Attainment Scotland Fund Evaluation – Headteacher Survey 2020: technical report

2. Survey Questions

The Attainment Scotland Fund

1. The Scottish Attainment Challenge, supported by the Attainment Scotland Fund, aims to close the poverty-related attainment gap by achieving equity in education. To what extent would you say you understand the challenges and barriers faced by pupils affected by poverty in your school?

2. How aware are you of the range of approaches that could be used to close the poverty-related attainment gap?

3. To what extent do you feel confident in selecting the approach(es) to closing the poverty-related attainment gap that would be most effective in your school?

4. To what extent has an overall approach to achieving equity in education, specifically in relation to the poverty-related attainment gap, been embedded within your school community?

5. As a result of COVID-19 and school building closures from March 2020, greater flexibility was provided in how ASF funds can be used. Have you made use of this greater flexibility to change any aspects of how ASF funds are used in your school?

6. If yes, please tell us how you have used this greater flexibility in use of ASF funds.

ASF-supported approaches

7. Which of the following have you used in the last year as part of your schools' approach for achieving equity in education? Please select all that apply

8. Thinking about the pupils and families experiencing poverty in your school, have new circumstances emerged since school building closures in March 2020 that may lead to pupils and families needing additional school support to close the poverty-related attainment gap?

9. If yes, please tell us about any new or emerging circumstances in your school's community that may lead to pupils and families needing additional school support to close the poverty-related attainment gap.

10. Please tell us about any changes to your approach that might be needed to support these new or emerging pupils and families being affected by poverty.

11. To what extent had your school's approach to addressing the poverty-related attainment gap at the start of 2019/20 developed from the previous year?

12. To what extent did your school's approach to addressing the poverty-related attainment gap develop during the period of school building closures from March to June 2020?

13. Please tell us how your approach developed during this period. For example, changes of approach to support learning at home, change in focus on specific groups of pupils and families.

Engagement with families and communities

14. To what extent has engagement with families and communities been part of your school's approach to achieving equity in education?

15. To what extent did your school's approach to engagement with families and communities develop during the period of school building closures from March to June 2020?

16. Please tell us how your approach to engagement with families and communities developed during this period.

Use of data and evidence

17. How would you rate your school's approach to the following? Please select one option for each row

• Using data and evidence to inform the development of approaches
• Identifying the most appropriate measure(s) to assess the impact of approaches
• Using evidence to measure whether approaches are having the desired impact
• Measuring progress and impact of approaches supported by Challenge Authority/Schools Programme funding and/or Pupil Equity Funding

18. To what extent has ASF support helped to develop staff skills and knowledge in using data for teaching planning, evaluation and improvement?

Use of data and evidence

19. So far, have you seen any improvement in closing the poverty-related gap in literacy attainment, numeracy attainment or health and wellbeing in your school as a result of interventions/approaches supported by Challenge Authority/Schools Programme and/or Pupil Equity Funding?

20. Please explain your answer above.

21. Are you expecting to see any improvement in closing the poverty-related gap in literacy attainment, numeracy attainment or health and wellbeing in your school as a result of interventions/approaches supported by Challenge Authority/Schools Programme and/or Pupil Equity Funding?

22. To what extent have COVID-19 and school building closures had an impact on the progress you have made in closing the poverty-related attainment gap?

Sustainability

23. Do you think that any improvement made towards closing the poverty-related attainment gap in your school as a result of Challenge Authority/Schools Programme and/or Pupil Equity Funding, will be sustainable beyond the years of the funding?

24. To what extent do you expect the focus on closing the poverty-related attainment gap in your school to be sustainable beyond the years of the fund?

25. Can you tell us a little more about your expectations for the sustainability of closing the poverty-related attainment gap in your school? This could include the sustainability of specific improvements to date, or how the focus on equity is likely to be sustainable in the future.

Collaborative working

26. As the result of Pupil Equity Funding, do you think there has been a change in staff working collaboratively in your wider school community to improve their practice?

• August 2019 to March 2020
• March to June 2020

27. Has there been improved collaboration in the following areas over the past year as a result of Challenge Authority/Schools Programme and/or Pupil Equity Funding – up to and during the period of school building closures from March to June 2020? Please select all that apply

• August 2019 to March 2020
• March to June 2020

28. Please tell us about any new collaborations that have emerged during the period of school building closures from March to June 2020.

Pupil Equity Funding

29. Did you feel that there was sufficient support in place to develop and implement your school plans for Pupil Equity Funding in 2019/20?

30. What kinds of support did you feel were missing and would have been helpful in developing your plan for PEF?

31. Which of the following did you consult when developing your plans for Pupil Equity Funding? Please select all that apply

32. Thinking about your experience of Pupil Equity Funding in the previous school year 2019/20, to what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Please select one option for each row

• Reporting requirements associated with PEF funding are reasonable
• Timescales for planning for implementation of PEF have been adequate
• PEF has provided my school with additional resource needed to address the poverty-related attainment gap
• As headteacher I have autonomy to develop a plan for Pupil Equity Funding taking account of the school's local context and needs

Learning from experience of school building closures

33. What would you say have been the main challenges to your work in closing the poverty-related attainment gap as a result of COVID-19 and school building closures?

34. Is there anything you would like to share about your school's response to these challenges, and any creative solutions that might be useful for other schools or future development of the ASF? This could include the overall school approach and ethos during school building closures, specific approaches used, or targeting of support for specific groups of pupils and families.