Attainment Scotland Fund (ASF) Evaluation Summative report, 2026

Embedded practices and culture

This chapter reports the evidence across the evaluation questions on embedded practices and culture set out in the box below. The extent to which the evidence indicates progress towards the two long-term outcomes is outlined.

Evaluation questions

Short- and medium-term outcomes

EQ6: Collaboration: ‘To what extent has the Fund resulted in established and/or strategic collaboration and what has been the impact?’

EQ7: Data and evidence: ‘To what extent have schools and authorities embedded use of data, analysis and evidence to drive improvements as part of the Fund?’

EQ8: Engagement with and support for families and communities: ‘To what extent has the fund embedded engagement with and support for families and communities?’

EQ12: Engagement in decision-making (voice): ‘To what extent were children and young people and their families and communities engaged in decision-making, what was the impact of this engagement, and was there evidence of engagement becoming embedded in the learner journey?’

EQ13: Readiness to learn: ‘To what extent was there improvement in children and young people’s readiness to learn through focusing on engagement, attendance, confidence and wellbeing?’

EQ14: Culture and ethos: ‘To what extent was culture and ethos based on educational equity embedded in the education system that promotes high aspirations and recognises broader achievement for all children and young people and their families?’

Long-term outcomes

EQ17: Embedded practices and culture: ‘To what extent did the fund contribute to an embedded culture of equity at different levels of the education system?’

EQ18: Education System: To what extent did the fund contribute 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?

Collaboration

To what extent has the Fund resulted in established and/or strategic collaborations, and what has been the impact?

Evidence from the SAC Leads and Schools Surveys has consistently shown that the ASF has supported the development of collaborations at national and local levels. A similar theme has reoccurred in wider sources of evidence, such as the 2024 Education Scotland National Summary Report the 2025 Pupil Equity Funding report and the Education Scotland numeracy report, with the latter noting:

“The fund has supported collaboration in numeracy and mathematics across the education system, including partnerships between schools and industry, regional improvement collaboratives, and community learning and development initiatives.’

The Schools Survey 2025 found that schools were most likely to collaborate with: other schools in their local authority (64%); families and communities (62%); public sector partnerships such as health and social work (52%); and third sector organisations (44%). 57% of survey respondents viewed collaboration as having improved, with headteachers and senior/middle leaders more likely to mention collaborations than classroom teachers or support staff. Very few (4%) said there had been no improvement at all. Secondary schools and schools in urban areas were more likely to report improved collaborations than primary schools, or schools in rural areas. Findings from the case study research are in line with earlier evaluation findings and further illustrate collaboration in practice. Some schools described working with other partner organisations within their local communities to supplement PEF-funded activities. Not all case study schools attributed improvements in collaboration between schools to the ASF specifically. However the benefits of ASF in relation to collaboration were more directly highlighted in case study evidence related to wider partner organisations (e.g. in relation to family learning and counselling).

Case study schools highlighted collaborations with other schools in their area, with examples such as schools pooling resources to access training, sharing good practice visits, undertaking work through clusters or local authority networks and developing and sharing ideas.

Collaboration across schools, services and national partners was identified as a core strength of the programme in the 2025/26 National Stakeholder Interviews, with strong local examples of effective partnership working:

“As shared understanding of approaches to equity become embedded, the need for collaboration becomes embedded.”

National stakeholders viewed collaboration as most effective at the local level and emphasised that collaboration requires ongoing investment, continual work, clarity of roles and that it is something that needs to be continually worked on. Collaboration was seen as fragile and subject to funding constraints:

“Initial improvements have diminished; many initiatives (e.g., nurture groups) cut due to funding constraints. Wider partnerships (speech therapy, social work) weakened by service cuts.”

Collaboration with young people and families and communities were seen by some national stakeholders as an area requiring further development:

“Not sure that collaboration done enough with children and families. Really important to ask them about what is being done and to collaborate with them. Important to listen to young people as they often have the solutions – they have opinions and stuff to say about it.”

Examples of particularly effective collaboration from the SAC Leads Survey 2025 demonstrate:

• strong collaborations at different levels contributing to effective use of resources and targeting where they will be most effective. For example the SAC Local Authority Network supported by Education Scotland, the Quad approach (established to support local authorities learning and sharing effective practice with other local authorities with similar contexts) and the ADES PIN network.
• collaboration and data driven approaches together have resulted in identified improvements
• collaborations supported by ‘relentless’ focus on closing poverty-related attainment gap with central teams and schools collaborating effectively, using data and evidence and professional learning
• collaborations with wider partners, including inter-agency working with third sector, collaborations with youth work, college, Developing the Young Workforce and others.

Constraints in relation to collaboration were also highlighted, with some instances of effective collaborations no longer being in place due to budget constraints. Collaborations were also described as impacted by context, with collaboration limited to organisations operating in the local area for example.

Data and evidence

To what extent have schools and authorities embedded use of data, analysis and evidence to drive improvements as part of the fund?

Evidence gathered throughout the evaluation has highlighted the increasing use of data, analysis and evidence to drive improvements as part of the ASF. The importance of using data to understand local contexts and for building a detailed, evidence-based picture of the poverty-related attainment gap at every level (from local authorities to individual classrooms) is well evidenced.

Education Scotland’s numeracy report highlighted the crucial role of data-driven approaches to identifying needs and tailoring support:

“Data and evidence are extensively used to inform and share understanding of effective numeracy interventions, demonstrated through tracking systems, research-based pedagogies, attainment monitoring, and strategic guidance, reflecting a strong commitment to data-informed decision-making and evidence-based practice.”

The 2025 School Survey highlighted variation in the extent to which data and evidence are used. Ratings were highest for monitoring progress on pupil attendance (89% rated this as very/quite good; 55% as very good) and informing the development of approaches to close the poverty-related attainment gap (87% very/quite good; 51% very good). However there was less indication that data was used effectively to measure whether ASF approaches are having the desired impact (80% very/quite good; 31% very good).

Use of data and evidence and improvements in its use were consistent themes across the evaluation data, contributing to the perspective that a ‘data culture’ has been achieved with increasing data literacy and data capacity both at local authority and school level:

“Through the effective use of SEF, the employment of a data lead has ensured that our LA has become data rich and this in turn has increased the data literacy of all staff across establishments.”

The majority of the 2025 School Survey respondents had seen an improvement in use of data and evidence since the start of the SAC (84%). This was particularly the case for headteachers and senior/middle leaders, with classroom teachers and support/other staff less likely to rate this highly. Schools with the highest proportion of pupils from deprived areas were more likely to rate use of evidence to measure the impact of ASF approaches as “good”. All of the 2025 case study schools viewed data and evidence as an important part of their approach to closing the poverty-related attainment gap.

Data was used to measure progress against ASF funding by examining a wide range of information, target interventions (i.e. determine which pupils would benefit from specific types of input/support) and monitor progress (e.g. attainment data, attendance data, pupil wellbeing measures etc). The case study evidence highlighted improvements and that data was an increasing focus for schools, however they did not think this was solely attributable to the ASF. The case study research provided further insight into the process:

“I think what we have gotten better at doing over time is looking at our interventions, looking at how we are spending the money and really evaluating the impact. Almost like ‘are we getting bang for our buck here?’ … Over time we have now become ‘right, this is how to make it bespoke for our school .’ It is evaluating that impact on a yearly basis.”

A number of case study schools had specific staff dedicated to data monitoring/tracking or PEF-funded roles with data monitoring as part of their remit. These schools highlighted benefits such as being able to systematically focus on data to ensure consistent approaches to tracking progress:

“… we use data quite effectively in this school … we want to know exactly how our quintile 1s, our free school meals pupils, our care experienced, our ASN pupils are doing in comparison to everyone else as well. That’s a lens that we definitely look at, and try and improve.”

“… my experience here has been that the teachers are much more data informed. They’re much more skilled in understanding what the data looks like.”

A number of limitations related to the use of data and evidence were also highlighted in the case studies:

• interventions targeted at small numbers of pupils would not have a big impact on year group or school level data even if a great improvement was shown for the targeted individuals
• cohort effects with different classes or year groups having different levels of need
• perceived limitations with existing measures such as SIMD, seen as a ‘blunt tool
• perceptions that some outcomes of ASF-funded activities are not measurable or likely to be seen in attainment data, particularly on the ‘softer’ outcomes
• perceptions that some impacts are unlikely to show up in the short-term, and will require much longer to see results

National stakeholders describe the system as data-rich but not always being able to demonstrate real impact. Whilst data collection and analysis have improved, national stakeholders question whether this has led to demonstrable improvements in outcomes:

“We are increasingly data rich, but we are not demonstrating real impact as a result of that data.'”

“We know more than we ever have – but things aren’t getting better.”

A strong preference was stated for data-informed rather than data-driven approaches. There was mention of a huge amount of data being available but a wish to better use data in a pupil centred and informed way. Some stakeholders wanted to see a greater use of qualitative evidence and a narrative around learner journeys. A view was raised that more trust should be placed on teacher judgement.

Families and Communities

To what extent has the fund embedded engagement with and support for families and communities?

In-depth thematic reporting in the Attainment Scotland Fund evaluation - families and communities: thematic evaluation report 2024 provided strong initial evidence on the importance of support for families and communities. This highlighted increasing engagement with, and support for, families and communities over the years of the SAC, from an early focus on interventions to the development of local authority-wide approaches. It also highlighted the development of approaches during the COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in considerable learning in relation to what works in supporting engagement with and support for families and communities. Supporting families and communities was a strong theme in the PEF report published in 2025.

The Interim Report provided evidence that approaches to engagement with families and communities has been embedded through local authority and school use of ASF. Family Link Workers (and other similar roles and teams) were viewed as having a positive impact. Strengthened relationships with families and communities were seen as of critical importance, with increased awareness within schools of poverty and its impact on families as a result of ASF.

Families and communities continue to be a key area of focus in the latest data with 93% of respondents to the latest SAC Leads Survey (2025) indicating they were focused on families and communities as part of their local authority approach. The case study research provides further insights into a range of issues related to ASF-supported work with families and communities. Schools highlighted the crucial importance of engaging parents/carers in closing the poverty-related attainment gap because ‘getting them through the door’ was the first step in supporting pupils to attainment. Lack of attendance and engagement was driven by lack of parental engagement. The case study research also found in some cases that schools were providing wider support to families at crisis points, reporting becoming a ‘one stop shop’ for families needing help with a range of issues, and this was particularly the case in schools in the most deprived areas.

Engagement in decision making

To what extent were children and young people and their families and communities engaged in decision-making, what was the impact of this engagement, and was there evidence of engagement becoming embedded in the learner journey?

The earlier thematic report Attainment Scotland Fund evaluation - voice of children and young people: thematic evaluation report 2024 pointed to increased engagement of children and young people in decision-making during the refreshed SAC.

A range of ongoing work shows that increased engagement is continuing. As highlighted in the Interim Report 2025, both the 2023 and 2024 SAC Leads Surveys indicated that engagement of children and young people and of families and communities was a strategic priority for most local authorities. This was borne out in the School Survey, which showed two thirds of school staff engaged with children and young people to a great or to a moderate extent, and three-fifths had engaged with families and communities to the same extent.

Since the Interim Report, evidence from the 2025 SAC leads survey shows that local authorities continue to prioritise engagement with children, young people, families, and communities as part of their approaches. Engagement with children and young people was reported more frequently than engagement with families and communities: 93% of authorities said it was part of their approach (78% to a great extent; 14% to some extent). In comparison, 86% reported engaging families and communities, all of them to some extent. SAC Leads Survey 2025 respondents highlighted a range of actions to engage children and young people, families and communities both at local authority and also school level. Some pointed specifically to the use of Participatory Budgeting but this was not universal:

‘Feedback from children and families has helped schools refine interventions, making them more targeted, culturally sensitive, and impactful. It enables there to be a more holistic approach to improve outcomes for children and families.’

Where engagement in decision-making was perceived to be taking place, respondents highlighted positive impacts including development of a shared understanding, linking planning more closely to local needs and context, and measurable impacts such as improved attendance. Cost of the school day/addressing financial barriers was described as one of the areas supported by the engagement of children and young people, families and communities. At the local authority level, engagement has supported aspects such as inputs to PEF review and review of PEF guidance. A number of examples identified participatory budgeting giving stakeholders greater awareness of opportunities to address barriers to full participation in school.

The importance of listening to voices of children and families in rural communities was highlighted, alongside local knowledge/school knowledge to target effectively:

‘As we have many rural communities, it has been vital to listen to voices of children and families. National indicators of poverty are not always an accurate measure in our authority and therefore we rely on our local knowledge and schools' knowledge of families and communities in order to target effectively.’

However, the difficulty of measuring the impact of involvement was also highlighted.

Children and young people who participated in the case study research provided insights into how they had been engaged in decision-making, with examples of them inputting into the development of ASF approaches, including pupils helping to develop ideas for how to use PEF funding.

The SAC National Programmes are one of the key routes for the views of children and young people to influence decision making about the SAC and ASF.

Young Scot’s #YSEquity Panel aims to ensure equitable space for debate and conversation between young people and decision makers, allowing them to influence the SAC programme and provide informed recommendations for change. With the dedicated support from Young Scot’s Participation team, the Panel have explored their understanding and shared their views with Scottish Government on national policies and initiatives including ASF and PEF, attendance, readiness to learn and the cost of the school day. A current initiative is a youth friendly ‘What is PEF’ video resource to equip children and young people with the knowledge and information they need about PEF to participate in discussions and decisions within their school around spend. In March, the Panel will produce their final recommendations for this phase of their project to Scottish Government on key themes and areas of improvement they have identified within the SAC programme.

Young Scot held an Attainment and Youth Voice workshop in November 2025 designed and led by YSEquity Panel members aimed at exploring decision-making opportunities for young people within attainment at an educational, local authority and national level. The workshop also discussed how to ensure schools are more equitable and meet the needs of children and young people affected by poverty. This was a collaborative, co-creative event with both adult and youth attendees representing local and national stakeholders from schools, colleges, youth work, young carers and LGBTQ youth. This also included key stakeholders Education Scotland and Scottish Government’s SAC Policy team.

The Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland Cost of the School Day Project has established the Cost of the School Day Voice Network, which currently has approximately 350 schools participating. It co-ordinated the Big Question in 2023/24 with over 5000 young people expressing their views on aspects relevant to cost of the school day such as food, school trips and readiness to learn.

Consultation sessions with secondary school pupils held by CPAG Cost of the School Day project in June 2025 sought to understand young people's views of what ASF investment is working well and their priorities for the future. These online sessions saw young people providing feedback on 'What happens in your school to help children learn and take part feel supported and included?'. The following positive ASF-funded initiatives were identified:

• provision of food supports learning and concentration
• non-stigmatising support
• dedicated wellbeing support staff
• staff supporting learning and meeting pupils' needs
• resources needed for learning
• uniform provision
• clubs and trips
• pupil voice

Suggested priorities for the future included:

• digital devices (such as free devices and free WiFi for everyone)
• learning and teaching (such as more teachers, smaller classes, more interactive lessons/equipment/trips)
• accessible school trips (free trips and events)
• wellbeing and support (more counsellors and guidance teachers)
• improved food provision (breakfast clubs every day, free lunches, free food at breaks)
• support for ASN
• improved (non-digital) resources for learning – including stationery, class resources, school supplies, water bottles, ‘take what you need trolleys’
• accessible clubs and activities (such as lower prices on activities) and accessible uniform provision
• transport
• improvements to school buildings and environments, including more study areas and spaces for relaxation
• more family learning e.g. family workshops

In Autumn 2025, CPAG held a Cost of the School Day Young People’s Summit, which was attended by the First Minister and 80 young people from across Scotland. The Summit led to the publication of the School Shouldn’t Cost Manifesto on 8th December 2025 following a visit by a group of young people to meet the First Minister at Bute House on 1^st December.

These initiatives are important means for children and young people’s voice to influence decision-making across all levels of the education system. Case study respondents have reported positive progress in ensuring children and young people have their voice heard and can influence the SAC programme, particularly through youth panels and co-design approaches:

“There is great engagement through the work with the panel and a recognition of what that can provide at that strategic national level.”

“We now have the representation of youth voice, and they are informing how the work is being done and hopefully improving it.”

However, evidence from national stakeholder interviews indicates engagement has in some cases been inconsistent or less effective, with calls for more meaningful, ongoing participation. Stakeholders noted that participation structures such as youth panels require sustained investment to remain effective:

“Ensure young people’s voice is included in a timely manner. And then sought on an ongoing basis.”

“Some progress via initiatives (e.g., cost of the school day, uniform recycling), but engagement is often tokenistic due to funding pressures.”

“In terms of a panel, you can't just replace that, you know. If the panel falls down and we recruit another one in a year or two years, you need to do the year of building up first before you can actually do anything.”

A need for an enhanced focus on capturing the views of children and young people with additional support needs (ASN) was highlighted in national stakeholder interviews.

Readiness to Learn

To what extent was there improvement in children and young people’s readiness to learn through focusing on engagement, attendance, confidence and wellbeing?

Readiness to learn is an important strategic priority, and there have been improvements. Following the inclusion of readiness to learn as an outcome area in the SAC Logic Model, the evaluation has explored the concept of readiness to learn. It is not a clearly defined concept, and therefore exploring children and young people’s perspectives of what it means to them has been a key thematic evaluation focus.

Earlier evaluation reports, including the thematic report on readiness to learn published in 2024, and the Interim Report published in 2025, have highlighted important findings:

• Children and young people’s views of readiness to learn is not a clearly defined concept
• Readiness to learn covers a range of aspects related to what children and young people need to learn outside of school (including at home), inside school, in the classroom and from the adults around them to support them feel ready to learn
• Having enough food, and not being tired or stressed, are key aspects of being ready to learn in both primary and secondary school settings

The CPAG Cost of the School Day Project – Big Question enabled children and young people around Scotland to share their thoughts on school trips, food, what helps them feel ready to learn and their ideas about what should change. The report identifies factors that help children and young people feel ready to learn related to basic needs at home, school environment and culture, relationships, the structure of the school day, learning and teaching, opportunities to participate and access to resources and food. Many factors which support readiness to learn, such as sleep, warm homes, uniform, food, freedom from worry and stress, resources and participating in opportunities, are influenced by family income. As a result, young people from low-income households are at risk of being less likely to experience or be equipped with what is needed to feel ready to learn. The report identifies what can make schools more equitable and inclusive for everyone in order to narrow the attainment gap and improve outcomes for children and young people affected by poverty.

Young Scot, #YSEquity Panel members in consultation with colleagues from SG SAC Policy Unit and Education Analytical Services co-designed the 'What I need to learn' survey with over 1,000 children and young people aged 11 years upwards responding across Scotland in late 2023/early 2024. The work was instrumental in unpacking in detail what readiness to learn means to children and young people:

• What does Ready to Learn mean?: ‘emotional readiness’ – motivation, readiness, feeling valued was most frequently highlighted with ‘Practical’ options such as ‘I have what I need to learn (stationery, technology, books) also being viewed as important
• What does it feel like to be Ready to Learn? responses were evenly split across four categories - ‘Practical’ (relaxed, comfortable, full – not hungry); ‘Emotional’ (energised, confident, ‘Education-focused’ (interested and engaged, smart) and ‘Listened to’ (Feel listened to and involved, respected, heard and understood; considered)
• What impacts on readiness to learn? 74% agreed that the Covid-19 pandemic had impacted on their readiness to learn and that the cost-of-living crisis had impacted on their readiness to learn. 10% stated that the impact had been significant
• What do you need to be Ready to Learn? priorities included good sleep, the right attitude, supportive teachers, breakfast, a good friendship group, lunch, quiet study spaces, and being hydrated
• What hinders readiness to learn? Key themes included poor behaviour of others in class, their own mental health, and the learning environment

YouthLink Scotland’s Youth Work and Schools Partnership programme works closely with Scottish Government and other SAC partners to promote and develop youth work to close the poverty-related attainment gap through sharing good practice, supporting practice development and helping to gather evidence of the impact of youth work on attainment. The Role of Youth Work in Supporting Young People's Readiness to Learn report published in 2024, is based on data from youth work programmes in 17 local authorities involving more than 700 young people aged 9-18. The programmes were designed to support young people affected by poverty and other barriers to learning, and most were developed in partnership with schools. Whilst not all of this provision is funded through ASF, the following key findings related to readiness to learn were identified:

• Youth work supports young people’s social and emotional wellbeing as the foundation for successful learning (90% indicated increased confidence to participate in learning)
• Youth work offers young people more pathways for learning and achievement than can be offered in the classroom (88% consistently attended learning opportunities offered by youth workers and 60% showed improved participation in youth work over time)
• Youth work offers young people opportunities to learn core skills that are relevant for life and work (almost half of the young people in this cohort gained accredited awards or qualifications)
• Youth work supports young people’s re-engagement in learning in the classroom, and beyond, encouraging them to seek out new learning experiences (just under 50% showed an improvement in participation in the classroom when they have opportunities to learn in youth work alongside the formal curriculum and half showed an improvement in school attendance)

Readiness to learn continues to be seen as an important element of approaches both at local authority and at school level and an area where improvements have been identified as a result of the ASF. Repeated surveys with SAC Leads (2023, 2024 and most recently 2025) have indicated that at local authority level, readiness to learn is a strategic priority, with ASF used to support the development of approaches to readiness to learn within local authorities. In 2025, the majority of respondents to the SAC Leads Survey viewed children and young people’s readiness to learn had improved as a result of ASF-funded approaches. 84% of respondents to the most recent School Survey reported a focus on readiness to learn as part of their approach to a great or moderate extent, with 66% seeing improvements in readiness to learn to a great or moderate extent. The greatest improvements in readiness to learn were reported for schools with 25% or more pupils living in the most deprived areas.

Recent case study research provides more detail on improvements in readiness to learn as a key outcome of ASF funding, particularly for schools which had prioritised health and wellbeing/nurture to improve attainment. For example:

“It is how we use PEF to support the health and wellbeing so that we can then focus on learning and teaching. The health and wellbeing of the children and families in this school comes first. That needs to be nurtured and … that all needs to be in place before you can even think about your reading, your writing, your numeracy.”

Children and young people who took part in case study research (discussed in detail in the Attainment Scotland Fund (ASF) evaluation: children and young people's research briefing) identified the factors required to be ready to learn at school. Physical and wellbeing aspects included not being hungry (having a good breakfast), access to transport to get to school, having physical resources and equipment (e.g. stationery) and not being too tired or stressed. The pupils who participated in the case studies indicated they were aware how and where to access support and resources at school and the support to address financial barriers/cost of the school day.

Readiness to learn was identified as a significant impact for ASF by national stakeholders interviewed in December 2025 – January 2026, particularly through wellbeing approaches, youth work and family support interventions:

“There are definitely benefits to readiness to learn from ASF interventions - such as homework clubs, extra support and the creation of safe spaces.”

However, stakeholders strongly emphasise poverty as the primary barrier to attainment. Schools alone cannot address child poverty without broader systemic and income-based policy interventions:

“(The) real issue is poverty. It is child poverty and the school can’t do it all. Schools do what they can, but challenges keep coming.”

The impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic was identified by stakeholders as a major barrier to progress in relation to children and young people’s readiness to learn. Stakeholders cited the pandemic as:

• increasing inequality
• disrupting learning
• impacting mental health and readiness to learn particularly for young people experiencing poverty

Some opportunities were identified:

“COVID had a massive impact. I think there is no doubt of that. But it also provided opportunities in terms of learning and different ways of learning. Like there were massive impacts that we've had and it would be really, really remiss not to recognise that, particularly for young people living in poverty. The impact was massive.”

Culture and ethos

To what extent was culture and ethos based on educational equity embedded in the education system that promotes high aspirations and recognises broader achievement for all children and young people and their families?

A consistent finding throughout the evaluation, most recently highlighted in the Interim Report, is that ASF has facilitated and delivered a culture and ethos based on educational equity. A lot of themes arise consistently (particularly through the SAC lead survey results and the case studies):

• Recognising broader achievements/promoting high aspirations
• Celebrating all types of achievement and raising pupil aspirations
• Supportive leadership
• Training and professional learning

Recent stakeholder interviews indicate a culture and ethos based on educational equity has been embedded both within schools and more broadly in the education system, and that it supports pupils affected by poverty. Education Scotland’s 2025 numeracy evaluation report (Impact of Attainment Scotland Funding (ASF) on Numeracy and Mathematics 2022-25: Evaluation of progress against the long-term SAC logic model outcomes: Strategic Equity Fund (SEF)) agrees, along with 86% of respondents to the 2025 SAC Leads Survey viewing ASF as having embedded educational equity across the education system and 93% agreeing the SAC Mission has supported embedding of educational equity.

On awareness of the issues around poverty, case study participants working in more deprived areas highlighted this as being ‘the norm’, with systematic approaches to identify those in need of support. Those working in less deprived areas also had a good understanding in some instances due to initiatives such as Cost of the School Day, professional learning and other information sharing. Knowing pupils well was a common theme amongst respondents from the smallest schools, leading to high levels of awareness of the challenges faced by pupils. Only one case study school flagged the potential for increased awareness amongst its staff. Case study respondents were less clear on whether ASF had helped improve awareness of the issues around poverty or whether this was developed independently of ASF activities.

Case study respondents identified embedded approaches in the majority of their schools, with staff working in different roles suggesting most schools were applying ‘whole school approaches’ to support pupils affected by poverty. Other aspects of embedded support were identified, such as:

• focusing on addressing financial barriers
• reducing stigma associated with poverty
• nurture approaches

Most respondents in the case study research highlighted inclusivity as a key aspect of culture and ethos. Children and young people flagged the embarrassment and stigma associated with accessing support, and that their school making resources available for all pupils helped address this issue.

Learning and Teaching, Leadership and Professional Learning

Learning and Teaching has emerged as one of the most important organisers underpinning approaches to closing the poverty-related attainment gap. Provision of professional learning was often closely linked to learning and teaching priorities, with approaches identified in the SAC Leads Survey 2025 including:

• introducing Principal Teachers for learning and teaching to provide coaching and modelling good practice
• focusing on mathematics, with a strategic plan developed across the local authority
• a national improving writing programme

Views on the impact of ASF on Learning and Teaching from the School Survey 2025 were very positive overall:

• 92% of schools routinely use approaches, tools and/or resources in learning and teaching to support pupils affected by poverty
• 84% agreed that ASF has made staff more aware of how to support pupils affected by poverty
• 83% know where/how to access support
• 83% of classroom staff have the skills to do this
• 78% agree learning and teaching approaches are embedded to a great, moderate or some extent. Schools in the most deprived areas were most likely to report embedding of learning and teaching approaches at the classroom level

Some of the case study schools highlighted the success of ‘staged’ approaches, with support for wellbeing provided to targeted pupils ahead of learning and teaching interventions. For example, one school had initially provided a nurture space, with plans to employ a Principal Teacher for attainment for the following academic year.

Leadership and professional learning were widely recognised by stakeholders as key enablers of equity-focused change in the system. Leadership was seen as key to a school’s positive culture, alongside staff working collaboratively and being involved in the same ‘mission’:

“Leadership is key and sharing this learning. If head not leading in this area just have a lot of frustrated classroom teachers.”

Celebrating all types of achievement and raising pupil aspirations were viewed as positive contributors. Whilst acknowledging the difficulties of attributing specific aspects of culture and ethos within schools directly to ASF, initiatives introduced via PEF funding have had wider positive impacts on school culture. National stakeholders highlighted the role of SAC in embedding lasting culture change:

“An awareness of equity and barriers related to poverty is in every school – clear to everyone. Every LA has a drive to overcome poverty.”

“The important thing about the funding is signalling that equity is important –It’s about saying this is what is important.”

“Attainment is closely linked to wellbeing, access and broader readiness to learn, and that ASF activity supports these wider conditions.”

“Equity is slapped in your face every month through the data – everyone is aware of it.”

“LAs across the board invested money in leadership - they’ve got leadership development. Money well spent – quads and collaborative learning are approaches.”

A low percentage of School Survey respondents however agreed (39%) there are sufficient resources in schools to support pupils affected by poverty. Whilst investment in leadership development and professional learning was welcomed, lack of time, resources and workload pressures were cited as preventing meaningful engagement:

“Teachers frequently complete training in their own time due to workload pressures.”

“There needs to be more investment to allow teachers to do the professional learning required for the logic model outcomes to be fully realised.”

“Often teachers (are) not released for training.”

Most schools highlighted that professional learning had taken place as a result of the ASF, upskilling staff for example through training delivered with PEF funding, and through sharing/cascading training throughout school staff. A small number of case study schools also pointed to staff training which had involved PEF-funded staff training others within the school. Provision of professional learning was seen to be needed on a continuous basis, particularly in light of staff turnover and new staff coming into the education system:

“Professional learning is never done – needs to keep going.”

Long-term outcomes related to culture and ethos

To what extent did the fund contribute to an embedded culture of equity at different levels of the education system?

To what extent did the fund contribute to an educational system which actively addresses poverty, removing barriers through inclusive ethos, practice and approaches for children and young people, parents and carers and practitioners?

Data and evidence and collaboration

Data, evidence and collaboration have been embedded, however this varies dependent on role as well as school context. Headteachers and senior leaders, secondary schools, urban schools and schools with higher deprivation are more likely to report higher perceptions of improvement. Two key themes have emerged over the course of the evaluation:

• Collaboration and data supports targeting of resources to individual pupils/families, cohorts or on particular establishments
• There are strong links between effective collaboration, data literacy and professional learning, supported by a focus on the central mission in supporting an embedded culture of equity

Success of the Mission

The great majority (93%) of respondents to the 2025 SAC Leads Survey credited ASF with embedding educational equity in order to improve the educational outcomes of children and young people affected by poverty.

Stakeholders credit SAC as being responsible for raising awareness of poverty and embedding an equity and wellbeing in schools and with partners and stakeholders. One of the most consistently reported successes is an embedded culture change. Stakeholders see the change in culture and ethos in the system as a lasting legacy. However concerns were raised that this has not yet translated to measurable national attainment statistics or impactful changes for children and young people:

“It has helped the system but not made the meaningful change for children and young people.”

“Mission is in part successful…. And in a difficult period made real headway towards other parts of mission. We have a long way to go though – but (we are) learning all the time.”

Overall, there is certainly an embedded culture of equity at different levels of the system, however there is variability and areas where it remains to be fully embedded.

Sustainability

Sustainability has repeatedly been identified as a key concern for local authorities and schools in relation to ASF, as well as being a factor in choosing approaches to close the poverty-related attainment gap. The Interim Report noted that local authorities and schools were addressing sustainability through embedding approaches into core planning processes, developing local authority wide and whole school approaches, building staff capacity and planning transition strategies.

Concerns in relation to sustainability were raised by headteachers and senior leaders responding to the School Survey. 72% raised concerns with funding issues, including concerns about any reduction of PEF or funding cuts (28%) and comments about initiatives which would be affected without PEF (28%). Over half (55%) raised concerns about staffing and resources.

The Interim Report 2025 highlighted the consensus across evidence sources of the critical importance of continued specific funding to support and sustain the embedding of educational equity across the system, and to address the complex and long-term nature of the challenge of closing the poverty-related attainment gap. Evidence gathered since publication of the Interim Report has continued to emphasise the critical importance of sustainability.

The case study research highlighted that where ASF had been used to purchase equipment or resources to set up specific facilities and to facilitate professional development and upskilling for staff, approaches were reported to be sustainable beyond the current phase of the programme. Additionally, culture changes, whole school approaches, increased focus on data and evidence and impacts on staff leadership capacity would continue regardless of the funding in place. The key sustainability concern raised related to staffing, and given the main use of funding has been to provide staffing to deliver initiatives and undertake specific roles it was emphasised that without funding there would be no staff to deliver many of the initiatives and support. Financial support, such as cost of the school day initiatives, would also not be sustainable.

Across all levels, case study respondents commonly highlighted the essential nature of PEF, raising concerns about how schools would meet pupils’ needs without it. Some suggested PEF should be made a permanent source of funding to schools.

Sustainability was also one of the most significant concerns raised in the SAC Leads Survey 2025 and the national stakeholder interviews, with short-term funding cycles, staffing issues such as temporary contracts and political uncertainty flagged as issues undermining long-term impact. Local authorities pointed to the importance of continued funding, to continue the momentum and the focus, and flagged the importance of the strategic element at the local authority level alongside PEF continuing to go to schools. Concerns that without funding the focus would diminish rapidly were raised. However some national stakeholders were positive about sustainability, regardless of future funding:

“In terms of sustainability the changes in culture and ethos, the embedding of ways of working to support equity are where you see sustainability. I don’t think that will go away if the funding goes away.”

Other stakeholders viewed funding and long-term investment as essential:

“Without the current funding, it’s not sustainable at all in the slightest.”

“There is nothing worse than starting something good in a school and having to stop it.”

“Not a hope … of dealing with poverty without PEF.”

“At a loss to know what schools would do without it. It is meant to be seen as additional but a huge gap would exist without it. Not able to do all the 101 things.”

“Often the solutions can be more money and that’s not what people want to hear.”

All the stakeholders interviewed demonstrated a strong awareness of the SAC mission and a familiarity with the Logic Model. Most stakeholders also had a detailed knowledge of SAC since its inception in 2015/16:

“The mission is crystal clear now – everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.”

Stakeholders widely acknowledged that SAC has raised the profile of equity in education and shifted professional language in such a way that everyone was comfortable with discussing poverty and focused on reducing barriers in a non-stigmatising way.

“It has changed the way we think about equity in education – that’s massive.'”

The moral intent/imperative of SAC is important to stakeholders. The articulation of a clear ‘mission’ helped raise awareness and give practitioners the language and impetus to reduce poverty related barriers for children and young people:

“People are much more aware of what they should be striving for”.

“Strongly support the SAC policy framing and the articulation of the ideological concept of equity. The positioning of poverty in the social dialogue really supports dialogue within the school context.”

“The important thing about the funding is signalling that equity is important – it’s about saying this is what is important.”

“It’s front and centre of the direction of travel.”