Attainment Scotland Fund evaluation: thematic evaluation summary report 2024

This report provides a summary of three thematic aspects of evaluation from year 1 of the new Attainment Scotland Fund evaluation. It provides an introduction to the thematic evaluation strand, a summary of the three thematic areas and a concluding section bringing together the interconnections.


Annex A: Key Evaluation Questions and Sub-Questions for Thematic Areas

Families and Communities

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

What has been learned about engaging with families and communities through the ASF?

What are the emerging impacts of engagement with families and communities as a result of the ASF? (e.g. improved understanding of families’ circumstances and additional support needs; improved understanding of local context)

What were the views of wider stakeholders (children and young people, families and communities, and third sector organisations) of approaches to engagement with and support for families and communities?

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?

To what extent were engagement, attendance, confidence and wellbeing features of school and local authorities’ approaches?

How do schools and local authorities monitor and evaluate progress on engagement, attendance, confidence and wellbeing?

How did stakeholders perceive a focus on ‘readiness to learn’ would support progress towards the long-term outcome of improving outcomes for children and young people impacted by poverty? What evidence is being gathered in support of this?

What has been learned about approaches to engagement, attendance, confidence and wellbeing in support of progress towards the long-term outcome of improving outcomes for children and young people impacted by poverty?

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

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?

How and to what extent were children and young people and their families and communities engaged in decision-making?

Did this differ across schools and Local Authority areas, and/or across stages of the learner journey (eg primary versus secondary)?

What difference did children and young people’s involvement in decision-making make?

What difference did families and communities involvement in decision-making make?

What is working well and what could be improved in engaging children, young people and their families and communities in decision-making?

To what extent is engagement in decision-making embedded in approaches and across stages?

Contact

Email: socialresearch@gov.scot

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