Raising attainment plans

Raising attainment plans (RAPs) are tactical, short-term plans to help schools raise standards. Get to grips with how they work, who's involved, and how they differ from a school improvement plan.

Last reviewed on 18 October 2023
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Contents
  1. Purpose of a RAP
  2. Differences between RAPs and SIPs
  3. A RAP involves all stakeholders
  4. Success criteria
  5. Share progress with the whole school community
  6. School examples 

The information found in the first 4 sections of this article comes from archived guidance for local authorities (LAs) on the use of the Intensifying Support Programme (ISP), which was a pilot project to raise standards in schools facing challenging circumstances.

This archived material applied specifically to raising attainment in English and maths in primary schools, but the information in it may be useful more broadly.

Purpose of a RAP

A raising attainment plan (RAP) is:

  • A tactical, short-term action plan to focus activities on raising standards. It should contain a balance of short-term, tactical ‘quick wins’ and longer-term strategic actions
  • Closely aligned to the school improvement plan (SIP) and supports its targets
  • Designed to help the school reach its end-of-Key Stage (KS) targets, and also makes sure that systems and processes are in place to sustain ongoing improvements
  • Based on agreed success criteria that can be measured in terms of impact on pupil progress

Differences between RAPs and SIPs