Achievement Project was a research project carried out between late 2022 and early 2023, by Education Scotland and partners in the Forth Valley and West Lothian (FVWL) Regional Improvement Collaborative area (RIC).

An interim report (PDF) was produced outlining the findings and recommendations from the research. It investigated how young people’s personal achievements, out with the formal curriculum, are currently recognised and recorded across schools and community learning and development (CLD) providers.

The aim of this research was to identify ways to support practice across schools and CLD providers, so that a wider range of children and young people’s learning and achievements can be recognised, recorded and tracked, throughout their education journey. 

Recommendations

1. Schools should seek to designate an educator, such as a DHT, PT, or teacher with additional duties, with responsibility for leading on developing and promoting achievement opportunities and increasing staff awareness of youth awards
2. Schools should also have a member of staff with responsibility for linking with CLD providers, youth work and youth award partners
3. Schools and CLD providers should develop local collaborative partnerships to support the development of achievement opportunities and youth awards. This should involve staff upskilling, shadowing and practice sharing opportunities at a local level. Partnership agreements should be co-designed and regularly evaluated
4. Schools and CLD partners, including youth work providers and youth award providers, should work together to build a common language to recognise children and young people’s personal achievements – in school and in their communities
5. Schools should use tracking tools to monitor who participates in achievement opportunities to better target which children and young people are not involved, especially those who would benefit the most
6. Schools should consult with children and young people to identify types of personal achievement opportunities that pupils would like to see offered, for example by conducting an annual census
7. CLD providers and schools should work on developing approaches to allow children and young people to reflect on, record and recognise their achievements consistently. This should include creating time and space to allow children and young people to routinely articulate, share and celebrate their achievements within and out with school
8. This pilot has demonstrated that the Youth Work Outcome and Skills Framework is a valuable tool to support shared planning and evaluation between youth work partners and schools. It also allows for accurate and meaningful skills mapping for children and young people. Professional learning and support in FVWL to increase awareness and use of the Framework should be a priority
9. Around half of schools are already using a range of innovative approaches to recognise and celebrate some of children and young people’s achievements. There is scope for schools and their partners to share learning on this
10. The Awards Network should provide a regional feedback opportunity regularly to RICs surround the data they gather and share. Awards Network partners should capture postcode data to ensure accuracy of specific local and regional information