Pupils living in Scotland’s most deprived communities will be among those to benefit from £215 million of targeted funding in 2021-22 to help close the poverty-related attainment gap.
The announcement meets the Government’s commitment to pay the first instalment of the expanded £1 billion Attainment Scotland Fund in the first 100 days of Parliament, and is the largest amount awarded for a single year.
The funding will be distributed through five different programmes, nine local councils with the highest concentrations of deprivation in Scotland, known as “Challenge Authorities”, will share £43 million of investment. A further £7 million from the Schools’ Programme will be shared between 73 additional schools with the highest concentration of pupils from areas of deprivation.
Headteachers will receive £147 million of Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) which they will decide how best to invest to support disadvantaged pupils. This includes a top up payment of £20 million, recognising the new and additional challenges schools face as a result of the pandemic.
Local authority work to help improve the attainment of care experienced young people, including through mentoring programmes, will receive up to £12 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.
Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Closing the poverty-related attainment gap and ensuring every young person has the chance to fulfil their potential remains central to this Government’s work.
“Our ambition is a long-term one and we know that the challenges presented by the pandemic mean our efforts to deliver equity in education are more vital than ever.
“This first instalment of the expanded Attainment Scotland Fund, with record funding of more than £215 million, will allow headteachers, schools, councils and other partners to provide targeted help for some of our most disadvantaged pupils.
“We are providing investment across a number of diverse programmes which will benefit looked after children, support pupils in our most deprived areas and empower headteachers to invest their funding on initiatives that are right for the children in their schools.”
Progress on closing the poverty-related attainment gap between the most and least deprived school pupils has been limited. And more evidence is needed to understand educational achievement beyond exams.
A joint report by the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission found that exam performance and other attainment measures at the national level have improved.
However, progress since 2013-14 has been inconsistent. And there are large variations in local authority performance, with some councils’ performance getting worse on some measures.
The poverty-related attainment gap remains wide and existing inequalities have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The national curriculum recognises that school is about more than exams.
And there has been an increase in the types of pathways, awards and qualifications available to young people. But better data is needed to understand if other important broad outcomes, like wellbeing and self-confidence, are improving.
The Scottish Government, councils, schools and the other bodies responsible for planning and delivering education were working well together before Covid-19.
That allowed them to respond rapidly in exceptionally difficult circumstances. Funding for education has remained largely static – rising from £4.1 billion in 2013/14 to £4.3 billion in 2018/19.
However, most of that real-terms increase was due to the Attainment Scotland Fund, which the Scottish Government set up to close the attainment gap.
Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “Significantly reducing the attainment gap is complex. But the pace of improvement has to increase as part of the Scottish Government’s Covid-19 recovery planning.
“That process needs to particularly focus on the pandemic’s impact on the most disadvantaged children and young people.”
Elma Murray, Interim Chair of the Accounts Commission, said: “There is variation in educational performance across Scotland, but this is not solely about exam performance.
“Education also supports and improves the health and wellbeing of children and young people, which has been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It is vital that councils, schools and their partners work to reduce the wide variation in outcomes as well as understanding and tackling the short and longer-term impact of Covid-19 on learning and wellbeing.”
EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said: “The impact of poverty on children’s life chances remains a matter of huge concern, and much more needs to be done to support young people living in poverty to overcome the barriers that they continue to face.
“Schools do all that they can with insufficient resources to support young people from all backgrounds but cannot, in isolation, overcome such serious societal issues as inequality and poverty.”
“We have long known of the devastating impact that poverty can have on young people, and this has been made worse during the pandemic when young people from less affluent backgrounds have been far more likely to have had their in-school learning disrupted and to face barriers in accessing education outwith the school environment.”
“It is clear that much greater and sustained investment is needed to tackle the impact of poverty on young people’s education, and all of Scotland’s political parties must fully commit to tackling this issue in the context of education recovery during the next Parliament.”
Good progress is being made towards closing the poverty-related attainment gap, a new report has found.
The study examines improvements made through the Scottish Attainment Challenge, and wider education policies, towards closing the attainment gap during this Parliamentary term.
The report highlights a number of key strengths in the education system, including a systemic change in culture and ethos, improved learning and teaching, strengthened collaboration, work with families and communities and a focus on health and wellbeing.
The findings show:
the gap between the proportion of primary pupils (P1, P4 and P7 combined) from the most and least deprived areas achieving the expected level in literacy and numeracy has narrowed since 2016-17
the gap between the proportion of S3 pupils from the most and least deprived areas who achieved their expected level in numeracy narrowed between 2016-17 and 2018-19
the participation gap between those who live in the most deprived and least deprived areas has narrowed year-on-year between 2016-17 and 2019-2020
96% of headteachers felt that they had a good awareness of the range of approaches that can help close the poverty-related attainment gap
90% of headteachers reported they had seen an improvement in closing the gap in their schools in the past five years
88% of headteachers expect to see improvements in closing the gap over the next five years
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Closing the poverty-related attainment gap and giving every young person the chance to fulfil their full potential, regardless of their background, remains our defining mission.
“Our ambition is a long-term one and this report clearly shows significant progress has been made in the last five years. We know that COVID-19 has made our ambition of achieving equity in education harder and I would like to thank all of our teachers and support staff for their extraordinary contribution and resilience shown throughout the pandemic.
“We have put in place a comprehensive range of measures, supported by the £750 million Attainment Scotland Fund, to turn the corner with the attainment gap.
“We have seen improvements across a number of indicators, including a narrowing of the gap between pupils from the most and least deprived areas achieving the expected level in literacy and numeracy.
“Longer term, we have also seen the gap narrow in initial positive destinations and the proportion of pupils achieving one pass or more at SCQF Level 5 and 6.
“The International Council of Education Advisers has acknowledged progress is being made and headteachers are positive about the impact of our measures, have a clear understanding of what is working and are optimistic about improvements being embedded and continuing over the next five years. I am greatly encouraged by this welcome progress and am confident we are on the right path.
“To mitigate against the impact of the pandemic, we are investing a record £200 million in the Attainment Scotland Fund in 2021-22, including an additional £20 million of Pupil Equity Funding.
“We are also investing £50 million in the Challenge Authorities and Schools Programmes next year and will support the Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund with more than £11 million. This is alongside £375 million in education recovery over this year and next to recruit additional teachers and support staff and address digital exclusion.
“I am determined to continue to support our young people through these unprecedented times and the evidence from this report and the Equity Audit will guide our thinking for the next phase of the Scottish Attainment Challenge. Now, more than ever, there is a need to stay the course with our vision of equity and excellence.”
Looking at performance of pupils since 2009-10, the report also finds:
the percentage of school leavers in a positive initial destination consistently increased between 2009-10 and 2018-19, for all leavers. The gap in positive initial destinations also decreased in this period
the gap between pupils achieving 1 pass or more at SCQF Level 5 has reduced from 33.3 percentage points in 2009-10 to 20.8 percentage points in 2019-20
the gap between pupils achieving 1 pass or more at SCQF Level 6 has reduced from 45.6 percentage points in 2009-10 to 36.1 percentage points in 2019-20
Gayle Gorman, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education and Chief Executive of Education Scotland, said: “We are happy to see the improvements detailed in the report and it is heartening that nine out of ten schools have seen a recent improvement in closing the poverty-related attainment gap.
“We recognise this work is more important than ever and the evidence from this report and the Equity Audit will inform the Scottish Attainment Challenge moving forward.
“Our Attainment Advisors have strong partnerships with every local authority and remain focused on working collaboratively with them, our schools and their community partners to ensure our most disadvantaged learners continue to be supported to achieve their aspirations.
“This is a long-term commitment that has been supported by a system-wide, collaborative endeavour across Scottish education to make Scotland the best place to grow and learn.”
Professor Chris Chapman, Senior Academic Adviser to the Scottish Attainment Challenge programme, said: “This report highlights both government’s commitment to equity and the cultural change that has occurred in Scottish education over the past five years.
“The drive to improve outcomes for children and young people from Scotland’s most disadvantaged communities has been placed centre stage of the reform agenda.
“Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the challenge and magnified the necessity of ensuring that all children and young people reach their full potential irrespective of their circumstances.”
Anti-poverty campaigners have called for increased action from the Scottish Government to tackle the educational attainment gap, after new analysis (which can be read in full here) found stark gaps in attainment between young people from Scotland’s least and most deprived areas.
The analysis, undertaken by the Poverty Alliance on behalf of The Robertson Trust, examined the evidence on the links between poverty, education and work pathways for young people in Scotland and across the UK.
It found evidence that the poverty-attainment gap – already identified by the Scottish Government as a key priority – shows signs of increasing and risks being further compounded by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The review reveals that as of 2018-19:
Infants living in deprived areas, aged 27-30 months, are 16% more likely to display development concerns
Just over 2 in 5 young people living in the most deprived areas achieve one or more Higher when leaving school (43.5%) compared to almost 4 in 5 young people living in the least deprived areas (79.3%)
Inequalities continue into post-16 education and work pathways with one in ten school leavers living in the most deprived areas in Scotland unemployed nine months after the end of the school year, compared to 2.6% of young people in the least deprived areas.
Despite a range of policies, strategies and initiatives having reformed the Scottish educational and employment landscape over the last six years, most notably the expansion of early learning and childcare and the Scottish Attainment Challenge, the review highlighted Covid-19’s disproportionate impact on single parents and low-income households.
Emerging evidence has also shown the negative impacts of the pandemic on the educational outcomes for children and young people from deprived areas due to the digital divide and lack of access to educational related resources.
Income inadequacy prevents children from low-income households being able to fully participate in education and initiatives seeking to reduce the attainment gap should put reducing financial barriers at the centre.
The review also highlights the importance of initiatives like one-to-one tutoring, mentoring and careers education targeted at young people living in more deprived areas; initiatives that, the review concludes, are currently lacking in Scotland.
Poverty Alliance Director, Peter Kelly, commented:“Scotland is a country that believes that every child should have every chance. However this review makes clear that too many of our young people are seeing their life chances restricted by poverty. The educational attainment gap is stark in Scotland, and is an injustice that we cannot allow to continue.
“We know that the pandemic is compounding the gap. But we also know the action that we have to take to loosen the grip of poverty on the lives of families across Scotland, and to ensure that every young person in Scotland has access to the same opportunities.
“That means using every lever at our disposal to boost family incomes, as well as increasing support for interventions like one-to-one tutoring and mentoring for young people from low-income backgrounds.”
Chief Executive of the Robertson Trust, Jim McCormick, added:“At The Robertson Trust, we are keen to understand how best we can maximise the contribution of education and fair work in reducing poverty.
“This report not only highlights the stark differences in educational experiences that children and young people from different backgrounds face across Scotland but also where some of the evidence gaps currently exist when it comes to what works and why.
“Although many of the findings will be familiar to those working tirelessly to narrow the attainment gap, this analysis shines a bright light on the disproportionate impact Covid-19 has had on those already most affected. This is particularly concerning given the clear link between childhood disadvantage, low educational attainment and future poverty.
“We will use the findings to help us shape our own role as an independent funder in this area and it is our hope that the review will stimulate renewed commitment to act across Scotland.”
Commenting on the Scottish Government’s latest statistics for leaver destinations, a spokesperson for the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition – an alliance of leading independent and third sector service providers – said:
“We are deeply concerned about falling level of those school leavers with additional support needs (ASN) such as autism, dyslexia and mental health problems in positive destinations. This includes further education, higher education, employment and training.
“While 87.9 per cent of those school leavers with ASN were in positive destinations in 2018/19, this is a drop on 2017/18 when the figures was 88.4 per cent. For those with no ASN the figures are 95.1 per cent and 95.3 per cent respectively.
“The attainment gap between those school leavers with ASN and those with no ASN has increased from 6.9 per cent for 2017/18 to 7.2 per cent in 2018/19.
“It is deeply disappointing to see a fall in the number of school leavers with ASN in positive destinations and to note that this gap is growing when compared with those with no ASN. There is also a clear gap between the number of those with ASN who are unemployed (10.2 per cent), compared with those with no ASN (3.9 percent).
“As the impact of COVID-19 becomes more evident we anticipate this gap growing and it is crucial that resourcing is targeted at those individuals with ASN to give them the best possible opportunities, both in the classroom and beyond.
“The statistics come hot on the heels of recent evidence that the attainment gap between those school leavers with ASN and those with no ASN has increased from 7.3 per cent for 2017/18 to 7.6 per cent in 2018/19 for those with at least one pass at National 4, and from 21.8 per cent to 22.4 per cent for those with at least one pass at National 5. It has dropped from 31.9 per cent to 31.2 per cent for those with at least one pass at Higher.
“It is vital that those with ASN get the care and support they need in order to give them the best possible start in life, to close the educational attainment gap and give them the best opportunities possible beyond the classroom.
“This is clearly challenging in an environment of austerity, however, the cost to society in the long term if adequate resourcing is not provided will far outweigh any potential savings made today.”
The proportion of young people who enter work, training or further study within nine months of leaving school is now the highest on record. Official statistics published yesterday show that 93.2% of school pupils had a positive destination nine months after leaving school.Continue reading Deprivation gap in school leavers is lowest ever
Deprivation gap in positive destinations falls by half
94.4% of pupils had a ’positive destination’ including work, training or further study within three months of leaving school last year, official statistics show.
The figures also reveal that the gap between those from the most and least deprived communities achieving a positive destination has halved since 2009/10, with an increase in positive destinations for school leavers from both backgrounds.
Over the same period there have been increases at all levels of attainment – the qualifications young people are achieving.
For the first time more than 30% of pupils left school with a minimum of five passes at Higher Level or better, up from 22.2% in 2009/10. The gap between those from the most and least deprived areas achieving a pass at Higher Level or better is now at a record low, reducing for the eighth successive year.
In addition, more young people are choosing to remain at school, with almost two thirds leaving in S6.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “These welcome statistics show that more young Scots are studying, training or working within three months of leaving school than ever before. And, the gap between the richest and poorest communities for those getting into one of these positive destinations is now half what it was. That is real world progress in tackling an age old problem.
“They also show pupils are generally staying at school for longer and gaining more qualifications between fourth and sixth year. I am particularly pleased to see the attainment gap between school leavers achieving a pass at Higher Level or better is at a record low.
“At National 4 and 5 level, however, the attainment gap has remained broadly flat over the last two years which reflects the distance we know we have to go and why we are investing more than £180 million through the Scottish Attainment Challenge in 2019/20 alone.
“The figures published today are encouraging but we know there is more to do to raise attainment and ensure all our young people have the very best chance to build the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to succeed – regardless of their background.”
The 2009/10 summary statistics for attainment and initial leaver destinations are the earliest comparable figures to those published today.
More than £45 million will be provided to primary and secondary schools in 2017/18 to help close the poverty-related attainment gap, Deputy First Minister John Swinney announced today. Nine local authorities and an additional 72 individual schools have been allocated funding from the Scottish Attainment Challenge, for education initiatives and projects targeting Scotland’s most deprived children.Continue reading Schools: £45 million to close attainment gap
New analysis shows greater proportion of pupils from deprived areas are entering higher education
A new analysis of school leaver destination statistics published by the Scottish Government reveals that the poverty-related attainment gap has begun to narrow over the past five years. The figures show that the proportion of young people entering higher education at college or university directly from school has increased faster among those from the most deprived areas in Scotland when compared to the least deprived.
In 2012, 20.4% of school leavers in the 20% most deprived areas went straight into higher education from school, compared to 58.6% of pupils from the 20% least deprived. In 2016, the percentage of school leavers entering higher education from the most deprived areas had risen to 24%, with the percentage entering from the least deprived up to 60.5%.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney welcomed the analysis but said more needed to be done to widen access to higher education, given the figures also demonstrated that young people from Scotland’s least deprived areas are more than 2.5 times more likely to go into higher education straight from school than their counterparts from the most deprived areas.
Mr Swinney said: “I want every child to have an equal opportunity to go to college and university and to succeed in life, no matter their circumstances. This new, detailed analysis provides welcome evidence that we are beginning to make progress in that aim and closing the poverty-related attainment gap.
“However, it also demonstrates the scale of the challenge in creating equity and excellence in our education system. The status quo is not an option – change is needed, and indeed change is happening.
“We need to reform our approach to get the whole system pulling in the same direction with an integrated framework that meets the needs of all young people at every stage of their journey through education.
“We are taking forward the actions recommended by the Commission on Widening Access, including the appointment of the Fair Access Commissioner to drive the whole system approach needed in this area. We are also reviewing the learner journey from 15 to 24 to ensure that the system of post-school education works effectively and efficiently to provide support to those who need it the most. This breakdown helps to show what we are beginning to get it right and what more we need to do.”
A record proportion of young people from Scotland’s most deprived communities are continuing their education, entering training, volunteering or getting a job after they leave school.
A record proportion of school leavers from all backgrounds went directly into higher education in 2015/16. The proportion from the most deprived areas was 24% – up from 22.2% in 2014/15 and up from 20.4% in 2011/12.
There was also a narrowing of the gap in school leavers initially in further education. In 2012, 34.9% of pupils from the most deprived areas went on to further education, by 2016 this had risen to 35.9%. Over the same time period, the percentage of pupils from the least deprived areas in further education went from 17.2% to 16.1%.
Over the same period, the percentage of school leavers from the most deprived areas entering employment has risen year-on-year, from 16.8% in 2011/12 to 21.2% in 2015/16.
Scottish Funding Council figures published in March showed an increase, in 2015-16, to the proportion of entrants to higher education from the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland, with wide variation among universities and colleges.
