Welcome to Scotland: A guide for Service personnel and their families in Scotland - updated 2024

Education

Scotland’s schools are welcoming places where we want all children to achieve their potential. Education in Scotland is organised differently to the rest of the UK. This section will help you understand you and your children’s entitlements in Scotland’s schools.

You can find further information regarding school education in Scotland on our Parentzone website.

Forces Children’s Education

Forces Children’s Education includes lots of information about the Scottish education system and the geography and education resources available, along with a guide on understanding the Scottish education system. Their guide to understanding the Scottish Education System can be accessed on the Forces Children's Education website.

Other charities, such as Govan Law Centre, Children in Scotland and Children 1st also offer support for Service children. Further information can be found on their websites linked above.

Early Years Learning and Childcare

The Scottish Government and Local Authorities fund early learning and childcare. This means that it is free of charge for eligible children.

Currently, if your child is three or four years old, you can get up to 1140 hours of funded early learning and childcare a year.

Some two year olds can also get the same amount of funded early learning and childcare depending on whether you meet certain eligibility criteria, which you can find on the mygov.scot website. Once your child qualifies for early learning and childcare, they will stay eligible.

You can get funded hours for different types of registered early learning and childcare, such as a nursery (local authority or privately run), childminder or playgroup. Contact your local authority to find out more about the sessions and providers available to you and to find out how to apply.

You can find out more information at www.parentclub.scot/elc.

MOD Wraparound Childcare (WAC)

The MOD Wraparound Childcare (WAC) Allowance can support eligible Service families with children aged 4-11 years old (4-16 years old if in receipt of disability benefits) who attend full-time school in the UK (including home education). If eligible, Service personnel can claim up to 20 hours per week of funding for each child that is attending before and after school care during term time.

WAC is known as School Age Childcare in Scotland. Parent(s) can choose their own Care Inspectorate, (or equivalent), registered childcare provider. More information and the eligibility criteria can be found on the gov.uk website.

Further information on School Age Childcare in Scotland an be found on the Parent Club website.

School Age and Stages

Scotland provides free school education for all children from the age of around four and a half years old, up to the age of 18. Depending on when their birthday falls, some children can start before they are four and a half. Scotland has different enrolment and school entry dates than other parts of the UK. A summary of the age ranges in Scottish Education can be found on the third page of the Forces Children’s Education guide to understanding the Scottish Education System.

Parents are entitled to apply to the local authority either for early entry to primary school, or deferred entry. Forces Children’s Education have developed a resource with more information on this should you wish to know more, this can be accessed on the Forces Children's Education website.

Children start in Primary 1 and move up to the next class each year through to Primary 7. All children in Primaries 1-5 receive free school meals.

Children move up to secondary school automatically after primary school (aged 11 or 12 depending on when they started school), starting in Secondary 1 and moving up to the next class each year through to Secondary 6.

Your local council is responsible for providing school education in the area you live. You can find full information on applying for all school places and placing requests in ‘Choosing a school – a guide for parents’ and through the Forces Children’s Education resource which helps locate schools in catchment areas of bases across Scotland. In Scotland, the term “Academy” is another name for a high school or secondary school and there are no grammar schools (i.e. selective state schools) even though some schools are called “grammar schools”.

When considering your child’s education you are encouraged to contact the headteacher of your local school, to arrange a visit and discuss any issue which is a concern to you or about which you would welcome more information.

Term Time

Term dates will vary depending on your local authority area. You can find term dates on the mygov.scot website.

What Will My Child Learn?

Schools in Scotland plan their curriculum guided by Curriculum for Excellence: Scotland’s 3-18 Curriculum. This seeks to educate the “whole child” so that they can achieve their potential through being successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens.

The secondary school curriculum has two phases – the broad general education in years one to three and the senior phase in years four to six. The Senior Phase allows for children to make choices about the courses they study.

Children and young people have a variety of opportunities to learn and develop skills, giving them the best chance of success in further learning, life and work.

Schools, in collaboration with colleges and employers, have the flexibility to offer a range of experiences to meet the needs of all learners. Young people can also study a range of qualifications and awards, including Nationals, Highers, Advanced Highers, Foundation Apprenticeships and Skills for Work courses.

Further information on the qualifications and how they compare with qualifications across the rest of the UK can be found on the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) website here and on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) website here.

A parent-friendly guide to Curriculum for Excellence has been produced by the National Parent Forum for Scotland (NPFS). An Armed Forces Families specific resource was developed in partnership with NPFS and can be found on the Forces Children’s Education website.

GIRFEC

Our ambition is to work together with children, young people, families, organisations and communities to make Scotland the best place to grow up. “Getting it right for every child” (GIRFEC) is Scotland’s approach to providing all children, young people and their families with the right support at the right time, so that every child and young person can reach their full potential.

Through “getting it right for every child”, everyone can work together to build the scaffold of support children and young people need to grow up loved, safe and respected. “Getting it right for every child” provides a consistent framework and shared language for promoting, supporting and safeguarding the wellbeing of children and young people, for the many services and agencies that work with children and families to take a co-ordinated, holistic approach which puts the rights of the child or young person at the heart of decision making.

“Getting it right for every child” values and principles were developed together with stakeholders:

• placing the child or young person and their family at the heart, and promoting choice, with full participation in decisions that affect them
• working together with families to enable a rights-respecting, strengths-based inclusive approach
• understanding wellbeing as being about all areas of life including family, community and society
• valuing difference and ensuring everyone is treated fairly
• considering and addressing inequalities
• providing support for children, young people and families when they need it, until things get better, to help them to reach their full potential
• everyone working together in local areas and across Scotland to improve outcomes for children, young people and their families.

Based on these principles, “getting it right for every child” is about enhancing the wellbeing of all children and young people as well as building a flexible scaffold of support; where it is needed, for as long as it is needed. This is delivered through the core components of:

• the offer of a named person (or equivalent role); someone who acts as a clear point of contact for children, young people and families to go to for initial support and advice. A named person can also connect families to a wider network of support and services.
• a shared and holistic understanding of wellbeing and a single model of how this can be considered and supported; and,
• a single, shared and rights-based approach to planning for children and young people’s wellbeing where support across services is needed, co-ordinated by a lead professional.

More information can be found on the Scottish Government’s website.

Safeguarding

If you have any concerns about a child’s safety and wellbeing, these should be reported to the child’s local authority social work department. The contact details for the relevant local authority can be found on the Care Information Scotland website.

If you are worried that a child or young person is at risk of harm, including abuse or neglect, you should also contact the police by dialing 101 in the first instance, or 999 if you think a child is in immediate danger. You do not need to be sure that they have been harmed – it is completely appropriate to report a suspicion.

Support for Service Children

In the first instance, discuss your child’s needs with the school, including any formal support plans (like a EHCP) previously in place. They will be best placed to provide information and support for your child. If you do not know which school your child will attend, you can check catchments based on your posting on the Forces Children's Education website.

Additional Support for Learning (ASL) in Scotland looks at children’s needs in a different way to the systems found elsewhere in the UK. You can be assured, however, that education authorities have a statutory duty both to assess and meet any additional support needs that your child has.

Additional Support Needs (ASN) are broadly defined, including those which might impact on children from Armed Forces families, such as transitions, interrupted learning and dealing with separation and loss. They can be of short- or long- term duration and occur for a variety of reasons. ASN in Scotland includes needs defined as SEND in England.

We also have a Scottish advice service for additional support for learning, where you will find useful information about when your child might be entitled to extra support. This can be found at Moving to Scotland – Enquire.

The Education Advisory Team (EAT) also provide support and assistance to families moving schools for a child with additional needs. More information can be found on the gov.uk webiste.

Careers Advice in School

Skills Development Scotland is Scotland’s Career Service. They support young people from the P7/S1 transition stage right through their school journey, including at key decision times such as options choices. They offer one-to-one discussions, group work sessions and drop-ins.

This unique national school support is available to all young people in Scotland, with more intensive support offered to young people with additional support or learning needs, service children and those who are care experienced. More information can be found on the Skills Development Scotland website.

Independent Schools

As well as local authority education, parents may consider enrolling their child in an independent school. All independent schools in Scotland are registered, with their details available on the gov.scot website.

The independent sector includes boarding schools, where children and young people stay at the school, either full-time or perhaps only for part of the week.

Where a school provides boarding, it is registered with, and inspected by, the Care Inspectorate. You can find out more about the Care Inspectorate on their website at https://www.careinspectorate.com/.

Boarding schools in Scotland differ, and may offer the Curriculum for Excellence or another curriculum. However, all independent schools are inspected by Education Scotland in the same way that local authority schools are. If you are considering enrolling your child at an independent boarding school, you are encouraged to make contact with the schools you are interested in, seeking a copy of the school’s prospectus in order that you can be better informed about what each school offers.

The Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS) are a useful source for more general information on independent schools. SCIS is a charitable body which represents most of Scotland’s independent schools. You can visit the Scottish Council of Independent School website for more information.

Parental and Learner Involvement

As a parent, you are entitled to be involved in the life and work of the school and to be engaged in your child’s learning. When your child joins a school in Scotland, you automatically become a member of the school’s “parent forum”. As a member of the school’s parent forum you can also join the school’s Parent Council which is a way for parents to have a formal role in influencing the life and work of the school.

Schools also have arrangements in place to gather learners’ views throughout their education, via pupil councils or other methods.

Further Education

Further education includes courses that are below the Higher National Certificate (HNC) level. These courses are taught in either secondary school or colleges and include:

• Academic courses below HNC level.
• Courses that do not lead to formal qualifications e.g. independent living skills.
• Courses on basic skills such as reading, writing and numeracy skills.
• Work-related courses, such as Scottish Vocational Qualifications.

To understand qualifications, recognise the levels of learning and to plan your learning journey, further information can be found using the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF), accessible via this link: Support for Individuals | Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (scqf.org.uk).

Colleges are responsible for assessing an individual’s criteria for funding, you should therefore enquire within your chosen college. Further information can also be found on the Student Information Scotland website.

Higher Education

Higher Education in Scotland includes courses of study which are at a HNC level or above. Individuals can take these courses at college or university and there is no age limit. Higher education courses range from:

• HNC
• Higher National Diploma (HND)
• Certificate of Higher Education (Cert HE)
• Diploma of Higher Education (Dip HE)
• Undergraduate Ordinary Degree
• Undergraduate Honours Degree

If individuals are students in Higher Education, they may be entitled to financial support from our Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS).

You and your family are entitled to support from SAAS if you were ordinarily resident in Scotland before you enlisted to the services or meet the ordinary residency criteria.

If you are not entitled to support from SAAS you will still be able to access support from your home UK funding body, if you meet the appropriate eligibility criteria.

You can find more information on Higher Education funding for members of the Armed Forces and their families on the SAAS website or by calling SAAS direct on 0300 555 0505.

You may also wish to contact your relevant Service Families Federation for more information and advice on eligibility. Non-UK veterans, service personnel and their families from all Services can contact the Army Families Federation or Navy Families Federation’s Qualified immigration advisors on fcsupport@aff.org.uk or immigration@nff.org.uk for advice on applying for student support.

Community Learning and Development (CLD) and Adult Learning

CLD supports primarily disadvantaged or vulnerable groups and individuals of all ages to engage in learning, with a focus on bringing about change in their lives and communities. Community Learning and Development includes:

• youth work, family learning and other early intervention work with children, young people and families,
• community-based adult learning, including adult literacies and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL),
• learning for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in the community, for example, people with disabilities, care leavers or offenders,
• community development (building the capacity of communities to meet their own needs, engaging with, and influencing decision-makers),
• volunteer development, and
• learning support and guidance in the community.

If you want to find out more about community learning and development activities, contact your local authority. More information on CLD can also be found at Community Learning and Development (CLD) | Sector | Learning in Scotland | Education Scotland.