National Schools Programme - Scottish Funding Council

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Review and Implementation

In December 2024, SFC published the outcome of a year-long strategic review of the National Schools Programme (NSP) and its activities that assessed how effectively the programme was meeting the goals set out in the SFC Review of Coherent Provision and Sustainability (2021). The NSP Review set out 15 recommendations to support future developments of the programme and address areas identified through the review.

A Strategic Advisory Group will be established in Spring 2025 to be responsible for monitoring the implementation of review recommendations and informing ongoing development of the programme.

Applications for the Strategic Advisory Group are now open.

Programme Aims

The NSP aims to support Senior Phase pupils from backgrounds of socioeconomic disadvantage and from underrepresented groups to access higher education in university.

The NSP works closely with experts across universities, colleges, and schools to unify existing successful projects into a cohesive national approach to the delivery of targets identified in A Blueprint for Fairness: Final Report of the Commission on Widening Access.

Programme Structure

The NSP was formed in Academic Year 2021-22, bringing together 11 existing and successful SFC-funded activities that supported Senior Phase pupils from backgrounds of disadvantage to access higher education. These component activities were amalgamated into four regional hubs to create a recognisable and coherent national offer: North, Fife & Tayside, West, and South-East.

NSP activities are based on four pillars of intervention:

Impartial information, advice, guidance and support.
A visit to a campus or residential experience.
A recognised higher education or top-up-type skills development course.
Specialist support regarding access to high-demand professions.

Within each region, NSP activities are delivered by a Schools for Higher Education Programme (SHEP) partner, and for pupils interested in specialist support for high-demand professions, an Access to High-Demand Professions (AHDP) partner. AHDP consists of two strands: Reach and Access to Creative Education Scotland (ACES).

The Transitions programme, delivered by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, is an affiliated activity to the NSP but is not incorporated into the four regional hubs due to its unique offering.

National Schools Programme model

Programmes delivering work of the NSP

Schools for Higher Education Programme

The Schools for Higher Education Programme (SHEP) works with local authority secondary schools across Scotland to provide impartial information, advice, and guidance on opportunities and pathways to higher education in university.

Using digital and in-person engagement methods, SHEP partners deliver group workshops, 1:1 advisory meetings, campus visits or residential experiences, and bridging programmes, to build aspiration for and increase progression to higher education.

For further information on the work of the individual programmes see:

ASPIRENorth – Aberdeenshire, Highlands, Moray, Orkney and Shetland.
LEAPS – Borders, Edinburgh, Forth Valley, the Lothians.
LIFT OFF – Dundee and Angus, Fife, Perthshire.
FOCUS West – Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, the West.

Showcase: Lift Off 2 Success Graduation Ceremony

Access to High Demand Professions

The Access to High Demand Professions (AHDP) programme offers subject-specific support to pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds with an interest in those degree areas where demand for places is high.

AHDP consists of two programmes:

Reach supports students pursuing law, medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, or economics.
Access to Creative Education Scotland (ACES) focuses on degrees related to art, design, and architecture.

Pupils interested in these subject areas are registered with their local AHDP programme. In cases where a pupil’s local AHDP hub does not offer their chosen subject, the programme will coordinate with national partners to connect that pupil with support for their subject area.

Further information on the work of the individual programmes:

Reach

ACES

Showcase: ACES Architects in the Making workshop

This practical workshop was led by Mackintosh School of Architecture staff and helped pupils from widening participation backgrounds develop skills in model making, architectural drawing, analysis, and photography. The session took place within the Mackintosh School of Architecture building at the Glasgow School of Art, and gave pupils in S5 and S6 from 22 schools, across 12 local authorities, a chance to see studio, lecture and gallery spaces within the department, and work on a University level architectural brief to analyse a space, develop a proposal and present an outcome. At the end of the workshop participants had a selection 2D and 3D pieces; photographs of which can be used in their digital portfolios when applying to university.

Text and photo provided by Shona Paul, ACES.

Transitions Programme

The Transitions Programme is exclusive to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) and provides training and application support for students from disadvantaged communities who wish to pursue the performing or production arts.

The Conservatoire is currently working to redevelop the Transitions programme, introducing SCQF credit-rated access programmes, developing focused articulation routes into their undergraduate programmes, and continuing to offer outreach through the Widening Access to the Creative Industries (WACI) programme which aims to promote opportunities to study and work in the performing or production arts through subject tasters and application support.