National Improvement Framework 2026: improvement plan

16 key NIF measures

Refreshed National Improvement Interactive Evidence Report (NIFIER) dashboard and changes to the key NIF measures

We have reviewed and updated the National Improvement Interactive Evidence Report (NIFIER) dashboard to take into account the changes to the NIF in 2025, the Scottish Government’s commitment to introduce the first Additional Support for Learning National Measurement Framework (ASL NMF), and efforts to improve the quality of statistics. The refreshed dashboard now includes:

• updated evidence and revised measures to better track progress towards the seven outcomes in the 2025 NIF
• integrated ASL NMF to ensure equal focus on reducing both poverty-related and additional support needs-related attainment gaps
• simpler design and better functionality to make it easier to use

There are now 16 key NIF measures which cover child development, wellbeing, literacy, numeracy, attainment, participation, and attendance. These are:

1. Changed Percentage of children reviewed who had no concerns about any aspects of their development at their 27-30 month review

2. Percentage of children (aged 4-12 years) with a Total Strength and Difficulties Score of 14 or more (slightly raised, high or very high)

3. Changed Mean WEMWBS scores for 13-15 year olds

4. Percentage of P1, P4 and P7 pupils (combined) achieving expected CfE Levels for Literacy

5. Percentage of S3 pupils achieving CfE Third Level or better for Literacy

6. Percentage of P1, P4 and P7 pupils (combined) achieving expected CfE Levels for Numeracy

7. Percentage of S3 pupils achieving CfE Third Level or better for Numeracy

8. Percentage of secondary school leavers achieving one or more passes in National Qualifications at SCQF L4 or better

9. Percentage of secondary school leavers achieving one or more passes in National Qualifications at SCQF L5 or better

10. Percentage of secondary school leavers achieving one or more passes in National Qualifications at SCQF L6 or better

11. New Percentage of senior phase secondary school leavers achieving five or more passes at SCQF L4 or better under the all SCQF measure

12. New Percentage of senior phase secondary school leavers achieving five or more passes at SCQF L5 or better under the all SCQF measure

13. New Percentage of senior phase secondary school leavers achieving five or more passes at SCQF L6 or better under the all SCQF measure

14. Percentage of 16-19 year olds participating in Education, Training or Employment

15. Percentage of secondary school leavers in a positive initial destination

16. Percentage attendance across all schools

The 27-30 month review measure has been updated to better align with the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF). It now includes children with no concerns plus those with no concerns but some incomplete domains. The calculation also changes from “all children” to “children reviewed.”

The previous measure on children’s difficulties scores (age 13 and 15) has been replaced with a new measure based on the Scottish Health Survey: Mean Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) score for 13–15 year olds. Data is collected annually, but because of small sample sizes, results are pooled over four years. Currently, data is available for 2017–2021 combined, and updates will occur every four years.

Three new attainment measures under the All SCQF measure have been added to better align those reported in the NIF and the LGBF. These look at the percentage of senior phase school leavers achieving five or more passes at SCQF Levels 4 or better, 5 or better, and 6 or better. These measures provide a broader picture of attainment, including a wider range of awards, and set an ambitious benchmark for many young people.

Progress over time in the 16 key NIF measures

Only one data point is available for Mean WEMWBS scores for 13-15 year olds so analysis of progress over time is not available for this measure. In addition, due to a change in methodology, only one data point is available for Percentage of 16-19 year olds participating in Education, Training or Employment so analysis of progress over time is not available for this measure.

Of the 14 measures where multiple years of data are available, there has broadly been a narrowing of the gap in 6 of the measures, and a widening of the gap in 8 of the measures over time.

Percentage of children reviewed who had no concerns about any aspects of their development at their 27-30 month review

A number of changes to the approach to development assessments and recording of outcomes were implemented in April 2017. The decline in the percentage reporting ‘no concerns’ around 2017/18 is mainly due to this change. Trends in this measure should therefore be interpreted carefully.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to changes in how reviews were delivered, as well as in the circumstances of daily life for many children in 2020/21 and 2021/22. It is therefore possible that both factors relating to assessment and recording, and genuine changes in the occurrence of developmental problems are contributing to the changes in the trends.

There was a small increase in the percentage of children reviewed with no developmental concerns in 2023/24 (83.3%) compared with 2022/23 (82.1%). In addition, the gap between children living in the most and least deprived areas of Scotland has decreased from 16.7 percentage points in 2022/23 to 15.6 percentage points in 2023/24.

Percentage of children (aged 4-12 years) with a Total Strength and Difficulties Score of 14 or more (slightly raised, high or very high)

The proportion of children aged 4-12 with a slightly raised, high or very high total difficulties score is similar between 2023 and 2024 (both 20%). However the gap between children in the most deprived and least deprived areas has increased slightly from 15 percentage points in 2023 to 16 percentage points in 2024. Although there was an increase in the percentage of children in both the most and least deprived areas with a slightly raised, high or very high total difficulties score, the increase was larger for those in the most deprived areas.

Mean WEMWBS scores for 13-15 year olds

The lowest WEMWBS score possible is 14 and the highest is 70 with a higher WEMWBS score indicating better mental wellbeing. Over 2017-2021 the average WEMWBS score for 13-15 year olds was 50.8. The gap between children from the most deprived and least deprived areas was negligible (0.2) with 13-15 year olds in the most deprived areas scoring an average of 51.2 and 13-15 year olds in the least deprived areas scoring an average of 51.4.

Percentage of P1, P4 and P7 pupils (combined) achieving expected CfE Levels for Literacy and Numeracy

In 2024/25, the percentage of primary pupils achieving expected levels in literacy increased from 74% in 2023/24 to 74.5% in 2024/25, the highest level to date. In addition, the gap between the proportion of primary pupils (P1, P4 and P7 combined) from the most and least deprived areas who achieved their expected level in literacy reduced in 2024-25 to reach its lowest ever level (19.4 percentage points). Attainment improved in both the least and most deprived areas, by a greater amount in the most deprived areas, leading to a narrowing of the gap.

The percentage of primary pupils achieving expected levels in numeracy was the same for 2023/24 and 2024/25 (both 80.3%) and represents the joint highest level to date. The gap between the proportion of primary pupils (P1, P4 and P7 combined) from the most and least deprived areas who achieved their expected level in numeracy narrowed in 2024-25 to reach its lowest ever level (16.6 percentage points). This was due to an increase in attainment among pupils in the most deprived areas and a slight decrease in attainment for pupils in the least deprived areas.

Percentage of S3 pupils achieving CfE Third Level or better for Literacy and Numeracy

In 2024/25, the percentage of S3 pupils achieving expected levels in literacy increased from 88.3% in 2023/24 to 89.8% in 2024/25, the highest level to date. The gap between the proportion of S3 pupils from the most and least deprived areas who achieved third level or better in literacy reduced in 2024-25 to reach its lowest level ever (10.8 percentage points). Attainment improved in both the least and most deprived areas but by a greater amount in the most deprived areas, leading to a narrowing of the gap.

In 2024/25, the percentage of S3 pupils achieving expected levels in numeracy increased from 90.3% in 2023/24 to 90.9% in 2024/25, the highest level to date. The gap between the proportion of S3 pupils from the most and least deprived areas who achieved third level or better in numeracy also reduced in 2024-25 to reach its lowest level since records began (11.6 percentage points). Attainment improved in both the least and most deprived areas but by a greater amount in the most deprived areas, leading to a narrowing of the gap.

Percentage of secondary school leavers achieving one or more passes in National Qualifications at SCQF L4 or better, SCQF L5 or better and SCQF L6 or better

The data presented here is based on school leavers achieving 1+ National Qualifications at SCQF Levels 4 to 6. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic led to changes to the way in which National Qualification results at SCQF Levels 5 to 7 were determined. This attainment data considers all of the attainment which a school leaver gains over their time at school. This means the attainment of school leavers in 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 may be based on a combination of different approaches to determining results.

At SCQF Level 4 or better, 95.2% of secondary school leavers achieved 1+ National Qualifications in 2023/24, lower than the 96% in 2022/23.The gap between the proportion of school leavers from the most deprived and least deprived areas has increased from 5.9 percentage points in 2022/23 to 7.3 percentage points in 2023/24. The proportion attaining one pass or more in National Qualifications at this level decreased for school leavers from the most deprived areas between 2022/23 and 2023/24 which has led to the gap widening.

At SCQF Level 5 or better, 83.5% of secondary school leavers achieved 1+ National Qualifications in 2023/24, lower than the 84.8% in 2022/23. The gap between the proportion of school leavers from the most deprived and least deprived areas has increased from 20.2 percentage points in 2022/23 to 22.7 percentage points in 2023/24. The proportion attaining 1 pass or more in National Qualifications at this level decreased for school leavers from both the most and the least deprived areas between 2022/23 and 2023/24. But it decreased by more for those from the most deprived areas, which has led to the gap between the two groups widening.

At SCQF Level 6 or better, 57.4% of secondary school leavers achieved 1+ National Qualifications in 2023/24, lower than the 57.9% in 2022/23. The gap between the proportion of school leavers from the most deprived and least deprived areas has increased from 36.8 percentage points in 2022/23 to 38.4 percentage points in 2023/24. The proportion attaining one pass or more in National Qualifications at this level decreased for school leavers from the most deprived areas but increased for school leavers from the least deprived areas between 2022/23 and 2023/24 which has led to the gap widening.

Percentage of senior phase secondary school leavers achieving five or more passes at SCQF L4 or better, SCQF L5 or better and SCQF L6 or better under the all SCQF measure

The data presented here is based on school leavers achieving 5+ passes at SCQF Levels 4 to 6 for All SCQF qualifications. It covers school leavers’ attainment from: qualifications included in the National Qualifications measure, additional qualifications awarded by the SQA and qualifications and learning programmes, from a range of other providers. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic led to changes to the way in which National Qualification results at SCQF Levels 5 to 7 were determined. This attainment data considers all of the attainment which a school leaver gains over their time at school. This means the attainment of school leavers in 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 may be based on a combination of different approaches to determining results.

At SCQF Level 4 or better, 84.1% of senior phase secondary school leavers achieved 5+ passes under the ALL SCQF measure in 2023/24, lower than the 85% in 2022/23. The gap between the proportion of school leavers from the most deprived and least deprived areas has increased from 17.4 percentage points in 2022/23 to 19 percentage points in 2023/24. The proportion attaining five or more passes under the ALL SCQF measure at this level decreased for school leavers from the most deprived areas between 2022/23 and 2023/24 which has led to the gap widening.

At SCQF Level 5 or better, 66.6% of senior phase secondary school leavers achieved 5+ passes under the ALL SCQF measure in 2023/24, slightly higher than the 66.3% in 2022/23. The gap between the proportion of school leavers from the most deprived and least deprived areas has increased slightly from 34.1 percentage points in 2022/23 to 35 percentage points in 2023/24. The proportion attaining five or more passes under the ALL SCQF measure at this level decreased slightly for school leavers from the most deprived areas and increased for school leavers from the least deprived areas between 2022/23 and 2023/24 which has led to the gap widening.

At SCQF Level 6 or better, 39% of senior phase secondary school leavers achieved 5+ passes under the ALL SCQF measure in 2023/24, higher than the 37.9% in 2022/23. The gap between the proportion of school leavers from the most deprived and least deprived areas has increased from 37.9 percentage points in 2022/23 to 39.7 percentage points in 2023/24. The proportion attaining five or more passes under the ALL SCQF measure at this level increased for both school leavers from the most deprived areas and the least deprived areas between 2022/23 and 2023/24, however the increase was larger for those from the least deprived areas which has led to the gap widening.

Percentage of 16-19 year olds participating in Education, Training or Employment

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) data was included within the 2025 Annual Participation Measure (APM) dataset for the first time. This created a change in the participation measure data which means comparisons to previous years cannot be made on a like for like basis. Therefore for NIF reporting purposes, 2025 is the new baseline for this measure and analysis of progress over time is not available. The full time series is available in the Annual Participation Measure statistics however comparisons to previous years should be interpreted with care due to the absence of HMRC data in previous years.

In 2025, 93.3% of 19-19 year olds were participating in Education, Training or Employment. The gap between the proportion of 16-19 year olds participating in education, employment or training in the most and least deprived areas was 8.6 percentage points in 2025.

Percentage of secondary school leavers in a positive initial destination

This measure provides information on the outcomes for young people approximately three months after the end of the academic year (the first Monday in October). Positive destination includes higher education, further education, training, employment, voluntary work and Personal Skills Development

The time series includes years where school leaver destinations have been affected – either directly or indirectly – by the COVID-19 pandemic. The impacts of COVID-19 should therefore be kept in mind when considering changes over time in school leavers’ destinations. The greatest effect of the pandemic on school leaver destinations is likely to have been seen in 2019/20. However, it is likely that there has been some ongoing impact on the destinations of some 2020/21 and 2021/22 school leavers. The pandemic may also have influenced some pupils’ decisions on when to leave school.

95.7% of secondary school leavers were in a positive initial destination in 2023/24, slightly lower than the 95.9% in 2022/23. The gap in the proportion of school leavers in an initial positive destination has increased from 3.7 percentage points in 2022/23 to 4.3 percentage points in 2023/24. This was due to a decrease for school leavers from the most deprived areas and slight increase for school leavers from the least deprived areas between 2022/23 and 2023/24 which has led to the gap widening.

Percentage attendance across all schools

Percentage attendance across all sectors was 91.0% in 2024/25, an increase compared to that in 2023/24 (90.3%). The gap in attendance rates between children living in the most and least deprived areas of Scotland has decreased from 6.7 percentage points in 2023/24 to 6.5 percentage points in 2024/25. Attendance improved in both the least and most deprived areas but by a greater amount in the most deprived areas, leading to a narrowing of the gap.

Summary charts of change over time in the key measures are set out below, while the remaining sub-measures can be seen in the NIF Interactive Evidence Report (NIFIER).