Cost of the School Day Lead for the local authority, describes why West Lothian Council decided to take action:

“Given the current cost of living crisis, schools recognise the need to ensure that no part of a learner’s school experience is out of reach because of financial barriers, and every school is committed to including Cost of the School Day as integral to its improvement planning.” 

With around 24% of children living in poverty, 9.7% of those in employment earning less than the real living wage and an increasing number of families being impacted by the cost of living crisis, it was recognized that removing financial barriers at school for children and young people was vital, and support at council level could make this work even more effective. Taking action on equity and reducing the cost of the school day became part of the Strategic Equity Fund and an improvement priority for all schools.

The impact of this work

So far, the impact has been seen in a range of areas, from increased school staff awareness of consequences for children and young people living in poverty to joined up approaches and improved cross-service communication.

 “All staff understand the context of the school and the barriers to learning faced by children and families, including socio-economic disadvantage. Staff take effective action to address the cost of the school day. This ensures family circumstances are not a barrier to children’s access, participation and inclusion.” 

- HMIe inspection report

Children and young people report increased equity of access to wider school experiences and improved participation and engagement. In a primary pupil ethos survey, more than 85% of pupils reported that there are no school costs that prevent them feeling included or that prevent them making progress in their learning. 

There is also evidence that there is now a more authentic, meaningful and informed involvement of school communities, leading to improvements targeting need. Pupil voice is core to this, and pupil groups have benefited from wider opportunities offered by being part of the Cost of the School Day Voice network.

“Giving people what they need by asking and not assuming.” 

- Primary pupil

What steps did West Lothian take?

The support offered by West Lothian council is comprehensive, but can be summarised into seven key steps:

1. Leadership and involving the right people – getting the right people on board was important when laying foundations for success.
2. Offering schools ongoing support: including professional learning, supporting resources and sharing effective practice, visits from local authority staff to offer support and self evaluation guidance for schools.
3. Data driven improvements: Cost of the School Day is now included as a mandatory priority area in West Lothian PEF planning, and PEF planning tool was developed to support this.
4. Involving school communities: young people and families were asked about financial barriers through surveys and focus groups and further discussion helped stakeholders to explore potential solutions together.
5. Communicate widely and effectively: supporting school’s open communication about costs and encouraging families to come forward.
6. Boosting family incomes through partnership working: offering referral pathways for families and the promotion of financial entitlements and other support.
7. Practical action to remove or reduce costs: the practice put in place to address the cost of everything from uniform and school clothing to access to trips and resources and learning. 

What’s next for West Lothian

“We have tried to ensure the cost of the school day just becomes part of the core business of schools. It's just what they do.”

- Arlene Black

The wide range of activities that West Lothian council put in place has been designed to build capacity and systems across schools, making the Cost of the School Day self-sustaining and part of school’s core business. Cost of the School Day in West Lothian is part of the Strategic Equity Fund, with associated monitoring of action, progress and impact, and the information gathered will be used by the PEF team and SAC partners to identify future strategic direction.