Attainment Scotland Fund Evaluation: Reporting on Wider Evidence Sources, 2024

Introduction

What is the purpose of this Report?

12. TheAttainment Scotland Fund (ASF) Evaluation assesses the impact of the overall fund in improving outcomes in educational attainment and achievement and health and wellbeing, and closing the poverty-related attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people. A key output of the Evaluation is an analysis of quantitative data on attainment and wellbeing, using measures set out in the National Improvement Framework and Improvement Plan.

13. This report complements the NIF measures reporting on progress towards closing the attainment gap, by bringing together analysis of a wider set of surveys and data, which offer further insights into the nature of the poverty-related attainment gap and the experiences of children and young people, and their families, who are most affected by it.

14. The report focuses on publicly available reports and datasets. Some of these evidence sources offer long term trends, such as the All SCQF measure and the Widening Access to Higher Education data, while others currently offer snapshots into the poverty-related attainment gap, such as the Health and Wellbeing Census. The report draws on secondary analysis of these data by academic researchers, providing further insights into key factors that support closing of the gap. The report does not provide an alternative to the NIF Measures of the poverty-related attainment gap; rather, it seeks to complement and add colour to these measures.

Who is this report for?

15. The Report is for Attainment Advisors, local authority Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) Leads and policy officials, providing them with evidence on how performance has changed over time in an accessible format and a resource for them to use working with teachers and school leaders and those in the system that are interested in the national level picture.

The Attainment Scotland Fund (ASF)

16. The Scottish Attainment Challenge's (SAC) Mission is to use education to improve outcomes for children and young people impacted by poverty, with a focus on tackling the poverty-related attainment gap. It is supported by the Attainment Scotland Fund (ASF), which aims to deliver improvements in Scotland's schools in literacy, numeracy, and health and wellbeing for children affected by poverty. The ASF is made up of various funding streams totalling £1 billion, including Strategic Equity Funding (SEF), Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) and Care Experienced Children and Young People Funding (CECYP).

The Evaluation

17. The ASF Evaluation aims to provide learning about the overall implementation of the ASF and the extent to which progress has been made towards meeting intended outcomes articulated in the Scottish Attainment Challenge Logic Model in support of the SAC programme's mission.

18. A new Evaluation Strategy was published in 2022, which set out plans for evaluation between 2022/23 and 2026/27.

19. The Strategy outlines analytical activity related to four key strands of evaluation focus across the multi-year evaluation:

• Process evaluation to consider implementation of the refreshed Attainment Scotland Fund, including the Strategic Equity Fund, Pupil Equity Fund and Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund.
• A thematic strand of evaluation which will respond to emerging system priorities and consider what works, for whom and in what circumstances.
• Reporting on the National Improvement Framework (NIF) measures.
• Evaluation of the impact of ASF, through a combination of qualitative and quantitative measures.

20. A detailed analytical plan outlining activity in support of the high level strategy is published annually and this takes account of the new evaluation approach highlighted in the Strategy.

21. A core objective of the ASF Evaluation is to assess the impact of the overall fund in improving outcomes in educational attainment and achievement and health and wellbeing and closing the poverty-related attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people. This report summarises evidence in relation to the following evaluation questions:

To what extent did the fund contribute to a closing of the attainment gap between the most and least socio-economically disadvantaged children and young people, in line with the refreshed Scottish Attainment Challenge Mission?

To what extent did the fund contribute to an education system which encourages, reflects and values the breadth of achievements that contribute to improved outcomes for children and young people?

To what extent was there improvement in children and young people's readiness to learn through focusing on engagement, attendance, confidence and wellbeing?

Data Sources

22. The main sources for this report include those below. For a full list of sources used, please see Annex 1 of this report.

• The Health and Wellbeing Census undertaken in 2021
• The results of PISA assessments in 2022 and in previous cycles
• The Growing up in Scotland longitudinal study
• The Parental Involvement and Engagement Census
• The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes (LEO) dataset
• Educational Outcomes for Scotland's Looked After Children
• Commission on Widening Access to Higher Education measures
• The All SCQF Measure