Impact of Attainment Scotland Funding (ASF) on Numeracy and Mathematics 2022-25: Purpose of this report

This report was undertaken to provide an equity lens to numeracy and mathematics development, the first curricular area of the curriculum improvement cycle.

The report will look at the progress being made towards the logic model long-term outcomes since the SAC refresh in 2022, within the context of numeracy and mathematics and how this information can be used to inform next steps.

Specifically, the report addresses the question: what has been the impact of ASF on improving numeracy and mathematics outcomes for children and young people impacted by poverty?

Approaching 10 years since the launch of the SAC, Education Scotland (ES) undertook an approach to evidence the impact of the Attainment Scotland Fund (ASF) with a particular focus on numeracy and mathematics. This report focusses on activity from 2022 until 2025, sharing and highlighting work taking place across Scotland, supported by the ASF.

In order to understand the impact ASF has had on numeracy and mathematics, the high-level outcomes from the SAC logic model were used as a framework for evaluating impact:

Closing the gap/educational outcomes: to what extent has the ASF contributed to a closing of the attainment gap in numeracy and mathematics between the most and least socio-economically disadvantaged children and young people, in line with stretch aims?
Achievement: to what extent has the ASF contributed to an education system which encourages, reflects and values the breadth of numeracy and mathematics achievements that contribute to improved outcomes for children and young people?
Embedded practices and culture: to what extent has the ASF contributed to an embedded culture of equity in numeracy and mathematics at different levels of the education system?
Education system - improving access to the numeracy and mathematics curriculum: to what extent has the ASF contributed to an education system which actively addresses poverty, removing barriers through inclusive ethos, practice and approaches for children and young people, parents and carers and practitioners?

For stakeholder interviews and evaluations, supplementary questions were developed under each of the long-term outcomes. The supplementary questions featured themes from the medium-term and short-term outcomes to help answer and break down the long-term outcomes (see appendix 5).