Attainment Scotland Fund evaluation: fifth interim report - year 6

Chapter 2 Inputs: Governance, Support and Funding

Chapter 2 highlights

Governance and Support

• There were broadly positive views of governance and support provided by Scottish Government, Education Scotland and Attainment Advisors specifically. There were some calls for Scottish Government to provide more opportunities for sharing learning and good practice.
• The Attainment Advisor role was viewed as offering strong support and challenge, bringing a national perspective, support around use of data and evidence, sharing good practice, working directly with target schools.
• A range of processes and supports for schools in terms of PEF were identified from Scottish Government, Education Scotland and local authorities, with particular recognition of the importance of the Attainment Advisor role in bringing a national perspective to support design and implementation of PEF.
• Headteachers responding to the 2021 survey were generally positive on:
  • PEF processes (78% felt there was sufficient support in place to develop and implement their school plan for PEF; 71% felt timescales for planning for PEF was sufficient; 67% felt reporting requirements associated with PEF were reasonable).
  • Role of PEF in addressing poverty-related attainment gap (93% felt they had autonomy to develop PEF plans responsive to their local context and needs; 89% felt PEF provided additional resource needed to address the poverty-related attainment gap; 93% felt PEF had been used effectively to meet their school's needs.

Funding

• Funding available to local authorities and schools has increased considerably over the duration of ASF. In Year 6 (2020/21) a combined total of £172.5 million was distributed across Challenge Authorities (£42.9 million), Schools Programme (£7.1 million) and PEF (£122.5 million).
• Challenge Authority and Schools Programme spend as a proportion of allocation have continued to broadly increase year-on-year from 2017/18 to 2020/21. PEF spend as a proportion of allocation dropped slightly in 2020/21 (72%) compared to the previous two years (78%).
• Flexibilities in the use of ASF to enable local authorities to respond to COVID-19 introduced in May 2020 had been utilised by local authorities and by schools, for example to support access to remote learning and to provide additional support for learners most impacted by COVID-19.

2.1 This chapter focuses on how the ASF was organised and supported at both a national and a local level. It also outlines the financial inputs to the programme by funding stream across Year 1 (2015/16) to Year 6 (2020/21) of ASF.

Governance and support

2.2 The evaluation considers what did and did not work well in the governance and support of the ASF at national and local level. It reviews how national and local organisation and governance and support of the fund worked across the funding strands of the ASF.

2.3 Evidence used to address this has been largely drawn from the Local Authority Survey 2021, Headteacher Survey 2021 and Challenge Authority and Schools Programme Progress reports.

National Governance and Support

2.4 National governance and support refers to the inputs and support provided by the Scottish Government and Education Scotland, including support through Attainment Advisors, and the organisation and administrative requirements of ASF.

2.5 Local authority perspectives on working with the Scottish Government and Education Scotland were gathered through the ASF Local Authority Survey 2021. Local authority respondents shared very positive perceptions around governance and support arrangements related to Scottish Government, Attainment Advisors and other Education Scotland staff, reflecting ongoing trends over the years of the evaluation.

2.6 In terms of what was working well in relation to Scottish Government governance, positive relationships, clear communication and guidance, flexibility and responsiveness were all mentioned in relation to what had worked well in terms of Scottish Government governance and support. Respondents to the Local Authority Survey 2021 also highlighted the ongoing and consistent focus on closing the poverty-related attainment gap.

2.7 Areas of potential improvement to national support were suggested by some Local Authority Survey 2021 respondents. There were asks around streamlined reporting and less bureaucracy, and many respondents suggested changes in the alignment of funding to academic rather than financial year. Greater clarity on information gathering requirements/reporting with advance warning rather than short term was frequently mentioned. As one local authority respondent described, 'short term deadlines can put considerable pressure on central teams'. More opportunities for sharing learning and good practice across local authorities was also suggested.

2.8 The Local Authority Survey 2021 continued to indicate broadly positive perspectives about the role of Education Scotland in terms of the fund^[3]. Trends identified in earlier Local Authority Surveys continued to be evidenced, indicating positive relationships between local authorities and Education Scotland and the advice, guidance and support received in relation to the fund. Aspects highlighted by respondents included positive relationships with and support from Senior Regional Advisors, and resource provision such as the National Improvement Hub and Equity Sway^[4]. Support from and engagement in Regional Improvement Collaboratives (RICs) was also highlighted.

Local Governance and Support

2.9 The role of Attainment Advisors in respect of local governance and support was highlighted in the Local Authority Survey 2021, and as in previous surveys perspectives remain very positive overall of the support provided by Attainment Advisors. Respondents highlighted ongoing aspects such as strong support and challenge, bringing a national perspective, support around use of data and evidence, sharing good practice, and working directly with target schools. The following direct quotations from survey responses illustrate aspects of the positive support received from Attainment Advisors:

'We work very closely with our Attainment Advisor …and have found [their] support and challenge to be invaluable.' (Local authority in receipt of Schools Programme funding)

'Culture of openness, collaboration and trust.' (Local authority in receipt of Schools Programme funding)

'[Attainment Advisor] brings experience, professionalism and energy to (their) role which has resulted in really positive professional relationships being established across the authority.' (PEF-only local authority)

2.10 As in previous Local Authority Surveys, the Attainment Advisor role continued to be viewed as providing an important link between the national, regional and local levels in the 2021 survey, as illustrated by the following:

'[Attainment Advisors provide] a key link between Education Scotland, Scottish Government and (LA) with a clear focus on actions that will assist in closing the poverty related attainment gap.'

2.11 Themes highlighted in previous Local Authority Surveys regarding areas for improvement continued to feature in 2021 responses from local authorities.

Issues related to consistency, retention and availability of Attainment Advisor resource continued to be raised by a small number of local authorities. There were also comments related to the remit of Attainment Advisors and whether this could be revisited, alongside wider calls for revision and clearer definition of the role of Attainment Advisors.

2.12 As in previous years, a number of respondents indicated there were no areas for further improvement, with continued affirmation of highly positive experiences in relation to the Attainment Advisor role.

2.13 A number of specific suggestions were raised by individual local authority respondents in relation to the Attainment Advisor role:

• specific review meetings for different aspects of the ASF (CECYP, PEF etc.);
• creation of a network across the nine Challenge Authorities with tapering plans to support the move into SAC refresh.

PEF support and processes

2.14 Evidence on perspectives of PEF support and processes was gathered from both the Local Authority Survey 2021 and the Headteacher Survey 2021. This reflects views on support and processes around PEF made available to schools from Scottish Government, Education Scotland and local authorities.

2.15 The important role of Attainment Advisors in terms of PEF in bringing a national perspective to support design and implementation was also highlighted in the Local Authority Survey 2021, as illustrated by the following quotations from survey respondents:

'[Attainment Advisor is] able to bring (their) national perspective to the table and this has helped officers and headteachers with the design of and implementation of their spend'. (PEF-only local authority)

'Provision of quality support around outcomes, measures and monitoring and tracking of PEF plans and spend.' (PEF-only local authority)

2.16 Some local authority respondents highlighted the crucial nature of the support from their designated Attainment Advisor working alongside local authority colleagues, for example in translating national guidance into local guidance and the transfer of this to the headteacher level across a local authority. One local authority response provides an exemplar on how the designated Attainment Advisor worked together with local authority equity leads to support this practice:

'We have developed strong links with the Education Scotland Attainment Advisor to ensure that learning from work within these schools and from across Scotland can be used to support the work of the Pupil Equity Fund. The Attainment Advisor works closely with the Lead Education Manager. Within the Directorate, the Education Manager with the strategic overview and responsibility for Pupil Equity Funding works closely with the Education Scotland Attainment Advisor to ensure that schools and link Education Officers are kept up to date, supported and challenged with work in this area. They provide relevant information to schools through a range of vehicles that support schools in the aim to close the poverty related attainment gap. This Education Manager takes a monitoring role in the implementation of both the Schools and Pupil Equity Funding reporting at local and national levels.' (Local Authority in receipt of Schools Programme funding)

2.17 Other aspects highlighted included, for example, developing professional learning and guidance packs for headteachers as a result of analysis of PEF plans by Attainment Advisors, as well as specific work providing advice, support and challenge to individual headteachers, such as through drop-in sessions and bespoke coaching conversations.

2.18 Local authority perspectives of the level and nature of support given to schools in their local authority to aid their implementation of PEF were also provided through the Local Authority Survey 2021, as with previous versions of the survey. Support provided to schools included:

• Mechanisms to support procurement processes, including HR and finance;
• Governance arrangements such as networks to facilitate links between schools and local/regional national levels;
• Development of PEF guidance for schools;
• Mechanisms to support headteachers to make the best use of data sources for planning and measuring impact of PEF interventions (e.g. data visualisation tools);
• School visits, cluster meetings, and PEF clinics;
• Mechanisms to support collaboration, including co-ordination roles to support headteachers;
• Professional development opportunities for headteachers.

Headteachers' views of PEF processes

2.19 Headteachers responding to the 2021 survey were generally positive^[5] regarding PEF processes. For example:

• Eighty per cent of headteachers responding to the 2021 survey felt there was sufficient support in place to develop and implement their school plan for PEF, similar to 2020 (76%) and 2019 (74%) surveys.
• Headteachers remain broadly positive in relation to timescales for planning for PEF being sufficient, as indicated by 71% of respondents in 2021. This showed a small decrease from 2020 survey (75%) but maintained an improvement on the 2019 survey.
• Two thirds (67%) indicated that reporting requirements associated with PEF were reasonable, whilst 3 in 4 respondents (75%) to 2020 survey were of this view.

2.20 The great majority of headteachers felt they had autonomy to develop PEF plans that are responsive to their local context and needs (93%). This view was consistent across key respondent groups and was very similar to 2019 and 2020 survey findings. Headteachers responding to the 2021 survey were also highly positive on whether PEF had provided additional resource needed to address the poverty-related attainment gap (89%), and that PEF had been used effectively to meet their school's needs (93%). Views on whether PEF has provided additional resource have remained consistent over previous surveys.

Funding

2.21 This section considers evidence related to funding gathered to address the following evaluation question:

How much funding did local authorities and schools receive, to what extent did they consider it adequate, supplement it with other funding sources, and use it in accordance with the fund's requirements?

2.22 Evidence on funding is drawn primarily from Scottish Government administrative data, and also draws on the Local Authority Survey 2021. The survey explored local authorities' use of resources towards improving outcomes for pupils living in the most deprived communities. Specific evidence on aspects of the above evaluation question related to adequacy of funding, supplementation with other funding sources, and use in accordance with the Fund's requirements gathered through qualitative research undertaken in Year 2 has not been repeated, and therefore there is limited evidence on these aspects. Evidence has however been drawn from the Local Authority Survey 2021 on the use of ASF flexibilities, introduced in May 2020 to assist local authorities in their response to COVID-19. This provides an update to the evidence from the Local Authority Survey 2020 which described flexibilities brought in during the first period of school building closures in March to May 2020.

How much funding did local authorities and schools receive?

2.23 The funding available to local authorities and schools has increased considerably over the duration of the ASF^[6]. Approximately £52 million was distributed for the Challenge Authorities Programme and Schools Programme during the initial two year period (2015/16 and 2016/17). In Year 3 (2017/18), Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) was introduced, providing allocation directly to schools on the basis of the number of children and young people from Primary 1 to Secondary 3 who were estimated to be registered for free school meals. This led to a combined total of around £165.3 million distributed in Year 3 (2017/18) across Challenge Authorities, Schools Programme and PEF, £220.4 million in Year 4 (2018/19) and £210.4 million in Year 5 (2019/20).

2.24 In Year 6 (2020/21), a combined total of £172.5 million was distributed across Challenge Authorities (£42.9 million), Schools Programme (£7.1 million) and PEF (£122.5 million).

Table 2.1: Funding allocations to Challenge Authorities ^[7] Year 1 to Year 6

Local Authority	Year 1 (2015/16)	Year 2 (2016/17)	Year 3 (2017/18)	Year 4 (2018/19)	Year 5 (2019/20)	Year 6 (2020/21)
Clackmannanshire	£718,000	£1,253,999	£1,548,000	£1,569,376	£1,576,091	£1,571,821
Dundee	£2,145,000	£4,041,682	£5,582,805	£6,224,790	£6,323,910	£6,223,466
East Ayrshire	-	£2,037,323	£2,760,659	£3,762,789	£3,762,790	£3,762,790
Glasgow	£3,030,000	£9,107,262	£7,665,677	£8,049,992	£8,050,000	£8,050,000
Inverclyde	£592,000	£2,103,269	£3,100,200	£3,505,999	£3,470,640	£3,467,107
North Ayrshire	£1,965,000	£3,490,024	£4,874,620	£5,889,762	£5,789,762	£5,767,252
North Lanarkshire	£2,241,000	£6,897,347	£7,274,968	£7,478,959	£7,578,859	£7,478,859
Renfrewshire	-	£1,711,919	£3,531,000	£4,658,000	£4,558,000	£4,558,000
West Dunbartonshire	£1,024,000	£1,850,410	£2,013,108	£2,043,815	£2,043,815	£2,043,815
Total	£11,715,000	£32,493,235	£38,351,037	£43,183,482	£43,153,867	£42,923,110

2.25 Table 2.1 above provides a breakdown of Challenge Authority Programme allocations by year and by individual Challenge Authority. As shown, just under £43 million was distributed in 2020/21, with funding allocations overall and to individual local authorities very consistent with the previous two years (2018/19 and 2019/20).

2.26 Funding allocations to the Schools Programme at the local authority level are provided in Table 2.2 below. As shown, approximately £7 million was distributed in 2020/21. This was consistent with the previous two years (2018/19 and 2019/20) both overall and at the individual local authority level.

Table 2.2: Funding allocations - Schools Programme ^[8] by Local Authority - Year 1 to Year 6

Local Authority	Year 1 (2015/16)	Year 2 (2016/17)	Year 3 (2017/18)	Year 4 (2018/19)	Year 5 (2019/20)	Year 6 (2020/21)
Aberdeen City	£157,500	£454,565	£597,938	£636,133	£632,965	£631,766
Argyll & Bute	£20,000	£19,944	£25,002	£23,895	£23,895	£23,892
Dumfries & Galloway	£45,000	£116,533	£139,494	£137,376	£137,376	£137,343
East Ayrshire	£291,470	-	-	-	-	-
Edinburgh	£304,645	£743,808	£800,742	£852,403	£847,876	£845,595
Falkirk	£73,000	£169,463	£282,768	£272,768	£272,500	£272,500
Fife	£416,112	£685,944	£965,687	£1,010,579	£1,005,280	£1,003,921
Highland	£92,700	£594,209	£965,565	£1,200,755	£1,199,445	£1,193,340
Renfrewshire	£231,120	-	-	-	-	-
Scottish Borders	£66,650	£166,620	£218,167	£188,744	£175,603	£173,528
South Ayrshire	£150,400	£299,580	£399,523	£399,523	£399,523	£399,523
South Lanarkshire	£548,690	£1,619,271	£2,019,374	£1,980,294	£1,963,820	£1,963,488
Stirling	£45,600	£166,581	£180,268	£181,816	£181,816	£181,803
West Lothian	£26,197	£188,139	£256,505	£256,429	£256,424	£256,424
Total	£2,469,084	£5,224,657	£6,851,032	£7,140,713	£7,096, 523	£7,083,123

2.27 PEF allocations at both school level and local authority level are published by the Scottish Government annually^[9]. Pupil Equity Funding is allocated to primary, secondary and special schools, as well as grant maintained schools, on the basis of the estimated number of children and young people in Primary 1 to Senior 3 registered for free school meals under the national eligibility criteria.Whilst the funding is allocated on a per pupil basis, headteachers can use their judgement to use PEF in their schools as they see fit.

2.28 The £122.5 million PEF in 2020/21 included £121.1 million PEF allocation plus £1.4 million 'top up'^[10].

Was funding used according to requirements?

2.29 Challenge Authority and Schools Programme progress reports continue to indicate that funding was being used according to requirements, with clear work-streams and plans in place for these respective funding streams.

2.30 Table 2.3 below compares spend versus allocation across the six years of ASF by funding stream. This indicates that overall Challenge Authorities spent 99% of their allocated budget in 2020/21, with some variation at the local authority level. 97% of allocated Schools Programme funding had also been spent in 2020/21. As the table shows, Challenge Authority and Schools Programme spend as a proportion of allocation have continued to broadly increase year-on-year from 2017/18 to 2020/21. PEF spend as a proportion of allocation has also increased year-on-year.

Table 2.3: Funding allocation and spend Years 1 to 6

Year	Funding Stream	Allocation £ (Million)	Actual Spend £ (Million)	Spend vs Allocation (%)
Year 1 (2015/16)	Challenge Authorities	11.7	5.9	50%
	Schools Programme	2.5	2.3	92%
	PEF	-	-	-
	Total	14.2	8.2	58%
Year 2 (2016/17)	Challenge Authorities	32.5	25	77%
	Schools Programme	5.2	4	77%
	PEF	-	-	-
	Total	37.7	29	77%
Year 3 (2017/18)	Challenge Authorities	38.4	35	92%
	Schools Programme	6.9	6.1	90%
	PEF	120.2	72.2	60%
	Total	165.4	113.5	69%
Year 4 (2018/19)	Challenge Authorities	43.2	40.5	94%
	Schools Programme	7.1	6.9	97%
	PEF*	170.1 ^	132.3	78%
	Total	220.4	179.7	82%
Year 5 (2019/20)	Challenge Authorities	43.2	41.7	97%
	Schools Programme	7.1	6.9	97%
	PEF	160.2^^	125.2*	78%
	Total	210.4	173.8	83%
Year 6 (2020/21)	Challenge Authorities	42.9	42.5	99%
	Schools Programme	7.1	6.9	97%
	PEF	157.3^^^	113.8*	72%
	Total	172.5	163.2	95%

^ Figure represents total available for PEF, including £47.9 million carry forward from 2017/18.

^^ Figure represents total available for PEF in Year 5, including £37.6 million carry forward from 2018/19.

^^^ Figure represents total available for PEF in Year 6, including £34.8 million carry forward from 2019/20

*PEF spend information for 2019/20 was published alongside PEF spend for 2020/21.

2.31 There was limited evidence regarding the extent to which ASF was supplemented by other sources.

Use of core funding towards equitable outcomes

2.32 As highlighted in the Year 5 evaluation report, there continues to be some evidence that local authorities have changed the way they use core funding as a result of the ASF.

2.33 Findings from the Local Authority Survey 2021 showed that the majority of respondents (21 of 26) perceived that there had been a change of use of resources in their local authority over the previous year to focus on outcomes for the most socio-economically disadvantaged children and young people (7 to a great extent, 14 to some extent), with a further five indicating a limited change of use of resources. This was broadly similar to 2020 survey findings, when 12 of 15 respondents indicated such a change in use of resources (one to a great extent, 11 to some extent), with a further three indicating a limited change of use of resources.

2.34 The 2021 survey continued to gather evidence of how local authorities had used resources to focus on outcomes for the most socio-economically disadvantaged children and young people during the second period of COVID-19 school building closures, from January to March 2021. This included a continued focus on targeting resources on the most vulnerable families, including those who had faced a change of circumstances as a result of COVID-19. This included support with access to food (e.g. food banks provision of food vouchers) and support to access remote learning (e.g. such as provision of digital devices, development of digital platforms and support with connectivity), and welfare and wellbeing support. There were also specific examples, such as one local authority who had developed a Community Wellbeing pilot.

2.35 One local authority respondent described the process of focusing on the most socio-economically disadvantaged learners as follows:

'…The needs and profile of our communities and families has changed for quite a few due to the financial impact of Covid and as well as the impact to wellbeing. The increase of those living in the most deprived households has increased as has the wellbeing needs of families. Social isolation, reduced services and interruption to learning has meant our schools have had to work fast to fully understand the needs of their pupils, adapt plans and focus on interventions which have the most impact such as food, family support, welfare and wellbeing.' (Local Authority receipt of Schools Programme funding)

2.36 In their responses, several local authorities mentioned flexibilities introduced in order to respond to the challenges associated with COVID-19. This issue is covered in the section below.

Additionality

2.37 In terms of the extent to which ASF was seen as additional, there continued to be little direct evidence gathered in terms of perceptions of additionality apart from the inclusion of a specific question in the Headteacher Survey. At the school level, headteacher perceptions remain positive regarding additionality as a result of PEF resource. The great majority (89%) of headteachers viewed PEF as having provided additional resource to address the poverty-related attainment gap, broadly reflecting the 2019 survey findings.

Responding to COVID-19: introduction of flexibilities in the use of ASF

2.38 The Local Authority Survey 2021 invited respondents to indicate the extent to which they had used flexibilities in the use of ASF introduced in May 2020^[11] to enable local authorities to respond to COVID-19. All but one local authority who responded indicated that ASF flexibilities had been used (nine to a great extent, 13 to some extent, and three to a limited extent). This was broadly consistent with the use of flexibilities identified in the 2020 survey.

2.39 Respondents described a broad range of ways in which flexibilities had been introduced with funding used flexibly to support responses to the challenges associated with COVID-19 including the period of school building closures. As in the 2020 survey, flexibilities continued to be used to support access to remote learning. Additionally, flexibilities were used specifically to address particular issues, such as funding to address learning loss (e.g. through supported study classes in secondary schools, joint/cluster working).

2.40 It was also acknowledged that some funding could not be spent as planned, due for example to pausing of activities as a result of COVID-19. Thus, whilst flexibilities were broadly welcomed, respondents also referenced the potential impact of redirection of funds, as illustrated in the following:

'Some school based interventions were paused due to the absence of PEF funded staff. Many headteachers redirected PEF to support recovery and nurture. This has impacted on individual pupil progress and progress towards closing the poverty related attainment gap.' (PEF-only local authority)

2.41 Headteachers' perspectives on the use of flexibilities, drawn from the Headteacher Survey 2021, indicates that nearly 3 in 4 schools (73%) had used the greater flexibility in how they use ASF funds introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was most commonly used for increasing staffing capacity (82% of respondents), for provision of digital resources and connectivity (65% of respondents), for support for those affected by poverty (52% of respondents) and support for increased family and community engagement (46% of respondents).