{"id":58450,"date":"2025-04-22T14:17:05","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T13:17:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/?p=58450"},"modified":"2025-07-29T11:59:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T10:59:40","slug":"an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/gd\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/","title":{"rendered":"An introduction to the National Schools Programme Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_53458\" style=\"width: 1610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-53458\" class=\"size-full wp-image-53458\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/sfc-c-students-10.jpg\" alt=\"Collage image of students. On the top left, two your girls are working on the lab. On the bottom left two mechanic students are working with tools. On the top centre a group of students wearing University of Glasgow's graduation gowns are climbing stairs. At the bottom right, a girl in front of a castle looks at the camera.\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/sfc-c-students-10.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/sfc-c-students-10-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/sfc-c-students-10-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/sfc-c-students-10-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/sfc-c-students-10-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/sfc-c-students-10-18x10.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-53458\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photos: Edinburgh College, University of Glasgow, UHI Perth and University of Aberdeen<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The National Schools Programme (NSP) is a widening access initiative in Scotland aimed at supporting senior phase pupils (S4-S6) from backgrounds of socioeconomic disadvantage and underrepresented groups to access higher education at university.\u202f\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The NSP was established in 2021-22 by amalgamating a number of existing successful widening access programmes in Scotland and works closely with experts across universities, colleges, and schools to deliver a cohesive national approach based around four key pillars:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"50\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:0,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[65533,0,46],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;%1.&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Impartial advice and guidance.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"50\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:0,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[65533,0,46],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;%1.&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">An experiential visit to a Higher Education Institution.\u202f<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u202f\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"50\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:0,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[65533,0,46],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;%1.&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Skills development and bridging programmes to prepare pupils for success.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"50\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:0,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[65533,0,46],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;%1.&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Specialist support for students interested in high demand professions.<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u202f\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) provides approximately \u00a34 million to deliver NSP activities to over 50,000 pupils each year in almost all of Scotland\u2019s local authority funded secondary schools.\u202f\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">The NSP review<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">SFC\u2019s review of the NSP was undertaken to assess how effectively the programme is meeting the original goals set out in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/reform\/review\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">2021 SFC Review of Coherent Provision and Sustainability<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> and to make recommendations to support its future development.\u202f\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The review was undertaken by a group of SFC staff and was overseen by <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\"> Steering Committee of students, school, college, and university staff who provided advice and guidance throughout the review. The Steering Committee was co-chaired by Mhairi Harrington OBE (SFC Skills, Enhancement, Access and Learning Committee Chair, SFC Board Member) <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">and Erica Russell-Hensens (Deputy Director, Student Interests, Access and Quality, SFC)<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">.\u202f<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">Engagement with stakeholders of the NSP was critical to the review and informed its findings.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Key findings of the NSP review<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The NSP has made significant strides in increasing access to higher education for students from the most disadvantaged areas in Scotland. It has successfully engaged with schools and pupils and has improved progression rates into higher education.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The review found that the NSP is highly valued across Scotland and is a key contributor to the sector\u2019s approach to responding to the Scottish Government\u2019s target that by 2030, entrants from the 20% most disadvantaged areas would make up 20% of full-time entrants to undergraduate degree programmes.\u202f\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">However, the review also identified several areas for improvement, including the need for more robust data collection and access to data, developing core eligibility criteria and a baseline offer and improved funding models. The review underscores the importance of maintaining a national approach while ensuring regional flexibility in the delivery of the programme and recommends enhancing coordination among delivery partners, ensuring that the programme is more adaptable to the changing needs of the sector.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The final recommendations outline a path forward for the NSP, with a stronger emphasis on demonstrating its impact and strategic alignment with Scotland&#8217;s broader educational goals. To implement the recommendations, a strategic advisory group will be established in Spring 2025 with short-life collaborative taskforce group(s) established by Summer 2025, which will explore and implement approaches to address core areas for development.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">More information about the partners that deliver the work of the NSP can be found on the SFC\u2019s webpages <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/student-interests\/fair-access\/national-schools-programme\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">National Schools Programme &#8211; Scottish Funding Council<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The NSP review final report and recommendations can be found on SFC\u2019s webpages <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/student-interests\/fair-access\/national-schools-programme\/national-schools-programme-review\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">National Schools Programme Review &#8211; Scottish Funding Council<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Mary Macgowan, Policy Officer, SFC and Steph Kirkham, Senior Policy Officer, SFC\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Tuesday 22\u00a0April 2025<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SFC\u2019s Mary Macgowan and Steph Kirkham introduce the National Schools Programme and outline the review, its findings and recommendations\u202f\u202f<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2672,"featured_media":53458,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>An introduction to the National Schools Programme Review - Scottish Funding Council<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"SFC\u2019s Mary Macgowan and Steph Kirkham introduce the National Schools Programme and outline the review, its findings and recommendations\u202f\u202f\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/gd\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An introduction to the National Schools Programme Review - Scottish Funding Council\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"SFC\u2019s Mary Macgowan and Steph Kirkham introduce the National Schools Programme and outline the review, its findings and recommendations\u202f\u202f\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/gd\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Scottish Funding Council\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-22T13:17:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-29T10:59:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/sfc-c-students-10.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"aballantyne\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ScotFundCouncil\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ScotFundCouncil\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"aballantyne\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"aballantyne\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/fc10c6f6ed54099ab185eb63e4bb1897\"},\"headline\":\"An introduction to the National Schools Programme Review\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-22T13:17:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-29T10:59:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/\"},\"wordCount\":568,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/sfc-c-students-10.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Uncategorised\"],\"inLanguage\":\"gd\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/\",\"name\":\"An introduction to the National Schools Programme Review - Scottish Funding Council\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/sfc-c-students-10.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-22T13:17:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-29T10:59:40+00:00\",\"description\":\"SFC\u2019s Mary Macgowan and Steph Kirkham introduce the National Schools Programme and outline the review, its findings and recommendations\u202f\u202f\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"gd\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"gd\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/sfc-c-students-10.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/sfc-c-students-10.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Photos: Edinburgh College, University of Glasgow, UHI Perth and University of Aberdeen\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"An introduction to the National Schools Programme Review\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/\",\"name\":\"Scottish Funding Council\",\"description\":\"Scotland\u2019s tertiary education and research authority\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"SFC\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"gd\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Scottish Funding Council\",\"alternateName\":\"SFC\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"gd\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/cropped-SFC_Favicon.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/cropped-SFC_Favicon.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Scottish Funding Council\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/ScotFundCouncil\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/fc10c6f6ed54099ab185eb63e4bb1897\",\"name\":\"aballantyne\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"gd\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b2cc1556f9b49945a6b6c188696dc5897cef3395e1c0c11d57e876898338b541?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b2cc1556f9b49945a6b6c188696dc5897cef3395e1c0c11d57e876898338b541?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"aballantyne\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"An introduction to the National Schools Programme Review - Scottish Funding Council","description":"SFC\u2019s Mary Macgowan and Steph Kirkham introduce the National Schools Programme and outline the review, its findings and recommendations\u202f\u202f","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/gd\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"An introduction to the National Schools Programme Review - Scottish Funding Council","og_description":"SFC\u2019s Mary Macgowan and Steph Kirkham introduce the National Schools Programme and outline the review, its findings and recommendations\u202f\u202f","og_url":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/gd\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/","og_site_name":"Scottish Funding Council","article_published_time":"2025-04-22T13:17:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-29T10:59:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/sfc-c-students-10.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"aballantyne","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ScotFundCouncil","twitter_site":"@ScotFundCouncil","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"aballantyne","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/"},"author":{"name":"aballantyne","@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/fc10c6f6ed54099ab185eb63e4bb1897"},"headline":"An introduction to the National Schools Programme Review","datePublished":"2025-04-22T13:17:05+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-29T10:59:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/"},"wordCount":568,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/sfc-c-students-10.jpg","articleSection":["Uncategorised"],"inLanguage":"gd"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/","url":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/","name":"An introduction to the National Schools Programme Review - Scottish Funding Council","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/sfc-c-students-10.jpg","datePublished":"2025-04-22T13:17:05+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-29T10:59:40+00:00","description":"SFC\u2019s Mary Macgowan and Steph Kirkham introduce the National Schools Programme and outline the review, its findings and recommendations\u202f\u202f","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"gd","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"gd","@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/sfc-c-students-10.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/sfc-c-students-10.jpg","width":1600,"height":900,"caption":"Photos: Edinburgh College, University of Glasgow, UHI Perth and University of Aberdeen"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/an-introduction-to-the-national-schools-programme-review\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"An introduction to the National Schools Programme Review"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/","name":"Scottish Funding Council","description":"Scotland\u2019s tertiary education and research authority","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#organization"},"alternateName":"SFC","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"gd"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#organization","name":"Scottish Funding Council","alternateName":"SFC","url":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"gd","@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/cropped-SFC_Favicon.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/cropped-SFC_Favicon.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Scottish Funding Council"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/ScotFundCouncil"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/fc10c6f6ed54099ab185eb63e4bb1897","name":"aballantyne","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"gd","@id":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b2cc1556f9b49945a6b6c188696dc5897cef3395e1c0c11d57e876898338b541?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b2cc1556f9b49945a6b6c188696dc5897cef3395e1c0c11d57e876898338b541?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"aballantyne"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/gd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/gd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/gd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/gd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2672"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/gd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58450"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/gd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58454,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/gd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58450\/revisions\/58454"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/gd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/gd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/gd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfc.ac.uk\/gd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}