Most local authorities prioritised the employment and deployment of staff to support equity. Posts include quality improvement officers and other central officers, educational psychologists, principal teachers, nurture teachers, teachers, family workers and pupil support staff.

Examples of the use and impact of staff

1. Dedicated support from the education officer (EO) has resulted in increased confidence around creating outcomes and measures across the authority. In one school, support was also provided to tackle late coming and food insecurity using PEF to fund a breakfast club. There has been a decrease in late coming from 30% to 0%. One learner reported that “breakfast club is good because the food tastes good … and it gives your mum and dad more money to spend on other things they may need.” The school also reported an increase in learner engagement and better home-school relationships.

2. The Strategic Equity Fund (SEF) is now mainly used to fund central posts; collectively these form the SEF team. This includes an education support officer (ESO) responsible for health and wellbeing, supporting the implementation of Pupil Equity Funding and the Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund. The SEF team meets with each of the quartile schools, collectively and individually. This resulted in:

• a greater focus on closing the poverty-related attainment gap
• improved quality of professional learning
• improved quality assurance processes
• improved tracking and monitoring
• moderation of standards

3. The SAC project lead oversees all elements of the Attainment Scotland Fund and supports with planning, quality assurance, reporting, evaluation and communication with schools and settings. As a result, approaches are consistent, rigorous quality assurance systems are maintained and impact is regularly reviewed.

4. Strategic Equity Funding (SEF) has been used to increase capacity within the educational psychological service (EPS) and fund a programme of high-quality professional learning led by the EPS. A range of posts funded by SEF has provided effective support to pupils, families and staff to bring about improved outcomes and narrow gaps.

5. Four nurture teachers funded by SEF have been effective in developing and supporting nurture approaches. This has resulted in building capacity within four identified school clusters. Pupils, including those living in poverty, have been supported to remain in school and be more engaged in their learning. This has impacted positively on attendance, transitions and exclusions.

The majority of local authorities focused their SEF on the development of literacy and numeracy approaches. This includes the introduction of new resources, approaches and the development of high-quality learning and teaching.

Examples of the impact on literacy and numeracy

1. Almost all attendees at ‘Literacy for All’ stated they would incorporate approaches into their practice. Attainment data for learners receiving targeted interventions, indicates gaps are closing in their learning. The majority are now on track to achieve the appropriate Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels in June 2024.
2. There has been a universal professional learning offer focusing on maths recovery and the implementation of digital planners, since 2021-22. The impact is clearly demonstrated in attainment. Pupils in primaries one, four and seven have consistently attained above national levels every year since 2018. In session 2022-23, pupils living in quintile one (Q1) attained at the same level as the national Q1 cohort. Overall attainment has increased, and the gap has closed in almost all cases.
3. There has been considerable impact on both practitioners and learners as a result of the reading programme strategy funded by SEF. The strategy’s aim is to develop confident and skilled readers with a lifelong love of reading and the confidence to access all aspects of education, culture, and society. The team has worked with phase one (quintile1) schools to support improvements in reading for all learners. This was achieved by providing bespoke professional learning, lesson modelling, coaching and mentoring around reading pedagogy. Support for headteachers on attainment analysis and evaluation was also a focus. All headteachers shared there has been a significant impact on practitioner knowledge, understanding and motivation around teaching of reading as a result of this input.
4. Targeted work outlined in the SEF plan since 2022-23 has resulted in annual improvements in Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels both in literacy and numeracy from the measure of P1,4,7 combined at individual highlighted stages. Quintile 1 (Q1) learners have improved literacy and numeracy attainment annually since 2020-21. The introduction of an early literacy intervention programme has contributed to the reduction in the literacy poverty-related attainment gap. The gap narrowed by over 2pp from 2022 to 2023 and the authority is confident this will further reduce by June 2024. Numeracy attainment for Q1 learners improved from 69.57% in 2021-22 to 72.19% in 2022-23.
5. A successful approach to numeracy, piloted last session, has been further developed. Staff from establishments across the three learning communities with the highest proportion of pupils impacted by poverty have worked with numeracy leads and Education Scotland. This has resulted in increased teacher confidence, increased parental engagement and improved attainment for the targeted learners.
6. An education support officer for literacy was recruited using SEF. This officer has used the Children and Young People’s Improvement Collaborative quality improvement methodology to drive attainment in writing at First Level. Thirty-three schools, including those with the highest numbers in quintiles 1 and 2 now use this methodology. Latest published data showed that attainment in writing had increased by 9pp when compared with the previous year. 20% of the initial schools taking part reported learners in their lowest SIMD deciles were on track. The same schools also reported a narrowing of the poverty-related attainment gap. Across all cohorts, there has been a significant increase in learner enjoyment in writing as well as teacher confidence in teaching writing.

A minority of local authorities highlighted the use and development of data. Where identified as a key priority, it mostly supports tracking and monitoring systems. These in turn, are used to identify where gaps can be addressed, and the biggest impact can be made. Improved data use positively impacts on excellence and equity.

Additionally, data is used to support improvements in attendance linked to better outcomes. This will be covered in the next section.

Examples of the impact of effective use of data

1. Approaches to data have been developed to ensure systems are in place. This will enable all schools to analyse attainment, attendance and exclusion data. Schools are now able to analyse poverty indicators such as Free School Meal entitlement and SIMD profile. This has led to more targeted areas for improvement being identified by individual schools.
2. The significant focus on effective use of data has supported schools to diagnose the needs of learners and increase their understanding of attainment gaps. This has resulted in improvements of Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels (ACEL). This is particularly evident in the positive trajectory of ACEL data for P1, P4, P7 combined. Literacy attainment increased from 72% in 2021-2022 to 76% in 2022-2023. This positive progress is reflected in numeracy attainment, which increased from 78% to 82% over the same period.
3. There is a strong commitment to tackling poverty through its SEF workstreams. Clearer alignment of Scottish Attainment Challenge activity with the broader tackling poverty work has strengthened collaboration and collective impact. This collaborative approach has improved the use and sharing of community-level data to inform planning and support for families.
4. Good progress continues to be made in implementing a range of evidence-based approaches funded through SEF. Examples include a well-established process of professional learning delivery through the professional learning academy (PLA), whole school nurture approaches, and play pedagogy. As a result of these approaches, a range of data and case studies indicates increased attainment in literacy, numeracy, engagement, and wellbeing.
5. SEF has been used across primary and secondary settings to improve attainment. This includes targeted support for schools where data indicated areas for improvement within literacy or numeracy. This year, schools have been able to submit bids for funding. The bids must be informed by data, identify a poverty-related attainment gap and be used for evidence-based approaches. Schools are required to monitor impact, and this is in the process of being gathered by the SAC lead. This approach has been effective, and the positive impacts have included increased attainment for targeted groups of learners and the use of short-term interventions allowing support to move to other target groups.

Although all local authorities have set a stretch aim for attendance, a minority have also prioritised the use of SEF to improve attendance and engagement. Some have focused on using data to identify trends and target groups, others have revised their universal support.

Examples of improving attendance

1. The local authority is taking forward approaches to ensure processes for attendance are robust and ensure individual schools review attendance data. In the cluster where learners are in SIMD 1 and 2, a family well-being worker has been appointed to support with attendance, engagement and inclusion for targeted families.
2. Engagement officers (EOs) are positively improving attendance and engagement in the primaries. EOs effectively deliver a range of interventions, including one to one and group activities to support learners to consistently attend and engage in school.
3. An attendance strategy group, comprising of headteachers, depute heads, family support workers and educational psychologists has been formed. The education officer (partly funded with SEF) ably leads the group. Support and guidance are in development to improve attendance. Family support workers funded with SEF have created their own set of principles to develop consistency of practice. This ensures that all schools employ the best use of workers to support families to improve attendance. All headteachers and support coordinators in secondary have participated in improving attendance professional learning. All schools have been asked to undertake an inquiry to improve attendance in 2024-25.
4. Secondary schools now have a principal teacher (PT) for equity. As part of their remit they track and monitor key data sets in relation to the local authority stretch aims. PTs develop strategic plans to address gaps in attendance and attainment and identify learners at risk.
5. A refreshed maximising attendance policy will be introduced at the start of 2024-25. This will be led by the senior development education officer for attendance who is funded by SEF. Universal work using a staged intervention model is planned to drive improvement and endorse early intervention. This will promote regular and rigorous data monitoring of pupil attendance. Enhanced data analysis through a new ‘live’ pupil tracking should help to improve attendance. Further guidance on this is required to assist schools to improve their ability to recognise patterns and resource interventions, especially for those most at risk of low attendance. Each school has a nominated attendance pupil support officer (PSO). Through a collaborative network, PSOs are supported to reinforce this work, share good practice and develop resources.
6. A new three-tier approach to attendance has been developed. Tier one will be for pupils with 80% and above; their attendance will be managed at school level. Pupils between 60% and 80% will be supported by a new team of family support workers. Those pupils with under 60% attendance will be referred to a multi-agency team.
7. The Family Wellbeing Service (FWS) supports families where attendance at school has become difficult. Of the children and young people supported by the FWS to address school attendance in 2023, 84% of them had improved attendance during the period of the intervention.
8. Clusters have adopted a range of approaches. For example, one cluster has employed a home school link worker with a focus on improving levels of engagement, attainment and attendance with targeted families.

A minority of authorities focused on supporting families and family learning. Staff are appointed using SEF but support also includes partnerships with organisations who specialise in working with families.

Examples of family support and/or learning

1. Family learning is made more available in areas of the highest deprivation, working alongside families most affected by poverty. Self-evaluation demonstrates the positive impact on school attendance, reduced persistent absenteeism and improved pupil attainment as well as improvements in parent confidence and parenting skills.
2. A third sector organisation provides effective whole family support, which includes parenting support, family interventions and individual interventions with children and young people. The support aims includes improving family relationships, improved mental health and wellbeing, reducing isolation, reducing the impact of poverty and addressing the impact of trauma. There is an overall aim to increase children and young people’s ‘readiness to learn’. The organisation confidently evidences that they have met or exceeded almost all of the intended outcomes funded by SEF.
3. The Strategic Equity Fund is used, alongside funds from the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund to provide a Family Wellbeing Service (FWS) across the authority.
4. Family engagement support officers have been deployed effectively through Strategic Equity Funding (SEF) to support priorities. Clearer alignment with the Scottish Attainment Challenge has strengthened collaboration and collective impact. This collaborative approach has improved the use and sharing of community-level data to inform planning and support for families.
5. An autism support group has been commissioned to provide targeted support through a ‘Connecting Families’ programme. This targets families affected by poverty with pupils’ attendance levels of 60% to 70%. They agree actions and signpost to additional support services.
6. One cluster employed a home school link worker with a focus on improving levels of engagement, attainment and attendance with targeted families. Another cluster created a wellbeing team and a family wellbeing hub which delivers universal and targeted wellbeing activities for families. Each cluster identified intended outcomes for their approach. Examples include parents accessing resources available to support their individual needs. For example, how to gain financial support/benefits, improved attendance at primary and secondary and to promote and support parental engagement and involvement across the cluster.

It is also worth noting that a few local authorities highlighted other areas of focus which include:

• professional learning
• support towards positive destinations
• health and wellbeing
• play pedagogy

Professional learning

1. The SEF plan for 2023-24 built on the successes of the 2022-23 plan and focused on improvement activity within the themes of literacy and numeracy, health and wellbeing, mentoring programmes, family engagement and support, use of Quality Improvement Methodology through the lenses of professional learning, learner engagement, curriculum, learner pathways and strengthening relationships.
2. The learning hub team works alongside a range of partners, including the Robert Owen Centre, psychological service and speech and language therapists to pilot an expressive language targeted intervention in early years establishments. This is in direct response to health and education data showing a widening gap in this area since the Covid-19 pandemic.
3. This session there has been a focus on providing a career-long professional learning for support for learning assistants (SLAs). Priority was given to those SLAs who work within the focus schools. Content was based on feedback from SLAs and included input around supporting literacy and numeracy, nurture principles and de-escalation strategies. In evaluations most respondents indicated that their learning would help them contribute to school priorities.
4. The SEF team meets with each of the quartile schools, collectively and individually. Each school is placed into one of four quartiles. Based on data and profiling of schools, this includes SIMD, attainment and attendance. This resulted in:
   1. greater focus on closing the poverty-related attainment gap
   2. improved quality of professional learning
   3. quality assurance processes
   4. improved tracking and monitoring
   5. moderation of standards

Support towards positive destinations

1. The programmes funded with SEF - ‘Anxiety in Motion’ and ‘Raising Interpersonal Skills for Employment’ (RISE) - continue to re-engage young people who had disengaged from learning by providing an alternative learning environment and curriculum. Pupils are encouraged to develop resilience and coping strategies in both these centres. Most pupils in RISE whose attendance was below 30% are now attending the majority of the time. The creative partnership with the local college is also ensuring that almost all of these learners continue onto a positive destination as well as attaining City & Guilds qualifications at SCQF Level 3-5.
2. Additional vocational pathways for young people are helping to close the attainment gap. Following a high demand for construction pathways, the opportunity to achieve a qualification has increased in this area from 60 to 127 places. There are seven foundation apprentice frameworks in place to be piloted for a one-year delivery in 2024-25 including: business skills, IT software, social services as well as creative design and media. These involve young people developing skills through course specific work experience, project-based work and achievement of a Scottish Vocational Qualification.
3. Good progress has been made in supporting school leaders to consider curriculum rationales and develop offers that provide all learners, including the most deprived and lower-attaining cohorts, with clearer progression routes and opportunities. This work has been complemented using SEF for three additional staff to enhance the wider pathways programme, a targeted intervention for young people at risk of entering a non-positive post-school destination, and the ‘Future Friday’s Pathways to Employment’ offer. This academic year, 111 young people were referred to the programme. By December 2023, 35 of the 59 learners referred achieved a positive destination, with the remainder and additional learners continuing to access support through the programme and partners to achieve a positive, sustainable destination by June 2024.
4. A project officer for wider achievement and equity works with partners and schools to ensure that appropriate provision is in place for young people to access a positive destination. This includes employability provision, connections with employers and the development of a 16-plus framework. The framework has widened communication channels between partners who now meet every two weeks to identify and action concerns. Work experience placements have also increased which has widened opportunities for young people.

Health and wellbeing

1. The Team Around the Learning Community (TALC) approach involves schools working together, pooling resources and developing partnerships that will address the impact of poverty on outcomes for children and young people. The TALC development officer has led on the development of a consultation model to help understand more about the lived experiences in proof-of-concept learning communities. This has been carried out in partnership with Youth Link Scotland, schools and local third-sector organisations.
2. A nurturing relationships programme has been accessed by 42 schools. Practitioners share examples of positive impact during a collegiate session. Individual schools reported evidence of impact across several aspects of learner wellbeing including increased readiness to learn, affiliation, autonomy, and emotional literacy. An end of year evaluation is currently underway to assess the outcomes of the programme across all settings.
3. The health and wellbeing development officer oversees a wide range of projects and professional learning. These include the impact of counselling services, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), the Promoting Alternative Thinking Skills and alcohol and substance awareness programmes. There is evidence of impact from these projects. Measures for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing are improving. Young people’s ‘Clinical Outcome’ scores for the last quarter show that 85% of young people are less distressed post-counselling, with all pupils feeling better following support. 91% of children accessing the primary counselling service report an improvement using the ‘Child and Youth Resilience Measure’. Impact of the CBT professional learning was gathered from training session evaluations and focus group sessions. Both approaches demonstrate the positive impact the professional learning has had on practitioners’ confidence and knowledge.
4. The local authority allocated funding to four projects - ‘Supporting Young People’s Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health 2023-24’, ‘The Shed’, ‘Best of You Programme’ and a therapy and intervention programme. The four projects are ongoing. Data and evidence is being gathered to evaluate the impact of the work. Sustainability of the projects is considered to be very important and the continued roll-out, implementation, tracking and evaluation of the projects will be taken forward.

Play pedagogy

1. The play pedagogy programme has been delivered to 80 primary schools. The majority of respondents to evaluations commented it supported improvements and adaptations in practice, including planning and facilitating learning experiences which have benefitted learners. They reported that the programme improved learners’ confidence and engagement, with notable increases in motivation.
2. Experienced headteachers who successfully deliver play pedagogy were funded to advance the implementation of play and enquiry within primary schools, particularly across Early and First Levels. This approach has been very effective, particularly in fostering an environment for strategic planning and development for those impacted by poverty.
3. Sixteen primary schools participated in a successful play pedagogy pilot project involving primary one classes. Benefits emerging through teacher feedback included increased engagement and readiness to learn for all learners, and particularly those targeted pupils impacted by poverty. All sixteen schools have embedded play approaches across primary one and are continuing to develop this approach into primary two.
4. SEF has supported implementation of the play-based improvement strategy introduced in 2015. It has been used to increase capacity within the educational psychology service and fund a programme of high-quality professional learning. As a result, the use of well-considered, evidence-based approaches in early learning centres and primary schools has been embedded, targeting gaps in wellbeing and learning.

Most local authorities highlighted ways in which they intend to sustain the legacy of the Attainment Scotland Fund (ASF) beyond 2026. Local authorities continue to consider how they can prepare for transition to new arrangements in the future, whilst maintaining support for children and young people. At the same time focusing on reducing the poverty-related attainment gap whilst taking account of difficult decisions made around fiscal challenges.

Examples of sustainability and transition strategies beyond the funding

1. The local authority is considering the possibility of reallocating, maintaining, or exiting from Strategic Equity Funding roles and activities. It may be difficult to maintain the added value of activities, which have improved outcomes for learners, in the challenging fiscal climate. Any reduction or loss of resource would have a detrimental impact on learners. Strategic leaders continue to consider issues of sustainability.
2. Building capacity within the school system is the main driver of sustainability for the authority. As a result, schools are increasingly using evidence to inform decision making. Work to embed effective and sustainable pedagogies and interventions such as dedicated work with families is ongoing. Strong partnerships with third sector organisations have been established. In the future, the hope it that this will lead to a self-supportive model.
3. SEF has undoubtedly provided additional resource which has helped supplement a small central team and provide extra support to schools. Future sustainability continues to be considered as funding is tapered towards the end of the current SAC programme. Alternative means of retaining roles currently funded through SEF are being explored.
4. In its approach to ‘tapering down’ the authority has streamlined the team of home school link workers. An audit was undertaken to identify those schools with learners most impacted by poverty.
5. The exit strategy for SEF is in its final stage of development. All funded posts are being given due consideration and plans for 2024-25 already in place.
6. The local authority has planned for the increase in SEF over the next two years and will invest in the development of an education outreach service which aims to provide bespoke support to identified learners on a short-term basis.
7. All workstream activities have a clear and explicit focus on building staff capacity and upskilling teachers to lead interventions for equity in their own classrooms. In this way sustainability is built into the model.
8. The LA is very concerned about sustainability beyond SAC. All the evidence shows that the most positive impact has been from high quality staff delivering appropriate intervention to identified pupils. These successful interventions are not sustainable without SAC funding especially given the financial constraints currently being experienced.
9. The local authority has an exit strategy in place for all aspects of their SEF funding that either transfers, maintains or exits from the additional resources.
10. Sustainability features in all plans and is a talking point at all 1:1 meetings with the attainment advisor. All projects are appropriately considering exit plans which includes exploring alternative funding models, collaboration with others including the third sector and changes to local practice.
11. The education service considers sustainability by utilising additional staff to build capacity. However, as the fund has been directed towards the employment of staff to do specific roles, longer term sustainability is something that will require further exploration.
12. The authority’s effective use of Strategic Equity Funding in supporting professional learning has enabled staff to deliver transformational changes to learning, teaching and assessment in order to become more sustainable beyond 2025-26.
13. Sustainability for the projects has been a key discussion this session and each project lead has identified their next steps with this in mind.