Attainment Scotland Fund evaluation: headteacher survey 2019 - technical report

2. Survey Questions

Developing ASF supported approaches

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. Thinking about the range of potential approaches to closing the poverty-related attainment gap, to what extent do you feel confident in selecting the approach(es) that would be most effective in your school?

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

5. During 2018/19, which of the following best describes your approach to addressing the poverty-related attainment gap?

• Newly introduced in 2018/19
• A scale-up of an approach implemented in the previous school year
• Continuing, at the same level, an approach that was introduced in the previous school year
• No approaches for addressing the poverty-related attainment gap in 2018/19
• Other (please write in below)

6. Which statement, if any, comes closest to describing your schools' approach for achieving equity in education?

• Approach focuses on the most deprived pupils or parents of the most deprived pupils (e.g. based on SIMD or free school meals)
• Approach is universal - focuses on all pupils, all parents or all teachers, or all in a certain year group
• Approach is mixed – focuses on most deprived pupils alongside universal strategies
• Approach focuses on pupils who experience disadvantage for other reasons, in addition to being affected by poverty
• Approach focuses on pupils who experience disadvantage for other reasons, rather than poverty
• None of these

Interventions and approaches

7. To what extent has the approach in your school for addressing the poverty-related attainment gap changed over the previous year 2018/19 (i.e. from 2017/18 to 2018/19)?

8. Please explain your answer. For example, if your approach changed during 2018/19 please tell us about what prompted this. If not, please tell us about your decision to maintain your approach unchanged.

9. We would like to understand what areas your approaches were trying to improve. Thinking about your approach to closing the poverty-related attainment gap in 2018/19, how much emphasis has there been on the following areas?

• Leadership skills
• Collaboration within the school or across schools
• Data skills or use
• Self-improvement and/or improvement planning
• Teaching skills or practice
• Dedicated staff time
• Resources or tools for teaching and learning
• The learning environment
• Family learning
• Parental or community engagement with the school
• Targeted support for individual pupils
• Culture and ethos
• Other

10. Please tell us what 'other' areas your approaches were aiming to improve.

11. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

• I feel confident using evidence to inform the development of interventions / approaches
• I always use available evidence to measure the extent to which my school's approach is having a desired impact
• I feel confident in selecting the most appropriate measure(s) to evidence the impact of approaches
• Through the fund, I feel that my skills and knowledge of how to use data for teaching planning, evaluation and improvement at a school level have been significantly improved

12. Do you have an evaluation plan in place to measure progress and impact of interventions / approaches in your school supported by [Challenge Authority/Schools Programme] funding and/or Pupil Equity Funding?

13. Please explain why you don't or don't know if you have an evaluation plan in place.

Impact of interventions and approaches

14. 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] funding and/or Pupil Equity Funding?

15. Please explain your answer.

16. 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] funding and/or Pupil Equity Funding?

17. What are the main factors supporting progress towards closing the poverty-related attainment gap in your school?

18. What are the main barriers mitigating progress towards in making the interventions successful in closing the poverty-related attainment gap in literacy attainment, numeracy attainment or health and wellbeing in your school?

Sustainability

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

20. 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?

21. Can you tell us a little more about your expectations for the sustainability of closing the poverty-related attainment gap in your school? For example, this could include the sustainability of specific improvements to date, or how the approach/ethos is likely to become sustainable in the future.

Collaborative working

22. As the result of [Challenge Authority/Schools Programme] funding and/or Pupil Equity Funding, do you think there has been a change in staff working collaboratively in your school to improve their practice?

23. In what areas, if any, do you think there has been improved collaboration over the past year as a result of [Challenge Authority/Schools Programme] funding and/or Pupil Equity Funding?

Pupil Equity Funding

24. Did you feel that there was sufficient support in place to develop and implement your school plans for Pupil Equity Funding in 2018/19?

25. Why did you feel there was not sufficient support in place?

26. What kinds of additional support (if any) would have been helpful in developing your plan for PEF?

27. Which of the following did you consult when developing your plans for Pupil Equity Funding?

28. Please tell us here about any 'other' information sources used.

29. Thinking about your experience of Pupil Equity Funding in the previous school year 2018/19, to what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

• 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

Unintended consequences

30. Did your school's participation in [Challenge Authority/Schools Programme] funding and/or Pupil Equity Funding have any unintended positive consequences?

31. Please tell us here about any unintended positive consequences.

32. Did your school's participation in [Challenge Authority/Schools Programme] funding and/or Pupil Equity Funding have any unintended negative consequences?

33. Please tell us here about any unintended negative consequences.