SCOTTISH children’s charities have called on the Government to do everything in its power to make sure “poverty is not a barrier” to Scottish education.

They said there are a number of measures that must be put into place to ensure those living in poorer families are treated fairly.

The calls came last night as Scottish Education Secretary Angela Constance gave a hard-hitting speech to an audience at the University of Glasgow’s Robert Owen Centre for Educational Change, insisting “nothing is off the table” when it comes to tackling “education inequality”.

After six months in the job, she hammered home the issue that “poverty cannot be an excuse for failure in Scottish education” and used the platform to “take stock” of some of the key issues in the education sector.

John Dickie, director of Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, said: “It is vital that the Government does everything it can to ensure poverty is not a barrier to all that Scotland’s education system has to offer.

“That means acting to ensure families have the incomes and resources they need so their children can fully participate at school, but also supporting schools to remove the cost barriers that too often make school a difficult place for young people.

“We know from our work the extra costs of school trips, classroom materials, access to IT, healthy school lunches and travel to school can all create barriers.”

Action for Children Scotland said youngsters from poorer families needed more support and understanding within the education system to stop them “feeling like they have been written off” and help them transform their lives.

Paul Carberry, director of service development at Action for Children Scotland, said: “Through our 85 services across Scotland, we support children and young people who have very chaotic home lives.

“These children may be in the care system and forced to move around, they may have become involved in offending and feel like they have been written off, or they may have a caring role within their family that makes it impossible to concentrate in class.

“They need both additional support and our understanding to do well at school, gain qualifications and transform their lives.

“More than anything, children need to have aspirations and the self-belief to realise them. We should be asking, ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’, and making sure that schools and families are working together to provide the support and encouragement they need to succeed.”

In her speech, Constance insisted Scotland’s education system must “be fair and provide excellence to every child, irrespective of their background or circumstances”.

She said qualified, well-trained teachers and improved information for parents were key to raising attainment, including understanding more about how poverty affects children’s lives.

Constance added: “If we are to want for every child what we want for our own children, we need an education system that is fair and which provides excellence to every child irrespective of their background or circumstances.”

However, she insisted more must be done to help children in poverty.

Constance added: “It will never be acceptable for poverty to be an excuse for failure.

“We can and must no longer settle for good enough. We must aim high.”