School Leaver Follow-up Destinations - Data Sources and Methodology

Impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on these statistics

Destinations figures reflect both the choices made by pupils, and the opportunities available to them on leaving school. The COVID-19 pandemic affected the destinations of some school leavers. The greatest effect was seen in relation to 2019-20 school leavers. However it is likely that there was some ongoing impact on the destinations of some school leavers in subsequent years.

The impacts of the pandemic should be kept in mind when comparing statistics on follow-up destinations over time. They should also be considered when comparing initial and follow-up destinations within years.

2019-20

The availability of particular opportunities (employment opportunities, for example) to some 2019-20 school leavers was directly affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. For example, the start dates of some opportunities were delayed, leading to a direct impact on the destinations recorded for some pupils. The pandemic may also have affected local partnerships’ abilities to track some school leavers through home visits.

In addition to this, the approach taken to the certification of SQA qualifications in 2020 will have affected the attainment of many 2019-20 school leavers. The pandemic may also have influenced pupils’ decisions on when to leave school (for example, delaying leaving from 2019-20 to 2020-21). Together these factors could have affected the attainment of some 2019-20 school leavers, which may in turn have further affected the destination choices and opportunities available to them.

2020-21

For 2020-21 school leavers, it is likely that the pandemic continued to affect the choices made by, and opportunities available to, some school leavers.

As for 2019-20 school leavers, there may have been some ongoing direct impacts on the availability of some opportunities. In addition, the approaches taken to the certification of SQA qualifications in 2020 and 2021 will have affected the attainment of some school leavers; and the pandemic may have influenced some pupils’ decisions on when to leave school, which may in some cases have affected their overall attainment. These factors may together have affected the choices made by, and opportunities available to, some 2020-21 leavers.

2021 and beyond

For 2021-22 school leavers and possibly some leavers in later years there may have been some ongoing impact on post-school destinations. This may have resulted from the effect of alternative approaches to certification of SQA qualifications since 2020 followed by the return to exams in 2022 and beyond. These may have affected overall attainment and in turn the choices made by, and opportunities available to, some leavers.

For more information on the approaches taken to the certification of SQA qualifications in 2020, 2021 and 2022 - and school leaver attainment - please see section 1.3.1 of the 2023 Initial Leaver Destinations publication.