The Welcome to School Bag Initiative

That the Parliament notes with concern the Scottish Government’s decision to introduce its initiative, the Welcome to School Bag, at an estimated cost to the public purse of £2.7 million over two years; understands that this represents an estimated cost of £28 per pupil, with the unit cost reflecting the Scottish Government’s procurement procedures; further understands that many primary schools, including in Central Scotland and Lothians West, are facing increasing financial pressures and are struggling to provide pupils with essential classroom resources as a result of reducing classroom budgets; believes that the £2.7 million allocated to this initiative could instead be directed towards teacher budgets, providing approximately £1,500 for every primary school to spend on essential classroom supplies and learning materials; condemns the Scottish Government for prioritising what it sees as a headline-grabbing initiative over practical needs of schools when, it believes, there is no clear evidence to demonstrate that this initiative will improve educational outcomes or help close the attainment gap; considers that funding should be directed towards initiatives that deliver results for pupils and teachers, rather than costly schemes whose educational impact remains unproven, and notes the calls on the Scottish Government to urgently reconsider the initiative, redirect funding towards primary school classroom budgets, ensure that teachers have access to resources and prioritise measures that will raise attainment, improve literacy and numeracy and deliver better educational outcomes for Scotland’s primary school pupils.