Tackling Poverty and Attainment in Scotland – Policy, Practice and Progress
Tuesday 28th October 2025
Poverty is the single greatest barrier to a child’s attainment in Scotland today. While there is growing consensus on this truth, the gap between political ambition and practical delivery remains. Policy alone cannot close the attainment gap without structural change in how services support families, schools, and communities. Tackling poverty and boosting attainment must therefore be a coordinated national mission that brings together education, health, housing, and local government in practical partnership.
Scotland’s experience in reducing child poverty and raising educational attainment has been shaped by a range of national initiatives, including the Scottish Attainment Challenge, the Scottish Child Payment and the work of local poverty commissions. Despite these efforts, the attainment gap remains persistent and deeply entrenched, particularly for children in SIMD1 areas.
Local authorities and schools often bear the frontline responsibility for delivering both improved attainment and wider support for children in poverty. But limited budgets, high demand, and shifting policy priorities challenge consistency and impact. Communities, too, are looking for agency and voice in shaping local responses.
Increasingly, the importance of integrating services – such as education, housing, health, and family support – is recognised as central to long-term progress. The work of third sector organisations and community groups remains vital in addressing both immediate and generational impacts of poverty.
What is needed now is shared learning, honest reflection, and discussion on the scale of the challenge. This conference brings together national and local stakeholders to examine how current policy is working, what’s holding back progress, and what changes are required to truly close the gap between children’s potential and their circumstances.
The conference will focus on three themes:
- Understanding the landscape – poverty, policy and educational inequality
- Practice, partnership and integration
- Strategy, accountability and what’s next
Topics to be discussed
- Understanding the landscape – poverty, policy and educational inequality
- The attainment gap in 2025 – what have we learned?
- Poverty in Scotland – drivers, data and direction
- Practice, partnership and integration
- From early years onwards – supporting the whole child
- Schools as community hubs – rethinking the school’s role
- The third sector and community delivery – innovation and impact
- Strategy, accountability and what’s next
- From good ideas to demonstrable outcomes
- Poverty and education in the next Programme for Government
- Embedding equity into Scotland’s education system
Who Should Attend
This conference will be relevant for anyone participating in education and related disciplines involved in addressing the attainment and poverty gap. This includes teachers and teaching assistants, school leaders, education departments, social work staff, third sector organisations, academics, crime prevention and inclusion specialists, child mental health and related medical specialists and anyone working in fields related to child well-being.
Agenda
Tuesday 28th October 2025
09:25 Chair's opening remarks
Session 1: Understanding the landscape – poverty, policy and educational inequality
09:30 Keynote speaker
09:45 Question and answer session
09:55 The attainment gap in 2025 – what have we learned?
- National and local data on the attainment gap – trends and anomalies
- Policy levers used so far and where they have succeeded or failed
- What educational inequality now looks like across Scotland
10:10 Poverty in Scotland – drivers, data and direction
- National trends in income, child poverty, and material deprivation
- Intersections of poverty with health, housing, and ethnicity
- Role of Scottish Child Payment and other policy responses
10:25 Question and answer session
10:40 Comfort break
Session 2: Practice, partnership and integration
10:55 From early years onwards – supporting the whole child
- Early intervention and family support
- Linkages between health visitors, ELC settings and schools
- Addressing trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
11:10 Schools as community hubs – rethinking the school’s role
- Using schools as centres of support – food, counselling, engagement
- Collaborative working between schools, third sector and health
- Breaking barriers to attendance and engagement
11:25 The third sector and community delivery – innovation and impact
- Role of community organisations in bridging support gaps
- Working with local authorities and schools
- Challenges of sustaining funding and staff
11:40 Question and answer session
11:55 Comfort break
Session 3: Strategy, accountability and what’s next
12:10 From good ideas to demonstrable outcomes
- Tools and frameworks for evaluating attainment and poverty strategies
- Using data to inform and adapt local interventions
- Building accountability into funding and practice
12:25 Poverty and education in the next Programme for Government
- Scope for new interventions or reforms
- Interdepartmental working – health, housing, economy and education
- Long-term vs short-term approaches
12:40 Embedding equity into Scotland’s education system
- Making equity in education a systemic goal
- National leadership and cultural change
- The role of universities, colleges, and lifelong learning
12:55 Question and answer session
13:10 Chair's closing remarks
Speakers
Venue
This conference takes place online.
Fees
How to book
You can book to attend in 3 ways:
- Select book now on the right hand side of this page, fill in the form on that page and click the 'send booking' button
- Call 0131 556 1500
- Email mail@mackayhannah.com
Conference fees
- Delegate fee (includes video recording of the conference) – £169 +VAT
- Group discount – organisations booking 3 or more delegates will receive every third delegate place at half price (please complete further forms if necessary)
Please note – It is not permissible to share the recording. Please contact us if you wish to share it. See our terms and conditions for further information.
Payment
We do not currently accept payments online and will send you an invoice.
You have the option to pay by bank transfer or card.
Bank details will be included on the invoice.
If you wish to pay by card, please tick the appropriate box on the booking form and a member of our staff will contact you by telephone to take the payment. Alternatively you may call 0131 556 1500.
Terms and conditions
By placing this booking, you agree to the full terms and conditions found via the link at the foot of our website.
