Education should open the doors to opportunities which enable children and young people to become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors to society.
We are determined to improve the life chances of all our children. The vast majority of pupils get a good education in Scotland: we want to improve standards in education and close the attainment gap.
Education is devolved to Scotland. We:
- oversee school curriculum and qualifications
- are working on raising attainment, with a particular focus on ending the poverty related attainment gap
- introduced the National Improvement Framework to deliver excellence and equity in education
- endeavour to have the best people in teaching and support their professional development
- invest in school buildings and oversee the process for changes to the school estate
- provide guidelines on devolved school management to help local authorities develop their own schemes
- are taking advantage of digital opportunities to transform delivery of education in schools
- support and promote pupils' health and wellbeing
- ensure children and young people with additional support needs are supported in learning
- provide guidance to assist local authorities to locate children if they go missing from education
- established the Gender Equality in Education and Learning Taskforce to identify measures to address gender inequality
Delivering excellence and equity in Scottish education: a delivery plan for Scotland was published in 2016.
We published a joint agreement with COSLA to deliver education reforms in 2018, based on the principles of school empowerment.
- International Council of Education Advisers
- Scottish Education Council
- Curriculum and Assessment Board
- Teacher Workforce Advisory Group
- Strategic Board for Education
- Teacher Panel
Schools content prior to 2018 is available on the gov.scot archive.
Telephone: 0300 244 4000 - Central Enquiry Unit