National improvement framework for Scottish education: evidence report 2017

Key Priority: Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children

Early Years

The latest published Child Health 27-30 Month Review Statistics shows that more than one in four children from the most deprived areas ( 26%) had at least one developmental concern identified in their 27-30 month review compared to one in nine for the least deprived areas ( 11%).

Percentage of children with a new or previously identified concern in at least one developmental domain by deprivation quintile, at their 27-30 month review, 2013/14 - 2015/16

Primary

Achievement in Literacy and Numeracy

The 2016/17 Achievement of CfE Levels return shows that a higher proportion of pupils from the least deprived areas achieved the CfE Level relevant to their stage compared to pupils from the most deprived areas. This was true across all primary stages measured.

The proportion of P1, P4 and P7 pupils who achieved the expected CfE Level relevant to their stage within each SIMD quintile were:

Percentage of P1 pupils achieving CfE Early Level by deprivation quintile, 2016/17

Percentage of P4 pupils achieving CfE 1st Level by deprivation quintile, 2016/17

Percentage of P7 pupils achieving CfE 2nd Level by deprivation quintile, 2016/17

Secondary

Achievement in Literacy and Numeracy

The 2016/17 Achievement of CfE Levels return shows that a higher proportion of S3 pupils from the least deprived areas achieved CfE 3 ^rd Level or better, and CfE 4 ^th Level, compared to pupils from the most deprived areas.

The proportion of S3 pupils who achieved CfE 3 ^rd Level or better within each SIMD quintile were:

Percentage of S3 pupils achieving CfE 3rd Level or better by deprivation quintile, 2016/17

The proportion of S3 pupils who achieved CfE 4 ^th Level within each SIMD quintile were:

Percentage of S3 pupils achieving CfE 4th Level by deprivation quintile, 2016/17

Senior Phase

Qualifications:

98.8% of school leavers from the 20% least deprived areas and 92.8% of leavers from the 20% most deprived areas gained one or more qualifications at SCQF level 4 or better in 2015/16.

The gap in attainment at SCQF level 4 or better has decreased slightly over the past three years: from 7.3 percentage points in 2012/13 to 6.0 percentage points in 2015/16:

The attainment gap is wider at higher levels of qualifications: 94.7% of school leavers from the 20% least deprived areas gained one or more qualifications at SCQF Level 5 or better in 2015/16, compared with 74.4% of those from the 20% most deprived areas.

This gap in attainment at SCQF level 5 or better has decreased over the past three years: from 25.5 percentage points in 2012/13 to 20.3 percentage points in 2015/16:

81.2% of school leavers from the 20% least deprived areas gained one or more qualifications at SCQF level 6 or better in 2015/16, compared with 42.7% of those from the 20% most deprived areas.

This gap in attainment has decreased slightly over the past three years: from 42.5 percentage points in 2012/13 to 38.5 percentage points in 2015/16:

77% of looked after school leavers gained one or more qualifications at SCQF Level 4 or better in 2015/16, which was an increase from 67% in 2011/12. Although improving, this is still substantially lower than the 96% of all school leavers who achieved this in 2015/16.

The difference is wider at higher levels of qualifications, 40% of looked after school leavers gained one or more qualifications at SCQF level 5 or better in 2015/16 (an increase from 28% in 2011/12), whereas 86% of all school leavers achieved this. More information can be found in the Education Outcomes for Scotland's Looked After Children publication.

School leavers with additional support needs have lower attainment compared to school leavers with no additional support needs. For 2015/16 the percentage of school leavers by attainment at SCQF levels 4 to 6 are shown below. The graph is split between pupils with additional support needs and those with no additional support needs. More information can be found in the Summary Statistics for Attainment, Leaver Destinations and Healthy Living publication.