Schools

Pupil attainment: closing the gap

Scottish Attainment Challenge 2021 to 2022

The Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) is about achieving equity in education. This can be achieved by ensuring every child has the same opportunity to succeed, with a particular focus on closing the poverty-related attainment gap.

The Scottish Attainment Challenge was launched by the First Minister in February 2015. It is underpinned by The National Improvement Framework, Curriculum for Excellence and Getting it Right for Every Child.

It focuses on improvement activity in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing in specific areas of Scotland. It will also support and complement the broader range of initiatives and programmes to ensure that all of Scotland's children and young people reach their full potential.

In 2021 to 2022, £195 million of targeted funding is already being invested to help close the poverty related attainment gap. This is the first year of investment in an expanded £1 billion Attainment Scotland Fund which will be provided over the new Parliamentary term after an investment of over £750 million in the previous Parliamentary term. Headteachers have received £127 million of Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) in 2021/22. £43 million is being distributed to 9 Challenge Authorities. Local authority work to help improve the attainment of care experienced young people, including through mentoring programmes, are in receipt of £11.5 million. A further £7 million is being invested in a number of a national programmes, including third-sector organisations, to support their targeted work to raise the attainment of young people.

Scottish Attainment Challenge 2022/2023 – 2025/2026

The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills set out to Parliament on 23 November 2021 plans for the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) for 2022/23 to 2025/26. This aims to support recovery from the pandemic and accelerate progress in closing the gap.

This next phase of the SAC has been developed in partnership with and agreed by COSLA and builds on the evidence set out in the Scottish Government and Education Scotland 5 year report on progress towards closing the poverty related attainment gap, the Equity Audit, the Audit Scotland report on educational outcomes, and the OECD review. It will continue to provide support for children and young people impacted by poverty through funding to local authorities, Pupil Equity Funding, Care Experienced Children and Young People funding and a number of national programmes.  

In summary the plans are that with the support of £1 billion over this parliamentary term – increased from £750 million during the last parliament – the refreshed Scottish Attainment Challenge programme, from 2022/23, will include:

• an investment of up to £200 million in 2022/2023 to support children and young people impacted by poverty
• continued empowerment of headteachers through Pupil Equity Funding as the primary model for distributing funding to the education system, with funding of approximately £130 million to be allocated to 97% of schools. This increased investment in PEF is supported by redirecting funding from the Schools’ Programme, continuing to direct funding to schools to support the children and young people who need it most. As in previous years, schools will be notified of their allocations in early Spring.
• a clearer and funded strategic role for all local authorities. Recognising the impact of poverty and the pandemic across every local authority area in Scotland, funding of over £43 million will be distributed to every local authority based on Children in Low Income Families Data. Those allocations are set out below. This is a change from the current Challenge Authorities model which distributed funding to 9 local authorities. As, agreed with COSLA, in order to manage this change in distribution, the allocations set out below will taper over four years towards a fully equitable distribution in 2025/26, ensuring children and young people are supported across the country.
• funding for Pupil Equity Funding and local authorities confirmed over 4 years to enable long term local planning
• continued support for care experienced children and young people, contributing to efforts across all services to keep the Promise. This will see approximately £11.5 million to be distributed to local authorities, with allocations confirmed in May/June as usual.
• investment in national programmes to enhance supports across the system, supporting a range of national initiatives such as youth work and mentoring
• a clear framework to support recovery and accelerate progress, led by Education Scotland but with clear responsibilities for all parts of the education system which will include the identification of local stretch aims for progress and enable a clearer line of sight right through the system on the impact of local approaches.
• A broader recognition of children and young people’s achievements and attainment through a refreshed mission: to use education to improve outcomes for children and young people impacted by poverty with a focus on tackling the poverty related attainment gap.

This will enable authorities and schools – working with their communities, a range of services and the third sector – to support education recovery, reduce variation and accelerate progress in tackling the poverty related attainment gap.

Local authority SAC allocations 2022/2023 – 2025/2026

In addition to the allocations shown below, up to a further £130m will be distributed to headteachers across all local authorities through Pupil Equity Funding each year as well as approximately £11.5m for Care Experienced Children and Young people, with those allocations to be determined in early spring and summer respectively.

Pupil Equity Funding (PEF)

The Pupil Equity Funding is allocated directly to schools and targeted at closing the poverty related attainment gap. 

Every council area is benefitting from Pupil Equity Funding and 97% of schools in Scotland have been allocated funding for pupils in P1-S3 known to be eligible for free school meals.

This funding is to be spent at the discretion of the head-teacher working in partnership with each other and their local authority, with PEF national operational guidance designed to help support those plans. Schools will now have their plans in place for using their funding and will be implementing those plans.

Related information

• Pupil Equity Funding: national operational guidance 2021
• Pupil Equity Funding: school allocations 2021 to 2022
• Pupil Equity Funding: school allocations 2020 to 2021
• Pupil Equity Funding: allocations for 2019 to 2020
• Pupil Equity Funding: allocations for 2018 to 2019
• Pupil Equity Funding: allocations for 2017 to 2018
• Pupil Equity Funding: how it will work
• Pupil Equity Funding: information for parents and carers
• Pupil Equity Funding: school level spend 2018 to 2019
• Pupil Equity Funding: school level spend 2017 to 2018

Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund

The Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund is also being provided to local authorities to enable them to target initiatives, activities, and resources, that will improve the educational outcomes of this group of disadvantaged young people. 

Up to £33 million from the Attainment Scotland Fund was made available over the previoius parliament.

This funding was distributed to local authorities, and directed by Chief Social Work and Education Officers, in conjunction with key planning partners to target this funding. The voices of care experienced children and young people are integral to this process. The funding benefits a wide group, with care experienced children and young people from birth to the age of 26, being eligible for the fund.

In addition to the funding provided in the previous parliament, over the 2021 to 2022 academic year local authority work to help improve the attainment of care experienced young people, including through mentoring programmes, will be supported with over £11.5 million, through the Care Experienced Children and Young People Grant.

The 2021/22 allocations are as follows:

Related Information

• Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund: national operational guidance 2020 to 2021 - to note updated guidance will follow soon
• Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund: allocations for 2018 to 2019

Assessment and evaluation of attainment

We will evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions made by schools via the National Improvement Framework: drivers of improvement. This details all the evidence we will gather to monitor progress.

School education statistics also provide comprehensive data on performance including pupil and teacher information, and attainment and qualification results.

Scottish national standardised assessment

Children in P1, P4, P7 and S3 will complete online standardised assessments in literacy and numeracy, aligned to the Curriculum for Excellence. The assessments help to identify children's progress, providing information to support teachers' professional judgement.

Find out more: Scottish National Standarised Assessment

Regional improvement collaboratives

Regional improvement collaboratives (RICs) are an initiative to ensure the provision of educational improvement support.

RICs will:

• support teachers through dedicated teams of professionals, drawing on staff from Education Scotland staff, local authorities and others
• provide focus through the delivery of an annual regional plan and work programme aligned to the National Improvement Framework
• deliver collaborative working, including sharing best practice
• be led by a regional director, appointed by the government, who will report to the HM Chief Inspector/Chief Executive of Education Scotland

The Regional Improvement Collaboratives focus on meeting local needs, putting Getting It Right For Every Child at the heart of their work and delivering a relentless focus on improvement.

They will ensure the provision of specialist support and advice across all eight curriculum areas particularly literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing. They will also identify the particular areas for improvement within their region and ensure the interventions are put in place to address them.

Six regional improvement leads have been appointed and each collaborative will have a detailed improvement plan in place by January 2018. The improvement plans and the workforce plans will be agreed with the Chief Inspector of Education.

Advisory groups

• International Council of Education Advisers
• Scottish Education Council
• Curriculum and Assessment Board
• Teacher Workforce Advisory Group
• Strategic Board for Education
• Teacher Panel