National Schools Programme Review - Scottish Funding Council

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Following the first year of implementation of the National Schools Programme (NSP), SFC undertook a strategic review of the NSP and its activities, in line with SFC’s continued commitment to promoting fair access to tertiary education and ensuring value for money.

The NSP review began in January 2024 and concludes with this final report and recommendations.

Progress of the Review

Part 1 - Define the Now

We focused primarily on desk-based research using Return on Strategic Investment (ROSI) submissions from the NSP partners, data and information available about the component elements of the programme and some additional information requests.

Part 1 provided an opportunity to focus on a number of key questions including;

Building a picture of the pupils who participate.
The impact of the programme to date.
How HEI’s work with and/or benefit from the programme.
Confirming the funding flows and governance arrangements.

This culminated in a report written by the SFC working group, being submitted to the Review Steering Committee, which was considered at its first meeting.

The Committee’s first meeting discussed this report, with a focus on:

The scope of the NSP and the pathways available, particularly the role colleges could play.
How NSP pupils are identified and supported and when in their school career that happens.
The types of activities undertaken by the NSP, the four regions and the partners and pupils.
Evaluation and impact of the programme.

A summary of the Part 1 report is included in the Review’s final outcomes to ensure the programme can continue to benefit from that work as we move forward with the NSP.

Part 2 – The NSP of the Future

Over the month of June, SFC undertook engagement sessions with those with experience of the NSP, including NSP delivery offers; staff from schools, colleges, and universities; and pupils, students, and graduates of the NSP. Teachers, current NSP pupils, NSP alumni, and widening access or admissions practitioners were also invited to share insights through our targeted surveys.

We were delighted to see so many colleagues and pupils at the engagement events and extend our thanks to all those who participated in sharing their experience and insights. We saw a total of 187 stakeholders through in person or virtual events and received over 900 survey responses.

A horizon scan of activities undertaken to support pupils to access HE, outwith the NSP, was also undertaken, enabling us to articulate the current landscape more clearly and ensure NSP activity is well aligned with other activity in the sector.

Part 3 - Recommendations for the future

The findings of the review of the National Schools Programme (NSP) were published as a report in December 2024.

The report explains the reasons for the review and its methodology. It provides a summary of the NSP as it operated from 2022-23 before laying out the review’s recommendations and defining the next steps.

Following the conclusion of the review, a transition plan will be developed with NSP delivery partners according to the recommendations in the final report.

Steering Committee

The review was led by SFC, with a Steering Committee of students, school, college and HEI staff as well as individuals with delivery and research experience providing advice and guidance throughout the review.

Mhairi Harrington, OBE, was Co-Chair alongside Erica Russell-Hensens, Deputy Director of Student Interests, Access & Quality at SFC. Mhairi has worked for over 40 years in Education and has invaluable expertise spanning from Primary Education to Adult Learning. She currently chairs SFC’s Skills, Enhancement, Access & Learning Committee and sits on the SFC Board.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Review happening?

The NSP review commenced in January 2024 and concluded with the final report and recommendations.

How will it affect me?

The NSP continue its operations for the duration of the review. Should recommendations be made in the final report to change any aspect of the NSP, careful transition planning will be undertaken with the relevant stakeholders.

Where can I learn more?

For further information about how this might affect you and how you can get involved, please contact your local NSP delivery partner.

What are the next steps?

The final report and recommendations of the NSP review have been published.

We extend our sincere thanks to the pupils, teachers, and practitioners who contributed to the review.

Following the publication of the final report, SFC will work with NSP partners and stakeholders to convene a strategic advisory group and subsequent collaborative taskforces to implement the recommendations of the review.