Pupil attainment: closing the gap
Scottish Attainment Challenge 2022 to 2026
The Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) aims to use education to improve outcomes for children and young people affected by poverty. Its main focus is closing the gap in attainment between pupils from lower-income families and their peers.
Over the past decade, the programme has received £1.75 billion in support. It was developed in partnership with COSLA and includes an annual investment of up to £200 million, made up of:
- Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) — £130 million given directly to headteachers in 97% of schools to use as they see fit
- Strategic Equity Funding (SEF) — £43 million shared across all 32 local authorities, based on the number of children in low-income families
- Care Experienced Children and Young People (CECYP) funding — dedicated support to help improve outcomes for young people in or who have been in care, contributing to keeping the Promise
- National programmes to support initiatives such as youth work and mentoring
Framework for Recovery and Accelerating Progress
We published the Scottish Attainment Challenge framework to:
- reaffirm our shared commitment to fairness in education
- make clear who is responsible for driving improvement across the education system
- highlight the SAC logic model as a practical tool to help plan and accelerate progress
- encourage schools, local authorities and third sector partners to work together
- set high expectations for closing the poverty related attainment gap
- require local authorities to set stretch aims for progress by 2025 to 2026
We published the first set of stretch aims set by local authorities for 2022 to 2023 in December 2022. In December 2023, we published a summary of stretch aims for 2023 to 2026.
Related information:
Strategic Equity Funding (SEF)
All 32 local authorities receive a share of £43 million each year. This money is used to support approaches that help close the poverty-related attainment gap.
Funding allocations have been confirmed for the full period from 2022 to 2026, giving local authorities the certainty they need for long-term planning. Local authorities can refer to the Strategic Equity Fund national operational guidance to support their planning.
Related information:
Pupil Equity Funding (PEF)
PEF is allocated directly to schools to help close the poverty-related attainment gap. Funding is targeted at pupils in Primary 1 to S3 known to be eligible for free school meals. Around 97% of schools in Scotland receive this funding.
Headteachers decide how to spend PEF, working in partnership with their staff and local authority. The Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) national operational guidance is available to help schools plan their spending.
In May 2025, the PEF Report was published, drawing on learning from 129 schools across all 32 local authorities. It shows how PEF is helping headteachers improve literacy and numeracy, support pupils' health and wellbeing, strengthen family engagement and improve attendance.
Also published in May 2025, the Evidence and insights on the poverty-related attainment gap report offers a clear, accessible overview of data and trends on the attainment gap and how poverty affects children's educational outcomes.
Related information:
- Pupil Equity Funding: school allocations 2022 to 2023
- Pupil Equity Funding: school level spend 2020 to 2021
Care Experienced Children and Young People funding
The Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund gives local authorities money to improve educational outcomes for young people who are, or have been, in care.
Spending decisions are made by Chief Social Work and Education Officers, working with key planning partners. The fund is open to care experienced children and young people from birth up to age 26.
Each local authority receives £1,225 for every looked-after child aged 5 to 15, based on figures from the Children's Social Work Statistics Scotland publication.
The Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund: operational guidance is available to support local authorities in planning how to use this funding.
Related information:
National Programmes
The Attainment Scotland Fund supports a range of national programmes delivered through third sector and partner organisations. These cover areas such as youth work, reducing the costs families face at school, gathering the views of young people, and supporting the virtual school headteacher network.
Cost of the School Day
The Cost of the School Day project at Child Poverty Action Group(CPAG) Scotland, offers resources and support to help schools and local authorities reduce the financial pressures families face. This includes involving school communities, sharing good practice, maximising family incomes, and supporting children from low-income households.
Get in touch: COSDVoice@cpagscotland.org.uk
YouthLink Scotland
YouthLink Scotland offers a range of support to schools and youth work teams as part of the Scottish Attainment Challenge National Programme.
For more information, contact YouthLink Scotland.
Young Scot
Young Scot worked with the YSEquity Panel of 25 young people aged 11 to 24 from a diverse range of backgrounds and communities across Scotland. The panel helped shape the Scottish Attainment Challenge, focusing on what helps young people feel ready to learn. Their findings are set out in the What I Need to Learn Survey Report.
Virtual School Head Teacher Network
Over half of Scotland's local authorities have created a Virtual School Head Teacher role to provide focused support for care experienced children and young people.
CELCIS has hosted Scotland's Virtual School Head Teacher Network since 2019. The network gives professionals a space to share knowledge, research, good practice and peer support, with the shared aim of improving education for all care experienced learners.
Assessment and evaluation of attainment
We assess the effectiveness of school interventions using the National Improvement Framework: drivers of improvement. This sets out the evidence we gather to monitor progress.
School education statistics provide comprehensive data on school performance, including information on pupils and teachers, and attainment and qualification results.
Scottish National Standardised Assessments
Children in Primary 1, Primary 4, Primary 7 and Secondary 3 complete online assessments in literacy and numeracy, aligned to the Curriculum for Excellence. These assessments help identify each child's progress and support teachers' professional judgement.
Find out more: National Standardised Assessments for Scotland
Attainment Scotland Fund evaluation
The Attainment Scotland Fund (ASF) has been evaluated since the Scottish Attainment Challenge began. The evaluation looks at how the fund is being implemented and whether it is achieving its long-term aims. It is guided by the Scottish Attainment Challenge Logic Model and the Evaluation Strategy for the Attainment Scotland Fund 2022 to 2026.
2026
The Attainment Scotland Fund: Summative Report 2026 combines findings from surveys, interviews and case studies. It covers the period since the SAC was revised in 2022, reporting on progress towards short, medium and long-term outcomes.
2025
Attainment Scotland Fund Evaluation: Reporting on National Improvement Framework Attainment and Health and Wellbeing Measures, 2025 is a concise summary of progress using the core National Improvement Framework measures.
ASF School Survey 2025 report shows findings from a survey of school staff carried out between March and May 2025. The survey explored the impact of ASF-funded activities and the factors helping to improve attainment and close the poverty-related attainment gap.
ASF Evaluation Interim Report Summer 2025 brings together findings from the National Improvement Framework measures, the Schools Survey 2025 and other evidence sources to give a broad picture of progress since the 2022 SAC refresh.
ASF Evaluation: Case Study Research 2025 provides qualitative research exploring the experiences of staff working in or with case study schools, complementing the quantitative data from the school survey.
ASF Evaluation: Case Study Research: Children and Young People's Research Briefing 2025 summarises the views of children and young people who took part in the case study research.
2024
The Attainment Scotland Fund evaluation: implementation and impact report 2024 shares evaluation evidence from since the 2022 SAC refresh, drawing on a survey of local authority leads and interviews with national stakeholders.
Thematic reports
The ASF Evaluation Strategy 2022 to 2026 introduced a new strand of thematic evaluation to look in depth at key issues and build the evidence base on what works, for whom and in what circumstances. There are three thematic reports and an overall summary:
- Thematic Evaluation Summary Report 2024
- Families and Communities Thematic Evaluation Report 2024
- Readiness to Learn Thematic Evaluation Report 2024
- Voice of Children and Young People Thematic Evaluation Report 2024
Earlier evaluation history
Before the 2022 SAC refresh, annual evaluation reports were published each year. The first covered years 1 and 2 (2015 to 2017) and was published in 2017, with annual reports following from 2018 to 2022. In March 2021, the Scottish Government and Education Scotland published a five-year impact report covering 2016 to 2021. The most recent annual report was published in June 2022.