Like many schools, Mill of Mains Primary in Dundee has been using Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) to subsidise trips so that everyone can attend.

Primary school pupils running outside

“PEF is used to subsidise trips and heavily subsidise residential trips for those who cannot afford to send their children. If parents are unable to pay for days out - which are also heavily subsidised - by using Parent Pay then that is accepted and we choose not to make to make a fuss about this. Each class has £1000 PEF money and they can use this to cover costs of any trips so that every child can learn on trips and relate this back to what they are learning in school. PEF paid for all kids to go to the pantomime, something that many could not otherwise afford. All benefited from the trip and noone had to stay at home.”

Staff at Logans Primary School in North Lanarkshire say that PEF is making a difference when it comes to trips.

“PEF has helped us pay for trips for our P7s to Strathclyde Park, with no costs for families. This means that the children can take part in activities over a period of 5 days and these include cycling, orienteering, archery and team building exercises. School trips are either fully paid by the school or are heavily subsidised by the school and for any parent struggling to pay for their child to attend a trip, then this would be paid by the school.”

A Principal Teacher of a primary school in Edinburgh is ensuring that the costs of school trips are free by accessing charitable funds alongside PEF. 

“We've accessed money from a charitable organisation and we used this to provide outings to the zoo and an adventure park. No costs were associated with this and this meant that all children could attend and noone was left behind or did not attend school that day. This was a shared experience that gave the children the chance to do something different, something that many families could not have afforded to do with their children. It was a shared experience to continue to focus on after the event. We have also accessed charitable funds to ensure that all of clubs are free, like dance and literacy, and we seek to use these to help address the attainment gap.”