Section 3: School suitability

Suitability is a measure of whether a school is fit for the purpose of delivering the education curriculum. It provides a measure of the extent to which a school building and its grounds provide an environment which supports quality learning and teaching. That is whether its design and layout enhance its function and use, whether there is space and scope to accommodate all the pre-school, day-school and after-school demands and services, whether it is 'inclusive' and accessible to those with disabilities, how capable it is of adjustment or adaptation, how able to 'flex' in response to future, sometimes unforeseen changes in the scale and nature of demand and usage, to changes in climate and to changes in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and other technology and the ways in which education may be delivered.

The following ratings are used to measure school suitability:

A Good – Performing well and operating effectively

B Satisfactory – Performing well but with minor problems

C Poor – Showing major problems and/or not operating optimally

D Bad – Does not support the delivery of services to children and communities

Further details on school suitability ratings are available in the Background Notes.

Figure 8: Number of schools with a poor or bad suitability rating has risen slightly since last year

The number of schools by suitability rating from 2010 to 2024.

There were 373 fewer schools with a poor or bad suitability rating in 2024 than in 2010 (from 651 to 278). The number has risen slightly since last year with nine more than in 2023, although this is still the second lowest number since 2010.  The number of schools with good or satisfactory ratings has fallen slightly since last year, down 14 from 2023 but still shows an increase of more than 200 since 2010.

The proportion of schools with good or satisfactory suitability has increased 13.5 percentage points from 75.2 per cent in 2010 to 88.7 per cent in 2024.

A suitability rating may not be reported for special schools where attendance is solely by pupils who are enrolled at a different school which has been separately reported in the survey. Ratings may also not be available for newly built schools or schools based in buildings outwith the school estate such as hospitals. From 2024 schools where no condition or suitability rating would be expected have been excluded from the survey. Percentage figures are based on the number of schools where a suitability rating was reported.

Figures 9 and 10 show the number and percentage of schools by suitability rating for the last five years. Figures from 2007 are available in the supplementary tables.

Figure 9: Number of schools by suitability rating, 2020 to 2024 [Note 2]

Figure 10: Percentage of schools by suitability rating, 2020 to 2024 [Note 2]

Note 2: Three primary schools in East Lothian have split site campuses and submitted two School Estate Core Facts Survey returns each. These schools are included twice in the school counts in this table.

Figure 11: Number of pupils in schools with a poor or bad suitability rating has risen slightly since last year

The number of pupils on roll by school suitability rating from 2010 to 2024.

Taking into account the number of pupils in each school, there has been a 12.7 percentage point increase in the proportion of pupils in good or satisfactory suitability schools from 76.6 per cent in 2010 to 88.7 per cent in 2024.

The number of pupils in schools with poor or bad suitability ratings has dropped by more than 50 per cent between 2010 and 2024 (from 154,783 to 75,422). The lowest number of pupils in schools with poor or bad suitability was in 2023 at 71,379.

Figures 12 and 13 show the number and percentage of pupils by school suitability rating for the last five years. Figures from 2010 are available in the supplementary tables.

Figure 12: Number of pupils by school suitability rating 2020 to 2024

Figure 13: Percentage of pupils by school suitability rating 2020 to 2024