Attainment Scotland Fund evaluation: thematic evaluation summary report 2024

Thematic Strand 2: Readiness to Learn

Readiness to learn is a new focus area for the Evaluation which has emerged during the refresh of the Scottish Attainment Challenge in 2022. The identification of readiness to learn as a new outcome area in the revised Logic Model for the Scottish Attainment Challenge was developed through a process of extensive stakeholder consultation and collaboration, with outcomes proposed at both short- and medium-term.

The subsequent development of a specific evaluation question, as outlined below, around readiness to learn within the Attainment Scotland Fund Evaluation Strategy 2022-26 led to the decision to include readiness to learn as the focus of one of the initial thematic evaluation areas.

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

The focus for Year 1 (2022/23) of the new Evaluation Strategy was to explore the concept of readiness to learn in the context of the Scottish Attainment Challenge, and to use this exploratory work to develop proposals to deepen our understanding in this outcome area. Whilst the term readiness to learn is used to some extent within the education system, there is no clearly defined understanding/concept of the term in the academic literature, although linked but separate concepts such as ‘school readiness’ are used in relation to children’s readiness to start primary school.

The current research, policy and practice focus in relation to pupil attendance and absence is also key to readiness to learn, particularly in the context of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on attendance. The concept of readiness to learn however, as outlined in the Logic Model, clearly includes attendance but is broader in scope. We are therefore seeking to explore different perspectives of what readiness to learn means, whether it means different things to specific groups (children and young people, parents and carers, teachers and other practitioners), and to what extent there are commonalities between these different perspectives. Children and young people’s perspectives of readiness to learn has been the initial area of focus, particularly in the context of children and young people affected by poverty.

Secondly, we have explored learning about the concept of readiness to learn in the context of the Scottish Attainment Challenge, through for example considering what approaches are in place to support children and young people’s readiness to learn in the context of the Scottish Attainment Challenge.

Finally, we have explored how we can take this emerging learning forward into the wider evaluation, in order to explore the overall impact evaluation question: ‘to what extent was there improvement in children and young people’s readiness to learn through focusing on engagement and attendance, confidence and wellbeing’.

What does readiness to learn mean to children and young people?

Two projects funded as part of the Scottish Attainment Challenge National Programmes have supported an initial exploration of what readiness to learn means to children and young people.

Young Scot has been taking this forward through its #YSEquity Panel of children and young people established as part of its work in relation to the Scottish Attainment Challenge. Young Scot has been exploring what readiness to learn means, firstly for #YSEquity Panel members, and using this learning to co-design a survey, ‘What I need to learn’, to gather responses from children and young people across Scotland. The survey, which over 1,000 children and young people aged 11 years old upwards responded to from November 2023 to January 2024, suggests that readiness to learn is associated with a broad number of aspects of children and young people’s lives in relation to attending and engaging in school.

Overall, aspects highlighted suggest readiness to learn includes, amongst other things, being prepared, having the material resources needed, not being hungry or stressed, feeling or being safe, valued, respected, feeling supported and being confident and happy.

Full findings from the survey will be available in a range of formats from Young Scot Observatory, the hub for Young Scot’s insight work.

Findings will support ongoing understanding and exploration of readiness to learn from children and young people’s perspectives. This will include ongoing exploration by the #YSEquity Panel as part of Young Scot’s Scottish Attainment Challenge National Programme-funded activities.

Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland Cost of the School Day Project

As part of the Voice Network launched during Challenge Poverty Week in October 2023, CPAG in Scotland’s Cost of the School Day Big Question has explored the views of children and young people across primary and secondary schools participating in the Voice Network on many different themes related to the Cost of the School Day. With over 4,500 responses across primary and secondary pupils, the Big Question included a focus on children and young people’s perspectives of readiness to learn.

The Big Question findings on readiness to learn highlight the importance of food in relation to readiness to learn. In primary school settings, having enough food was very important for 86% of those who participated in the survey, and quite important for 13%, whilst in secondary school settings, having enough food was very important for 67% and quite important for 30%.

In response to ‘What other things do you need to be ready to learn?’, those in both primary and secondary settings most frequently highlighted not being tired or stressed. For those in primary settings, feeling that grown ups are listening to you and that your opinions are important was second most frequently highlighted, followed by being able to take part in the same things at school as your friends and classmates. In secondary settings, having pens, pencils and other things you need for school was second most frequently highlighted, followed by being able to take part in the same things at school as your friends and classmates.

Young people offered invaluable insights into what they need outside of school, in school, in the classroom and from the people around them to feel ready to learn. Many of the examples provided, such as sufficient food, uniform, lack of worry and stress, resources for learning and equal participation, are strongly influenced by family income. Young people’s responses tell us more about the barriers and enablers to readiness to learn and the kinds of approaches required from practitioners and policymakers to remove barriers and support attendance, engagment, confidence and wellbeing.

Full findings on the Big Question will be available in a range of formats from CPAG in Scotland.

The views of children and young people highlighted to date through these two complementary pieces of evidence-gathering have started to indicate what children and young people consider readiness to learn means and feels like.

Continued engagement with children and young people will help to support an ongoing understanding about what readiness to learn means. Starting to explore the views of teachers and other practitioners is an important next step.

What have we learned about approaches being developed in relation to readiness to learn in the context of the Scottish Attainment Challenge?

Prior to the refresh of the Scottish Attainment Challenge in March 2022, there were a range of approaches and interventions in progress across local authorities as part of the Attainment Scotland Fund which broadly link to the concept of readiness to learn. This included approaches and interventions designed to support children and young people’s engagement and attendance, often delivered in partnership with third sector organisations.

Since the 2022/23 academic year, local authorities were required to establish Stretch Aims for a set of “Core” measures, including local Health and Wellbeing Stretch Aims, as well as having the opportunity to establish ‘Plus’ Stretch Aims. The first set of Stretch Aims, submitted in 2022 for the 2022/23 year, included many local Health and Wellbeing Stretch Aims related to attendance, with a number of local authorities also setting ‘Plus’ Stretch Aims related to the concept of readiness to learn. With Stretch Aims submitted in 2023 for 2023-26, all local authorities included attendance-related local Health and Wellbeing Stretch Aims. Whilst no ‘Plus’ Stretch Aims submitted for 2023-26 specifically mentioned readiness to learn, a number of local authorities included nurture-based and Cost of the School Day-based ‘Plus’ Stretch Aims. There were also examples of a local authority-wide focus on readiness to learn for the Scottish Attainment Challenge within Strategic Equity Plans.

There is further evidence of focus at the local authority level on readiness to learn in the context of the Scottish Attainment Challenge from the Scottish Attainment Challenge Local Authority Leads Survey 2023. This indicates that, amongst the nineteen local authorities who responded to the survey, readiness to learn is a strategic priority for local authorities, and that Attainment Scotland Funding was viewed as being used to support the development of approaches to readiness to learn within local authorities. A range of examples of readiness to learn approaches supported through the ASF were provided, with respondents frequently highlighting more than one aspect as supporting readiness to learn, for example attendance, the work of family link workers, and nurture.

Going forward, we will continue to gather evidence and explore local authority approaches in relation to readiness to learn in the context of the Scottish Attainment Challenge.

How does this thematic work inform our ongoing evaluation?

The thematic focus has supported an exploration of readiness to learn within the Impact Feasibility Study undertaken in 2023. The Impact Feasibility Study^[2] considered approaches to evaluating the impact of the Attainment Scotland Fund, and as part of this, considered how best to approach assessing improvements in readiness to learn in order to address the evaluation question ‘to what extent was there improvement in children and young people’s readiness to learn through focusing on engagement and attendance, confidence and wellbeing’. One of the particular opportunities for assessing an improvement for readiness to learn which has been explored is through existing data and evidence, including the Health and Wellbeing Census, PISA and Growing Up in Scotland (GUS).

The impact evaluation will draw on insights from the thematic focus on readiness to learn to inform the development of approaches to assessing improvements in readiness to learn in the context of the Scottish Attainment Challenge.