Education Scotland has published its second National Summary Report which provides key messages about the impact of the ongoing Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC).

The report is the second of three reports to be published this year and is focused on the implementation of the SAC refresh, which aims to improve outcomes for children and young people impacted by poverty. The first report can be viewed here and the third report is scheduled for release later this year.

This latest report provides an overview of the progress of all 32 local authorities between December 2022 and March 2023. The key theme for this reporting period is data for improvement.

Interim Chief Executive of Education Scotland, Gillian Hamilton said: “This second National Summary Report for 2022-23 summarises the range of work local authorities have undertaken within the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) between December 2022 and March this year. 

“Since its launch in 2015, the SAC has brought together education leaders in all sectors across Scotland to work collaboratively to raise attainment and reduce educational inequity across Scotland.

“For this reporting period, attainment advisors worked closely with local authorities to identify ways they could track and analyse data to improve outcomes for children and young people impacted by poverty.

“Education Scotland is committed to working with the profession to support educational recovery and reduce variation across Scotland through the SAC refresh.”

Patricia Watson, Strategic Director for Regional Improvement at Education Scotland said: "The second National Summary Report is the result of collaboration between education practitioners, attainment advisors and local authority colleagues to analyse and evaluate the impact of the SAC with a particular focus on effective use of data to support those learners most impacted by poverty.

“During the period of December 2022 to March this year, evidence shows that all local authorities use data collection systems to track learner characteristics and identify trends within attainment, though approaches to tracking do vary.

“Clear links between data systems and quality improvement processes are also evident. In many secondary settings, the ability to see the whole-learner profile has helped support learner conversations when it comes to subject choices.

“Many senior leaders and headteachers have also established structured attainment meetings to discuss how data can be used to inform strategic planning.

“There is strong evidence that shows the majority of local authorities have made progress towards their next steps, with significant improvements to the implementation and use of the Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) and Strategic Equity Fund (SEF).

“Local authorities also continue to utilise a range of processes to track and monitor progress towards stretch aims, including monitoring of attendance and exclusion data.”

In this second report, the key next steps have been identified as further improving the use of data, building the capacity of staff through professional learning and continued efforts towards improving planning and spend of PEF.

Planned improvement activities include developing more robust moderation processes as well as refining systems which facilitate the collection and analysis of data.”