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

Impact of COVID-19

25. A range of national and international evidence has indicated that school building closures during the pandemic impacted on education, and that those from relatively deprived socio-economic backgrounds experienced a disproportionate impact. This is an important context for reporting on the poverty-related attainment gap.

26. Evidence utilised in this report suggests that pupils felt they did not feel prepared for learning on their own and had fallen behind on their school work during home learning; that parents from more deprived areas were more likely to have concerns about the impact of home learning on their child's wellbeing and school work; and, that practitioners felt that higher numbers of children from more deprived backgrounds had shown regression in core literacy and numeracy skills.

27. The Scottish Government and Education Scotland undertook an Equity Audit^[7] in 2021 with the aim of deepening understanding of the impact of the pandemic on children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The second phase of the report involved Education Scotland collecting data from 54 schools across 32 local authorities on their experiences of the pandemic. This included interviews with children and young people, parents, headteachers, practitioners, and partner organisations. Some of the key findings included:

• Most participants reported that the period of remote learning had had a negative impact on the progress of most children and young people.   Most school staff stated that the negative impact of the closure of school buildings was most evident in younger children with the progress of children in P1 and P2 being most notably affected.
• The majority of teachers reported that higher numbers of children and young people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds showed regression in core literacy and numeracy skills when schools re-opened after the closures of school buildings. They described many children and young people affected by socio-economic disadvantage as struggling to absorb new information and regain prior levels of independence and engagement. 
• In the opinion of these teachers, the number of children and young people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds on track to achieve appropriate levels had fallen significantly.
• School staff reported a sense that children and young people's physical wellbeing had suffered. Socio-economically disadvantaged children and young people were identified as being at significantly higher risk of being adversely affected by both mental and physical health concerns.

28. The PISA 2022 assessments included a student questionnaire which asked participating 15 year olds about their experiences during periods of school building closures, including learning arrangements, problems experienced at home, and wellbeing. The results provide important context to the learning experiences of this cohort of students prior to the PISA assessments. Students will have been aged between 13 and 14 during the periods of school building closures, and in the early years of high school education. The data showed, compared to the OECD average, students in Scotland were:

• Less likely to say they were well prepared to learn on their own (45.2 per cent compared to 54.6 per cent)
• Less likely to agree they were motivated to learn (25.7 per cent compared to 38.5 per cent)
• More likely to agree that (55.6 per cent) that they had fallen behind on their school work
• More likely to agree that that they had learnt less when their school building was close (77 percent).

29. However, students in Scotland were less likely than the OECD average to report that they experienced problems with access to learning materials, including access to a digital device, internet access, school supplies, and having a quiet place to study.

30. Students in Scotland were also more likely than the OECD average (59.8 per cent compared to 50.7 per cent) to agree that their teachers were well prepared to provide instruction remotely, while two thirds of students agreed that teachers were available when they needed help (similar to the OECD average).

31. In December 2021, the Scottish Government commissioned questions on the impact of COVID-19 in the Ipsos Scotland Parents Omnibus Survey. This is a representative survey of parents in Scotland, including household income and SIMD. The results provide insights from the perspective of parents on similar issues to those reported by 15 years olds in PISA.

32. Parents were asked about how well remote learning met their child's needs, and whether they were concerned about the impact of the period of remote learning on their child. The data show that parents from the most deprived areas (55%) were less likely than parents from the least deprived areas (66%) to agree that remote learning had met their child's needs.

33. Parents from the most deprived areas were more likely to say that they were 'very' or 'quite' concerned about their child's school work and the impact on their child's mental health and wellbeing. Notably, almost 3 out of 4 parents from SIMD1 were concerned about the impact on their child's school work. A quarter of parents were concerned about the impact on their child's physical health, which was similar between the most and least deprived areas.