Headteacher engagement with the Pupil Equity Fund: autonomy, evidence and networks

The Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) aims to address the poverty-related attainment gap in Scottish Schools. The current study examined headteachers’ choice of PEF-funded projects and interventions in their school, the key considerations and constraints affecting their choices, and the sources of support available to them. Eight secondary headteachers from government-funded schools across Scotland were interviewed. Using an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach, we identified three important themes: autonomy, engagement with evidence, and the role of networks. Our findings suggest several challenges inherent in identifying both priorities and effective interventions to which funding could be allocated, as well as reflecting some of the creative and positive ways that schools have risen to these challenges. We discuss the complex relationship between external support and autonomy, and endorse an increased role for networks at local and national levels in the future enactment of PEF.