Attainment Scotland Fund - process evaluation - Scottish Attainment Challenge: local authority leads survey report 2022-2023

Conclusions

The Scottish Attainment Challenge local authority leads survey has sought to develop understanding of the processes and early implementation of the refreshed Attainment Scotland Fund in 2022/23.

Overall, the evidence suggests that in the first year of implementation there has been considerable progress towards embedding the new ASF funding model introduced with the Scottish Attainment Challenge Mission. The experiences of local authorities in planning for and implementing Strategic Equity Funding are in part differentiated on the basis of the type of ASF funding that local authorities received prior to the Scottish Attainment Challenge refresh.

Whilst there were some perceptions of negative financial impact of introduction of SEF on former Challenge Authorities, the new approach introduced with the SAC refresh of providing funding to each local authority through Strategic Equity Funding has been broadly welcomed, alongside the recognition that poverty impacts the educational experiences of children and young people across all local authorities. SEF has also supported more strategic, longer-term planning across local authorities, and this is particularly the case for local authorities who were not previously Challenge Authorities. The introduction of the SAC Logic Model has been supportive of such strategic and longer-term planning. Additionally, the SAC Mission has provided a cohesive mechanism to support a focus on closing the poverty-related attainment gap at the local authority level.

There is evidence of ongoing refinement and development of approaches to closing the poverty-related attainment gap, not least due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, and the impact of the cost of living crisis.

There is evidence both of continuity and of change in the experiences of local authorities as a result of introduction of the refreshed Scottish Attainment Challenge. Key continuity aspects include the importance of collaboration, and the use of data and evidence. There was strong evidence of collaboration, but experiences of collaboration were not uniform, with various approaches to collaboration at different levels and across the different funding streams. Similarly, there is evidence of increased use of data and evidence, but this is still evolving with variations across local authorities. In particular, measuring impact remains an area for further improvement.

The role of Attainment Advisors in providing support and challenge to local authorities and to schools is clearly highly valued, with the conduit to wider Education Scotland expertise and resources an important aspect of this provision.

Learning has emerged of what has worked well and what can be improved in terms of implementation. Time pressures and pressures of other demands have been highlighted, with tight timescales and delays e.g. to key guidance viewed as impacting negatively in some instances. The importance of engaging a wider range of stakeholders has also emerged strongly. For example, in terms of the development of stretch aims, much of the stakeholder engagement related to central local authority officials, Attainment Advisors and headteachers. Tight timescales for the development of stretch aims were perceived to have limited some engagement/consultation with specific groups of stakeholders, and there is recognition of the need for increased consultation and engagement with learners, parents and families in particular in relation to stretch aims.

In terms of PEF, whilst there was evidence of improved understanding on PEF spend, a greater focus on impact and on review and scrutiny; perceptions of variability at the school level remain. Whilst schools know their own contexts and what is needed, there is a recognised need for further support for some schools in terms of PEF, particularly around tracking of impact.

In terms of CECYP, the importance of collaboration and partnerships has been highlighted, with designated posts such as the Virtual Headteacher role viewed as highly valuable in supporting and developing such collaborative and partnership working.

The combination of effective use of data combined with strong collaboration across services and partners, and engagement of stakeholders from pupils up to elected members, to enable highly effective planning regarding targeting of resources has also emerged as a key learning point.

Whilst the evidence suggests that in the first year of implementation there has been considerable progress towards embedding the new ASF funding model introduced with the Scottish Attainment Challenge Mission, there is learning emerging which can support the continual improvement of the implementation of the fund. In the period between responses to the survey and publication of this report, further progress will have been made by local authorities in terms of reporting on stretch aims, collaborating on and refining stretch aims, and further developing structures and processes to support progress in each local authority area.

This report is an initial key output from the new ASF Evaluation Strategy and forms part of the overall body of evidence developed over the course of 2022/23 and into future years of the Scottish Attainment Challenge. Summary reporting is scheduled for Year 3 (2024/25), which will triangulate evidence from this survey and development work on assessing impact as well as the thematic areas work strands.