A heartfelt thank you to the Robertson Trust for their generous funding award of £27K over the next three years!
This funding is crucial as it supports our core costs, providing essential stability in a competitive funding environment.
We deeply appreciate the Robertson Trust’s belief in our mission and their invaluable support towards making a difference in our community. 
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:
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.”
Muirhouse based MY Adventure (MYA) has received £25,000 to support plans for a training base at Towford to support their employability programme for young people from North Edinburgh.
The funds come from the £1 million Legacy 2014: Sustainable Sport for Communities Fund which was created with investment from the Scottish Government and The Robertson Trust, and has been delivered by these organisations in partnership with Social Investment Scotland, sportscotland and Senscot.
MYA, a trading arm of Muirhouse Youth Development Group, plan to use the funds to help transform the Towford Outdoor Education Centre residential facility in the Borders (pictured above). The space will be turned into a training base for their MY Academy programme, a unique employability scheme for young people in North Edinburgh.
MYA is one of twelve third sector organisations to receive a total of over £250,000 in the fund’s second round of awards to help develop sports facilities for use by their local communities.
Ja:mes Howell, Director of MYA said: “Support from the Legacy 2014 fund will enable MY Adventure to realise the potential of our Towford Outdoor Centre in the Scottish Borders. The centre will operate as a training centre for our MY Academy programme, helping young people in North Edinburgh.
“It will also provide a wild retreat for children and young people from North Edinburgh and a space for meaningful outdoor learning. The Legacy fund will support a project officer to focus on the development of the project as well as community consultation, including conducting a full feasibility report for the building and its land and business planning to ensure the project’s success.
“MY Adventure is looking forward to this exciting project taking shape and offering increased opportunities for the communities of North Edinburgh.”
Alastair Davis, Chief Executive of Social Investment Scotland which administers the fund, said: “MYA has presented a compelling case outlining the benefits of their plans which will provide an incredible opportunity for local young people, families and marginalised communities in North Edinburgh.
We know that sport has the potential to bring a whole range of benefits to local communities and therefore we look forward to seeing the benefits their outdoor learning programme will have on the community of Muirhouse and surrounding areas.”
Other organisations receiving funding include Active Bellshill who will receive £14,000 for the planning of a new sports hub in Glasgow, the Comrie Development Trust who will receive £15,000 to carry out a study into local sports and recreational needs, and Scottish Athletics who will receive £25,000 to look at how they can increase community engagement through their clubs.
Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health, said: “Small organisations like this are doing tremendous work to encourage more Scots to be more active, more often. Almost a year after Glasgow hosted the best Games ever, it’s important that Scotland continues to benefit from their legacy, and this fund is a key part of those efforts.
“The Sustainable Sport for Communities Fund is there to offer help to social enterprises and to allow them to ensure their long term sustainability. I look forward to seeing the positive impact the Fund will make.”
Kenneth Ferguson, Director of The Robertson Trust, added: “Sport can provide a range of positive benefits for individuals and communities. We are delighted to be able to use this Legacy 2014 programme to support organisations across Scotland which are helping to enhance the lives of the people they work with through sport.”
