Attainment

Case Studies

Learn how Falkirk Council, Dundee City Council and North Lanarkshire Council delivered a package of entitlements to young people using the Young Scot NEC.

Download the PDF version here

During 2019/20, Dundee City Council partnered with Young Scot to support local young people facing barriers to their attainment. Together, we offered the young people free travel, meals and Young Scot Rewards – all accessed using their Young Scot National Entitlement Cards (Young Scot NEC).

Objectives:

• Improve the health and wellbeing of young people living in Dundee who are facing barriers to their attainment.

• Take away the financial barriers when engaging in education, extra-curricular activities and employment.

• Give access to free services and support without stigma.

#YSAttain is part of the ‘Attainment Challenge: National Strategic Partnership’ – a collaboration between the Scottish Government, Young Scot, Local Authorities, Transport Scotland, the Improvement Service and the National Entitlement Card Programme Office. Since 2017, we’ve been partnering and using the Young Scot NEC to improve young people’s lives.

Over the year, Dundee City Council gave 345 young people free travel, meals and Young Scot Rewards – all accessed using their Young Scot NEC. The young people included young parents, care experienced young people, and young carers.

Bus Travel

Young people saved nearly £6,000 on over 750 tickets (April 19 – August 20). They visited local bus provider Xplore Dundee who added smart travel tickets for free bus travel across Dundee to their Young Scot NECs.

Community Meals

Over 60 young people received free meals in the Ardler Centre and Menzieshill Community Centre cafes. Staff in the venues had a list of Young Scot NEC numbers for the young people taking part in #YSAttain. They cross-checked these against the young people’s Young Scot NECs to confirm their eligibility. During the October holidays in 2020, Dundee City Council also extended this offer to any young person who needed a free meal.

Young Scot Rewards

Young people taking part in #YSAttain accessed vouchers for supermarkets, mobile phone top-ups, clothes and entertainment via a ‘Closed Group’ on young.scot – accessed via their Young Scot NEC. The young people earned Young Scot Rewards points for completing surveys, attending workshops, youth groups and extra-curricular activities – and then exchanged these for rewards. When lockdown restrictions allowed, the young people were also able to exchange their points for local leisure facility passes and tickets for local attractions including Camperdown Wildlife Park and Dundee Science Centre.

Impact:

• Financial barriers to travel and food removed or reduced.

• Increased engagement with school, employment and wider community.

• Young people’s mental health and wellbeing supported .

• Young people provided dignity and choice around access to food.

• Increased awareness of universal Young Scot services.

“Having a bus pass helped me come to the young mum and baby group and visit my family and friends.”

“When we were ever short on food in the house it was comforting to know there was a place we could go to get food without having to worry about it.”

Download the PDF version here

During 2019/20, Falkirk Council partnered with Young Scot to support local young people facing barriers to their attainment. Together, we offered care experienced young people free travel, leisure access and Young Scot Rewards – all accessed using their Young Scot National Entitlement Cards (Young Scot NEC).

Objectives:

• Improve the health and wellbeing of young people living in Falkirk who are facing barriers to their attainment.

• Take away the financial barriers when engaging in education, extra-curricular activities and employment.

• Give access to free services and support without stigma.

Bus Travel

Young people saved over £3000, making nearly 2700 journeys (September 19-August 20). Their Young Scot NEC was loaded with First Bus tickets using a Transport Scotland App, which they could then use on bus travel across Falkirk.

Leisure Access

Young people were also given access to a Falkirk Community Trust (FCT) leisure Membership, using their Young Scot NEC as proof of entitlement. Young people were encouraged to attend by staff who supported them.

#YSAttain is part of the ‘Attainment Challenge: National Strategic Partnership’ – a collaboration between the Scottish Government, Young Scot, Local Authorities, Transport Scotland, the Improvement Service and the National Entitlement Card Programme Office. Since 2017, we’ve been partnering and using the Young Scot NEC to improve young people’s lives. Over the year, Falkirk Council gave 75 care experienced young people access to smart-travel, leisure activities and rewards using their Young Scot NEC.

Young Scot Rewards

Young people taking part in #YSAttain accessed vouchers for supermarkets, clothes and entertainment via a ‘Closed Group’ on young.scot – accessed via their Young Scot NEC. The young people earned Young Scot Rewards points for completing surveys, attending workshops, youth groups and extra-curricular activities – and then exchanged these for rewards. When lockdown restrictions allowed, the young people were also able to exchange their points for driving lessons and vouchers for coffee shops.

Impact:

• Financial barriers to travel and leisure facilities removed or reduced.

• Increased engagement with school, employment and wider community.

• Young people’s mental health and wellbeing supported.

• Increase in young people’s confidence and independence.

• Increased awareness of universal Young Scot services.

“It has made my life easy because I don’t have to pay for travel and it saves me a lot of money”

“It has gotten me to go out and engage more”

“It has made a difference as I have seen a huge saving in money and I am able to get to places I need to go easier rather than worrying about the cost of it”

Download the PDF version here

During 2019/20, North Lanarkshire Council partnered with Young Scot to support local young people facing barriers to their attainment. Together, we offered the young people free travel, meals, leisure access and Young Scot Rewards – all accessed using their Young Scot National Entitlement Cards (Young Scot NEC).

Objectives:

• Improve the health and wellbeing of young people living in North Lanarkshire who are facing barriers to their attainment.

• Take away the financial barriers to opportunities during school holiday periods.

• Give access to free services and support without stigma.

#YSAttain is part of the ‘Attainment Challenge: National Strategic Partnership’– a collaboration between the Scottish Government, Young Scot, Local Authorities, Transport Scotland, the Improvement Service and the National Entitlement Card Programme Office. Since 2017, we’ve been partnering and using the Young Scot NEC to improve young people’s lives.

Over the year, North Lanarkshire Council gave 436 young people free travel, meals, leisure access and Young Scot Rewards during school holidays – all accessed using their Young Scot NEC. The young people, from two high schools in Bellshill, included those receiving free school meals or clothing grants, care experienced young people and others facing barriers to opportunities.

Bus Travel

Young people made over 900 journeys throughout holiday periods (June 19 – August 20). Their Young Scot NEC was loaded with First Bus tickets in school by North Lanarkshire Council staff.

Leisure Access

Almost 300 activities were completed by young people including swimming, ice skating and gym classes at North Lanarkshire Leisure facilities (during holiday periods June 19-August 20). Young people could swipe into leisure facilities using their Young Scot NEC, reducing any stigma they may face.

Meals

Young people claimed over 220 meals, saving over £1000, at local café, Coffee Cabin (during school holiday period June 19 – August 20). Using their Young Scot NEC as proof of entitlement, they could access a free meal deal whilst their peers were able to access a 20% discount.

Young Scot Rewards

Young people taking part in #YSAttain accessed vouchers for supermarkets, clothes and entertainment via a ‘Closed Group’ on young.scot – accessed via their Young Scot NEC. The young people earned Young Scot Rewards points for completing surveys, attending workshops, youth groups and extra-curricular activities – and then exchanged these for rewards. When lockdown restrictions allowed, the young people were also able to exchange their points for physical items such as stationary sets and a one-year bundle of sanitary products.

Impact:

• Financial barriers to travel and leisure facilities removed or reduced.

• Young people provided dignity and choice around access to food.

• Increased engagement with community activities during school holiday periods.

• Young people’s mental health and wellbeing supported.

• Increased awareness of universal Young Scot services.

“It has changed my life as I have now been able to travel to different places and go out with my friends”

“I’ve been to the coffee cabin every single day, their food is brilliant. My mum says it saved her a fortune during lockdown”

“During the summer holidays I was able to do loads of stuff because of my young scot card. The bus pass meant I could do stuff with my pals that I wouldn’t have been able to afford to do because my mum and dad don’t drive. I loved getting a wrap from the coffee cabin too”

 Food

Learn how the Young Scot NEC can be used to reduce food poverty.

FOOD BRIEFING

#YSAttain: Tackling food insecurity using the Young Scot National Entitlement Card 

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Groups of young people in Paisley have used their Young Scot National Entitlement Cards to access free daily breakfasts at a local cafe.  

As part of the Young Scot and Scottish Government Attainment Challenge: National Strategic Partnership, Renfrewshire Council Youth Services worked with Homelink to improve the health and wellbeing of young people by providing free breakfast meal deals. 

Using their Young Scot National Entitlement Card (YSNEC), young people were given access to local hot breakfasts before school, at weekends and during holidays. 

The project: 

Renfrewshire Council’s Youth Services Team and Homelink worked together to identify young people who are disengaged with education or living in areas of high deprivation. Then, their YSNEC details were shared with local coffee shop, Bianco Nero. 

Every Young Scot cardholder is entitled to a £3 meal deal at Bianco Nero. However, the young people were given access to the meal deal for free. This partnership created a non-stigmatised way of providing additional entitlements to target groups. Since then, new discount partnerships have been developed across Paisley at venues popular with local young people. 

Objectives: 

• Provide access to free breakfasts outside of school hours for young people. Save young people and their families money on hot meals at weekends and during the holidays. 

• Increase the use of the YSNEC in Renfrewshire. 

The impact: 

• New discounts secured at popular Paisley eateries for all Young Scot cardholders. 

• More young people accessing breakfast when they normally wouldn’t. 

• Increased numbers of young people using their YSNEC in Renfrewshire.  

Providing a choice for young people was an important aspect of the project as it helped to reduce any risk of stigmatisation, particularly when accessing free breakfasts with their peers. By ensuring that each young person could pick their own breakfast from the discounted meal deal options, the group was offered the same choices as their friends who pay for their meal. 

Feedback has been positive, with the majority of young people agreeing that: 

“It helped me concentrate during school” and all participants agreeing the breakfast offer was “definitely a good idea”. 

“People were really nice in the cafe and they knew from my Young Scot card why I was there, so it was easy”  

Why this matters: 

Renfrewshire Council and Homelink’s use of the YSNEC is a fantastic example of how youth services teams can use the Young Scot card to tackle inequalities experienced by young people who are disengaged with education or living in areas of high deprivation. 

Over 40% of Young Scot cardholders in Renfrewshire are living in SIMD 1 and 2*. Using their cards as a proof of entitlement is an effective way for local authorities to tackle attainment through additional food entitlements.  

*Based on SIMD data collection from NECPO – October 2018 

#YSAttain: Tackling food insecurity with the Young Scot National Entitlement Card 

Download a PDF version here

Groups of young people in Inverness have used their Young Scot National Entitlement Cards to access free daily meals at local leisure centre.  

As part of the Young Scot and Scottish Government Attainment Challenge: National Strategic Partnership, The Highland Council worked with High Life Highland to improve the health and wellbeing of young people. This was done by introducing a new model to provide free food entitlements. Using the Young Scot National Entitlement Card (YSNEC) as proof of entitlement, groups of young people were given free access to meals and drinks after school, at weekends and during holidays at the Inverness Leisure centre. 

Objectives: 

• Increase the use of the YSNEC in rural areas. 

• Provide free drinks outside of school hours to a targeted group of young people. 

• Save young people and their families money on hot meals at weekends and during the holidays. 

• Increase the use of the YSNEC in the Highlands. 

The project: 

With the support of Inverness High School, High Life Highland identified young people who are living in areas of high deprivation and are facing barriers to good health and wellbeing. Then, the young people’s YSNEC details were connected to High Life Highland’s IT systems. 

A new partnership was then developed with the Inverness Leisure centre to use this popular destination as a non-stigmatised way of providing additional entitlements to young people. Staff at the cafe used their payments systems to verify the young people’s card numbers. This created a fast and efficient way of identifying those eligible for additional entitlements.  

Impact: 

• 80 young people across three high schools in Inverness offered additional food entitlements, including 70 young people in receipt of free school meals and seven young carers. 

• £6,150 saved by young people through free meals, drinks and snacks at Inverness Leisure cafe*. 

• £1,200 saved by young people and their families at the weekend. 

• More young people eating evening meals when they normally wouldn’t. 

• Increased confidence and social opportunities for young people. 

• Increased numbers of young people carrying and using their YSNEC in Inverness. 

* Based on figures Sept 2018 - March 2019 

Providing choice for young people was an important aspect of the project to further reduce any risk of stigmatisation, particularly when accessing free meals with their peers. By ensuring the full menu is available to everyone, the young people are offered the same choices as their friends who pay for their meals. 

“I have enjoyed taking part in the Young Scot project as I have been able to attend the gym and the swimming pool on a Friday afternoon, then I have been going and getting my dinner from the [Inverness Leisure] Bistro.” 

- Young person, Highland 

Why this matters: 

High Life Highland’s use of the YSNEC to provide additional food entitlements, complements the local authority’s objectives of tackling food insecurity. It also helps to put more money back into the pockets of young people and their families. 

Over a quarter of Young Scot cardholders in Highland are living in SIMD 1 and 2**. Using their cards as a proof of entitlement is an effective way for local authorities to tackle attainment through additional food entitlements. 

** Based on SIMD data collection from NECPO – October 2018 

#YSAttain: Providing access to free breakfasts using the Young Scot National Entitlement Card 

Download the PDF version here

Schools in North Ayrshire and Highland have used the Young Scot National Entitlement Card to provide free school breakfasts to young people. 

As part of the Young Scot and Scottish Government Attainment Challenge: National Strategic Partnership, two schools in North Ayrshire and four schools in the Highlands launched a £1.50 breakfast meal deal. This was made available to all pupils and free for those on free school meals. 

By using the Young Scot National Entitlement Card (YSNEC) as a cashless catering card, young people utilised an additional daily £1.50 credit to access stigma-free breakfasts entitlements in the same way as their peers who pay for their meals. 

The project enabled both councils to use their budgets more effectively. Although the young people were given £1.50 through cashless catering, the local authorities were charged only for the breakfasts taken up. 

First introduced to Garnock Academy and Auchenharvie Academy as part of the Partnership, North Ayrshire Council wanted to focus on access to breakfast to help close the poverty related attainment gap. 

To test the scalability of the project, The Highland Council took the learning from North Ayrshire and successfully introduced the model to four Attainment schools, Inverness High School, Alness Academy, Invergordon Academy and Wick High School. 

School support staff encouraged all their pupils to utilise their smart YSNEC’s to access breakfast and lunch, ensuring a no stigma approach to providing additional entitlements for free school meal pupils. 

By allocating part of their project budget to increasing cashless catering credit, 391 (S1-S6) young people in North Ayrshire and 395 (S1-S3) in Highland were given 

Objectives:  

• access to a free breakfast meal deal at school. 

• Improve the health and wellbeing of young people facing disadvantage. 

• Provide access to a hot breakfast without stigmatisation and support young people to get the best start to the school day. 

• Support young people’s concentration and engagement at school. 

• Save young people money from paying for unhealthy alternatives. 

While it was early days and the project was still gaining traction with the target group, school support staff in Wick High School reported that “some pupils are more settled and are concentrating more since the [project] started”. 

“We have noticed the number of pupils coming to see us hungry after break has decreased” 

- Head Teacher, Inverness High School 

“The breakfast is great. It is good because instead of my parents having to spend money on breakfast I can get it in school and they can spend money on other things.” 

- Young Person, North Ayrshire  

Why this matters: 

The increased use of the YSNEC in North Ayrshire and Highland has created a new way for schools to tackle inequalities and boost attainment in a non-stigmatising way. 

With over 79,000 secondary school young people on free school meals across Scotland***, the YSNEC is a great option for local authorities looking to use cashless catering to provide additional food entitlements for those facing the greatest disadvantage. 

*** Based on Scottish Government statistics (Pupil Census Free School Meals Dataset, 2018) 

The impact: 

• Over 6,200 breakfast entitlements provided to free school meals pupils in North Ayrshire, saving young people over £9,400* 

• Average uptake of free breakfast entitlement over 48% in most deprived areas, including 48.5% in Wick and 48.4% in Alness** 

• Projected improvement on attendance and attainment for young people facing disadvantage. 

• A scalable, sharable model developed to demonstrate opportunities to other schools across Scotland. 

* North Ayrshire figures (Nov 2018 - March 2019) 

** Highland figures (Feb 2019 - March 2019) 

#YSAttain: Tackling rural poverty with the Young Scot National Entitlement Card  

Download the PDF version here

Groups of young people in Wick have used their Young Scot National Entitlement Cards to access free after school meal deals at a local café. 

As part of the Young Scot and Scottish Government Attainment Challenge: National Strategic Partnership, The Highland Council worked with High Life Highland to improve the health and wellbeing of young people. The partnership focused on providing free meal deals for young people facing rural poverty in Wick. Using the Young Scot National Entitlement Card (YSNEC) as proof of entitlement, groups of young people were given free access to hot meals after school, on Saturdays and during holidays. 

The project: 

With the support of Wick High School, High Life Highland identified young people who are living in areas of high deprivation and are facing barriers to good health and wellbeing. Then, the young people’s YSNEC details were shared with The Corner Cafe in Wick. This retailer was chosen after consultation with local young people.  

Every Young Scot cardholder is entitled to a £2.50 meal deal at The Corner Cafe. However, through the project, young people had easy access to the meal deal for free. This partnership created a non-stigmatised way of providing additional entitlements to young people. 

The aims: 

• Increase the number of discounts on food and drinks for all cardholders in Wick.  

• Provide access to free hot meals outside of school hours for young people facing rural poverty. 

• Increase the use of the YSNEC in rural areas. 

Impact: 

• Discount has been used over 250 times which saved young people in Wick over £300*. 

• 17 free meals have been provided outside of school, saving the young people over £40*. 

• Young people were offered hot meals and more choice than school lunches. 

• Increased numbers of young people carrying and using their YSNEC in rural areas. 

* Based on figures Sept 2018 - March 2019 

By ensuring that each young person could pick their own preferences from the discounted meal deals, the young people were offered the same choice as their friends who pay for their meals, reducing any stigmatisation. The project worked alongside other youth work initiatives in the school, focusing on reengaging young people in education for those facing rural poverty. While in the early days of the project, this collaborative approach proved successful. 

“This has been a brilliant initiative and enables young people to have a nutritious meal every day”. 

- Youth Work Leader at Wick High School 

Why this matters: 

The increased use of the YSNEC in Wick creates new opportunities for schools and local authorities to provide food entitlements and tackle rural poverty. With over 132,000 Young Scot cardholders living in rural areas across Scotland**, using the Young Scot NEC as a proof of entitlement is a great option for local authorities looking to tackle rural poverty. 

** Based on SIMD data collection from NECPO - October 2018 

FOOD BRIEFING

 Leisure

Discover how young people used their Young Scot NEC to access local leisure services.

#YSAttain: Providing access to leisure with the Young Scot National Entitlement Card 

Download the PDF version here

Groups of young people across the Highlands have used their Young Scot National Entitlement Cards to access free leisure memberships and spending credit for sportswear and equipment. 

As part of the Young Scot and Scottish Government Attainment Challenge: National Strategic Partnership, The Highland Council worked with High Life Highland to improve the health and wellbeing of groups of young people. 

Using the smart tech embedded in the Young Scot National Entitlement Card (YSNEC), groups of young people were given free access to their local High Life Highland leisure centres and free credit to buy sportswear and equipment.  

Aims: 

• Increase access to leisure activities for groups of young people. 

• Provide free sportswear and equipment in a non-stigmatising way. 

• Improve the health and wellbeing of young people facing barriers to attainment. 

• Increase the use of the YSNEC as a leisure membership card in the Highlands. 

The project: 

In partnership with four Attainment Challenge high schools across the Highlands and two more in Inverness, High Life Highland identified young people who are facing barriers to good health and wellbeing. 

Then, the young people’s YSNEC details were connected to High Life Highland’s IT systems. This smart tech connection allowed the young people to access their local gyms, swimming pools and leisure activities in the same way as their peers who pay for their memberships. The leisure centres also offered the young people the option to use free credit to ‘pay’ for sportswear and equipment using their YSNEC too.  

The impact: 

• 141 young people across the Highlands gained free leisure memberships and spending credit for sportswear and equipment. 

• £3,000 was saved on memberships and £1,200 was saved on sportswear and equipment*. 

• Increased numbers of young people used their YSNEC as a leisure membership card. 

• A scalable, sharable model was developed. 

* Based on figures Sept 2018 - March 2019 

“The spending credit was good and I got stuff for playing basketball. The swimming was good because my friends had it too, so I got to spend time with them” - Young person, Highland 

A High Life Highland team member said that receiving these entitlements boosted this young person’s confidence and attendance at school. They also developed friendships outside of school with people who are also interested in similar sports. They now have a more positive outlook at school and have signed up to attend a school camping trip later in the year. 

To test how scalable the model is, North Ayrshire Council took the learning from High Life Highland and successfully introduced it through KA Leisure for groups of young people in two schools in North Ayrshire. The project included a group of young people who were taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award. 

“This is a brilliant offer. By getting access to KA Leisure, the boys have the opportunity to achieve the Physical component of their DofE Gold Award. The offer is great because not all of the boys could afford this, and I think it is wonderful that we can take away this cost. The boys are really developing their confidence and team working too and bonding as a unit which will be invaluable for their expedition section.” - Duke of Edinburgh Co-ordinator and Youth Worker, North Ayrshire 

Why this matters: 

High Life Highland’s use of the YSNEC is a fantastic example of how schools and youth services teams can use smart tech solutions to tackle inequalities arising from poverty. 

With over 700,000 cardholders across Scotland, using the YSNEC as a leisure membership card and method of payment for sportswear is a great way for local authorities to improve the health and wellbeing of groups of young people in a non-stigmatised way.