The First Minister for Scotland is responsible for the overall supervision and development of the education service. Day-to-day responsibility for education is delegated to the Minister for Education and Young People and the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning. They are served by the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) and the Scottish Executive Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department (SEETLLD). The First Minister is advised by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) and the national bodies dealing with the development of the curriculum (Learning and Teaching Scotland - LTS) and public examinations (the Scottish Qualifications Authority - SQA).
The provision of publicly funded education is the responsibility of the 32 unitary councils, known as Scottish Local Authorities (SLAs). Schools themselves are required to publish development plans. Both local authorities and schools are also required to publish annual reports on progress.
Private schools in Scotland are normally referred to as independent schools. Only a very small proportion of children and young people (approximately four per cent) attend such schools, and parents pay the fees for this. There is no legal requirement for an independent school to follow a particular teaching programme, although some programmes bear close resemblance to those offered in local authority (publicly funded) schools, and others are modelled on independent schools in England.
Independent schools are inspected by HM Inspectorate of Education in the same way as local authority schools.
The main language of instruction is English. However, Gaelic-medium education (GME) is also available in some Scottish schools.
Education is compulsory between the ages of five and 16. Children are normally admitted to school at the beginning of the academic session in mid-August and therefore a date is set each year (normally 1 March) so that children born before that date are admitted at the age of four in the previous August, and those born after that date are admitted to school at the beginning of the next academic session.
Parents have the right to send their children to the school of their choice provided places are available. Pupils are admitted to secondary education from primary schools when they have completed seven years of primary education (age 12). There are no entrance examinations and children do not have to repeat a year.
Compulsory education is organised into two phases – primary and secondary education, as follows:
| Primary education | 5-12 years of age |
| Secondary education | 12-16 years of age |
Since 2000, local authorities have had a duty to secure pre-school provision for all three- and four-year-olds whose parents request it. This is usually delivered over five sessions a week, each of around two-and-a half hours, over the school year.
There are over 2,800 providers of pre-school education in Scotland. Nursery classes account for 40 per cent of all providers, with stand-alone nursery schools making up the other 60 per cent. There are 62 providers of Gaelic-medium pre-school education in Scotland.
In July 2004, 85 per cent of three-year-olds and 100 per cent of four-year-olds were receiving pre-school education. There were 1,236 children receiving Gaelic-medium pre-school education, which represented 1.2 per cent of all pre-school children.
Post-compulsory education offers two years of schooling for students between the ages of 16 and 18. It is provided in secondary schools and further education colleges. Vocational training is also offered by independent trainers and by employers in the workplace.
There are no formal qualifications required for admission to post-compulsory education, although schools and further education institutions may set specific requirements for admission to individual courses. Students are free to apply to the institution and for the course of their choice.
Children with special educational or additional support needs are educated within mainstream schools wherever possible, where this meets the best interests of the child. Local authorities determine the kind of special needs provision they wish to make for their students, but for most students the provision is a specialist learning support teacher.
The school year usually starts in mid-August and finishes around the end of June. The local authority determines the actual dates of terms.
Schools are open for 190 days a year. Local authorities operate very closely to a standard norm for the number of weekly taught hours: 25 hours for primary schools (with reduced hours for infants) and 27.5 hours for secondary schools.
The curriculum in Scotland is not determined by statute or regulation, but by guidance and advice from the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) and Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) in various curriculum documents.
At primary level, the curricular areas are language, mathematics, environmental studies, expressive arts, and religious and moral education, with personal and social development (PSD) and health education.
At lower secondary level the curriculum is divided into two stages. The first two years (S1 and S2, ages 12-14) provide a general education following the ‘National 5 – 14 Programme’. Compulsory subject areas include English, a modern foreign language, mathematics, geography, history, home economics, technical education, art and design, music, physical education, and religious and moral education (RME). A range of optional subject areas are also available.
The third and fourth years of compulsory lower secondary education (S3 and S4, 14- to 16-year-olds) have elements of specialisation and vocational education for all. Students are expected to continue to the age of 16 with the study of English, mathematics, a science, and a social science subject. Students also have the entitlement to the continuation of a modern foreign language. In addition to these subjects, students choose from options relating to each of the following eight subject areas: language and communication, mathematical studies and applications, scientific studies and applications, social and environmental studies, technological activities and applications, creative and aesthetic activities, physical education, and religious and moral education (RME).
N.B. In November 2004, in the document ‘A Curriculum for Excellence’, the Scottish Executive confirmed its intention to reform and simplify the curriculum to increase student choice and make learning more stimulating. The Government has set in motion a programme of work which will be part of the process of creating a single, coherent Scottish curriculum for the three to 18 age range. Development work continues on the '3-18 Curriculum for Excellence curriculum'. Implementation will take place gradually from the 2008/09 school year.
Religious education in schools is compulsory in Scotland, although parents have the right to withdraw their children from lessons. Children are required to study religious and moral education (RME) from primary school level to the end of compulsory education (age 16).
During primary education, children study religious and moral education (RME), health education and personal and social development (PSD).
During lower secondary education, students aged between 12-14 study religious and moral education (RME) and, in some schools, health studies (depending on variations in the curriculum). Between the ages of 14-16, students follow a course in religious and moral education (RME).
In Scotland, individual supply and purchase of textbooks from the schools’ budget is the responsibility of individual school management teams (the headteacher and other senior teachers). The School Board (made up of parents and members of the local community) also plays a consultative role.
It is the responsibility of the local authority to ensure that books, materials, stationery and mathematical instruments are provided for the use of students.
At primary level, teachers assess their students’ progress in a variety of ways which include watching them work, discussing their work with them, setting special tasks in which the teacher can make judgements about the students’ performance and setting tests, some of which will be school tests and others national. They are given guidance on the process of evaluation in the publication: ‘National Guidelines: Assessment 5-14’. Teachers can use national assessment materials in English language (reading and writing) and mathematics to confirm their professional judgement of the attainment levels reached by students.
In secondary school, students are subject to continuous assessment according to the internal procedures of each school and are promoted automatically to the next class. In the first two years of lower secondary education (S1/S2, 12- to 14-year-olds), assessment is carried out in accordance with the national 5-14 guidelines.
The range of qualifications available to students between the ages of 14-16 are commonly grouped together as National Qualifications (NQs), and include Standard grades, National Courses and National Units. National Qualifications are intended to be attainable by all students, and are gained by external examination, together with an element of assessment carried out by the school itself, and moderated by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).
Students working towards Standard grades, for example, often take seven or eight subjects including mathematics and English. There are three levels of study for Standard grade: Credit, General and Foundation. Students usually take examinations at two levels – Credit and General or General and Foundation. This aims to ensure that all students have the opportunity to achieve as high a grade as possible. The results are graded from 1-6, with level 1 being the highest. Students who complete the course but do not achieve grades 1-6 are awarded a level 7.
Qualifications in post-compulsory upper secondary education (16+) include the Scottish Qualification Certificate at Higher Grade (Highers), Advanced Higher Grade and Scottish Group Awards, and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs). Success in these qualifications is usually required for university entrance.
All who wish to teach in publicly-funded primary and secondary schools in Scotland are required to have undergone initial teacher training and to hold a Teaching Qualification (TQ) in order to be registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS).
Most secondary teachers enter the profession, after taking a degree, through the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course. A few enter through the Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree, which is offered in a limited number of subjects, and a few through combined degrees, which include subject study, study of education, and school experience. Since August 2002, all newly qualified teachers have had access to a training post for one school year immediately following qualification. This is known as the Teacher Induction Scheme.