Elections to the Scottish Parliament take place on Thursday 7 May. In this series we look at what decisions are made in our parliament which affect daily lives in Scotland.
Education
Education in Scotland is totally separate from that of rUK. In this article the main focus will be on the State Education system, but there are fee paying schools, and some parents choose to Home Educate their children.
The Scottish Parliament decides on spending in Education when it votes on the Scottish Government’s Budget. The responsibility for the day-to-day management of schools is with Local Authorities.
The starting age for Primary Education in Scotland is 5 years of age, however, some children may be 4 and others 6. Early Learning and Childcare takes place before formal schooling.
Early Learning and Childcare
All 3 to 5 year olds in Scotland can get up to 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare a year. This is around:
- 22 hours a week if used all year
- 30 hours a week if used only during school term time
Some eligible 2 year olds can also be offered places.
This system is managed by local councils, and they do so working in collaboration with their own establishments, private providers, and childminders. Click on this link to find out more : Early Learning and Childcare (ELC).
Crucially the funding follows the child. Parent Club provides excellent advice for parents and carers about education in Scotland.
Recently there has been debate in Scotland over the starting age of children into formal education Those wishing to change it regard it as too young.
Primary School
Early Learning Centres work with the local Primary school as the child transitions. If your child is 4 years old on the day they are due to start primary school, you can defer their entry.
The Curriculum for Excellent (CfE) underpins the teaching and learning with ‘learners at the heart of education’ from age 3 to 18. Recently it has been suggested that the CfE be reviewed to ensure that it is fit for purpose.
Secondary School
After Primary 7 pupils transition to Secondary School where eventually they will undertake national examinations. Qualifications Scotland manages and awards national qualifications.
Scotland’s State Schools are mostly Non – denominational. The Education (Scotland) Act 1918 established State Funded Denominational Schools.
| Number of publicly funded schools [note 1] in Scotland by religious denomination, as of April 2022 | |
| Denomination | No. of schools |
| Non-denominational | 2,079 |
| Roman Catholic | 358 |
| Inter-denominational | 7 |
| Episcopalian | 3 |
| Jewish | 1 |
| Total | 2,461 |
| Note 1: Including both Local Authority and Grant Aided schools | |
Scotland’s Secondary Schools are co-educational, and the majority of pupils will transfer from their local Primary School to the nearest Secondary School.
Teachers
The General Teaching Council for Scotland (an independent body) regulates and maintains teaching standards. All teachers in Scotland must be registered with it. The GTCS is also responsible for the courses to train teachers in Scotland – and the minimum entry requirements.
There are four main registration categories:
- Primary
- Secondary (Subject)
- Further Education
- Additional Support Needs
All teachers in Scotland are degree qualified.
If you hold a first/undergraduate degree (a bachelor’s degree) then, depending on the sector/ subject you wish to teach, the minimum qualification you may need is a Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) or equivalent.
If you don’t hold a first degree then you’ll need to gain a degree-level qualification that allows entry to the relevant Primary or Secondary PGDE programme or complete a degree that incorporates a teaching qualification. – GTCS.
The salary scales for teachers in Scotland is negotiated between the Scottish Government, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) which represents local councils and the teacher unions – SNCT. It also produces the conditions under which teachers in Scotland work under – including class sizes. This is often a hotly debated issue for parents, and teachers. Click on this link to find out more about class sizes.
MSPs are very active in their role in issues concerning Education and Childcare. Some of them will sit on a committee dedicated to Education – Education, Children and Young People Committee.
Colleges and Universities
Scotland has always been proud of its education system. This article has not focussed on the University and College Sector.
Universities Scotland has issued the following statement about their priorities for MSPs in the next Scottish Parliament.
The policy and funding choices made in the next Scottish Parliament will not only determine the country’s immediate trajectory but will also shape the social, economic and civic fabric of Scotland for decades to come.
Our biggest ask of all political parties in this election is to engage with and support the Framework for Sustainable and Successful Universities. Launched in December 2025 as a joint exercise between Universities Scotland and the Scottish Government, and tasked with securing the future of universities to 2045, it commands cross-party buy-in. The need has never been greater, with 11 universities forecast to be in deficit.
We ask for meaningful engagement with the Framework’s outputs, expected in the autumn, and continued cross-party support for the development of an implementation plan within a year.
The Framework is the foundation stone upon which the sector’s wider contribution to Scotland depends. Our manifesto is structured around actions that would improve the lives of our students, the enabling role of the sector in support of economic growth, through skills development, research and innovation, and through our partnerships with the NHS.
Scotland’s classrooms and learning experiences aim to be inclusive. This requires understanding by all involved that the education of our young people is in an increasingly complex world. It requires the funding necessary to provide a learning environment to cope with both the challenges and opportunities for the decades to come in a time when many families are facing a cost of living crisis.
The MSPs elected in 2026 will take the decisions which affect children, young people and families for this and future generations.
Fiona Grahame
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