Closing the Poverty-Related Attainment Gap: A Report on Progress 2016-2021

The shared vision for Scottish education is to deliver excellence and equity for all, with the defining mission of closing the poverty-related attainment gap, ensuring every child has the same opportunity to succeed. This is a long-term commitment and has been supported by a system wide, collaborative endeavour between all partners within Scottish education to make Scotland the best place to grow and learn. This report presents the evidence of progress towards achieving this mission over the period 2016-2021. It also acknowledges the undisputed disruptive and detrimental impact of COVID-19 on progress, and also highlights key areas that will need to feature in the next steps of education recovery. While referencing the broader policy landscape, particular focus is made to the central role of the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) and Attainment Scotland Fund (ASF) which was launched in February 2015. The strategic aim of the SAC has been to 'close the poverty-related attainment gap between children and young people from the least and most disadvantaged communities'. [This report was published by the Scottish Government and produced by APS Group Scotland.]