Scottish Attainment Challenge - 2018-2022: equality impact assessment

Scottish Attainment Challenge Fund

Initially focusing on improvement activity in primary schools, the reach of the Attainment Challenge is now far wider, with targeted activity being delivered across both primary and secondary sectors and beyond. For the period of this report, the Attainment Challenge had five main strands, with over £215 million committed in 2021/22:

1. Challenge Authorities

• The Challenge Authority Programme provides additional resource of £43million to the nine local authorities in Scotland with the highest concentrations of deprivation (as defined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). The 'Challenge Authorities' (seven in 2015, rising to nine 2016/17) are Clackmannanshire, Dundee, East Ayrshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire. Grants are issued annually based on proposals submitted to SG and ES for review and approval, with payments drawn-down based on actual spend.

2. Schools Programme

• The Schools Programme provides targeted support of £7 million to an additional 73 individual primary and secondary schools in Scotland out with the nine Challenge Authorities who have the highest concentrations of children and young people living in SIMD 1 and 2. Grants are issued annually based on proposals submitted to SG and ES for review and approval, with payments drawn-down based on actual spend.

3. Pupil Equity Funding

• Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) was introduced in 2017/18 and provides over £120 million directly to 97% of schools in Scotland based on the number of P1-S3 pupils registered for free school meals, used as a proxy measure for socio-economic disadvantage. Underspends at school level are retained and carried forward to the next year. In addition, in 2021/22, a one-year only £20 million PEF Premium has been added to schools' PEF allocations to provide further resource to schools to tackle the poverty-related attainment gap and support recovery, recognising the additional challenges that schools and their children and young people face due to COVID-19.
• Schools continue to use PEF to plan for equity around the key themes of literacy, numeracy, health and wellbeing, communities and families, the use of data, and learning, teaching and assessment. Support through PEF in the pandemic has been integral in helping support the most disadvantaged children and young people to access digital equipment and connectivity solutions along with additional focussed learning support services.

4. Care Experienced Children and Young People funding

• The Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund was introduced in 2018/19 with funding allocated to all local authorities based on the number of looked after children they have in their care or schools. The funding benefits a much wider group than those currently 'looked after' in a local authority, with care experienced children and young people from birth to the age of 26, being eligible for the Attainment Challenge. That means anyone currently in care, or who has been at any stage in their life, no matter how short, is eligible for support.
• Grant allocations are issued across academic rather than financial years and payments drawn down based on actual spend. Over £33 million was made available during the last parliamentary term, with over £11.5m being provided to local authorities over the 21/22 academic year. The voices of care experienced children and young people are integral to the use of this funding. Funding is provided directly to local authorities, with spending directed collaboratively by Chief Social Work and Education Officers, in conjunction with key planning partners – including care experienced children and young people and their families.

5. National Programmes

The ASF invests in a suite of national programmes delivered through third sector and other partner organisations. These are:

• Young Scot

In 2018, Young Scot launched the 'Attainment Challenge: National Strategic Partnership' alongside Scottish Government, Transport Scotland, Improvement Service, local authorities, and the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO) to help close the poverty-related attainment gap and to tackle food and rural poverty.

• Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG)

The Cost of the School Day (COSD) programme was developed by the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland (CPAG). The aim of the programme is to mitigate the impacts of poverty on school children and contribute to equity in education, by reducing or removing financial barriers to full participation in school and poverty-related stigma that some children may experience. It achieves this by encouraging school level action, following research/engagement with parents, children and young people and staff within individual schools.

• Curiosity Collective (previously known as Children's University)

Curiosity Collective (CC) aims to increase engagement in learning and education for young people of all backgrounds, with a particular focus on encouraging and providing and finding opportunities for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to engage in learning out of school and providing recognition for those achievements.

• Winning Scotland

The ASF has supported the Winning Scotland Foundation (WSF) in delivering its Mindset in Education training programme. Since 2018 WSF training cohorts across Mindset Champions, Mindset Leaders and Mindset Teams (now all condensed into Mindset in Education) have included 395 teachers (or other teaching professionals) from 145 schools across 7 LAs.

• YouthLink Scotland

YouthLink Scotland operates a Youth Work and Schools Partnerships Programme - a national capacity-building programme supported through ASF funding of two posts within YouthLink Scotland. It aims to strengthen collaboration between youth work and schools in closing the attainment gap and to provide capacity to measure and communicate impact.

• CELCIS

CELCIS convene a network of colleagues from local authorities who are using the Virtual School Head Teacher (VSHT) model or similar. Currently, 16 local authorities in Scotland have chosen to allocate funding from the Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund towards the establishment and development of a VSHT role, or a Care Experienced Team (CET).

• Hunter Foundation Partnership

The Scottish Government announced £19.4 million of funding, partly funded through the ASF, to support MCR Pathways to roll out its Young Scottish Talent mentoring programme in local authorities who wish to participate. Columba 1400 are also being supported through this programme with additional funding of £7.5 million being provided by the Hunter Foundation.

6. Universal Support

Universal support is available to all local authorities and schools across Scotland to increase the educational attainment levels of the most disadvantaged young people. Universal support includes:

• Attainment Advisors

All local authorities have direct access to a named Attainment Advisor employed by Education Scotland, who works collaboratively alongside local authority staff on agreed priorities which support the Attainment Challenge. Over time, the reach and impact of the Attainment Advisors has been extended, through regional alignment to promote collaboration and joint delivery across local authorities. The Attainment Advisor team works directly with schools where they can make the biggest difference to accelerate efforts to close the gap.

• The National Improvement Hub

The National Improvement Hub is a virtual centre of educational expertise that does support the Attainment Challenge. It plays a key role in moving the knowledge to action around the education system. It provides practitioners examples to support a self-improving education system. It includes specific learning and teaching tools and strategies which are proven to help close the poverty-related attainment gap.

• Children and Young People Improvement Collaborative (CYPIC)

The Scottish Government established the Children and Young People Improvement Collaborative (CYPIC), which joined up the Early Years Collaborative and the Raising Attainment for All Programme (a precursor to the Attainment Challenge) to deliver quality improvement throughout a child's journey. The CYPIC is supporting schools, early learning and childcare settings, health services and family support services to use the 3-Step Improvement Framework for Scotland's public services more effective and responsive to the needs of children, young people and families.