The Scottish Government

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1. RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADMINISTRATION

1.1 Background

Under the terms of the Act of Union of 1707 the separate governments of Scotland and England were united under one Parliament (a century after James VI of Scotland united the two kingdoms in 1603 on his accession to the throne of England) to form Great Britain. Scotland's separate legal system and her national church were safeguarded under the settlement, which also made provision for the office, within government, of a Secretary for Scotland and for continuation of the historic Privy Council, which had seen to the preservation of law and order.

To meet the growing complexity of government in Scotland a ministerial post of Secretary for Scotland was created in 1885. The Secretary for Scotland also assumed responsibility at that time for the Scotch Education Department, which had already been formed in 1872 from the Board of Education for Scotland.

The status of the office of Secretary for Scotland was enhanced in 1926 to that of Secretary of State. Throughout the 20th century the responsibilities of the Secretary of State for Scotland continued to expand and The Scottish Office finally comprised six Departments by 1999.

On 1 July 1999 a new Scottish Parliament and Executive were established with legislative and executive responsibility for a wide range of devolved matters, including education and training. The Scottish population elects members to both the UK and the Scottish parliaments. The main political parties represented are Scottish Labour, Scottish National, Scottish Conservative & Unionist and Scottish Liberal Democrat. Smaller parties active in Scottish politics include the Scottish Green Party and the Scottish Socialist Party.

There continues to be a Secretary of State for Scotland who remains a member of the UK Cabinet, and whose role is to represent Scotland in matters reserved at UK Government level. The office of the Secretary of State for Scotland is known as the Scotland Office and is based mainly in London. It now forms part of the Department of Constitutional Affairs.

Religions

Since the Reformation of the 16th century the established church, the Church of Scotland, has been Protestant and from the end of the 17th century Presbyterian. Its governance is in the hands of four 'courts': the Kirk Session, the Presbytery, the Synod and the General Assembly or annual meeting of the Church. The General Assembly very often discusses the major issues of the day, including education, and its views on them are widely reported.
The General Assembly has an education committee which deals with matters in Scottish education which affect the Church.

Around 16% of Scots would claim affiliation to the Roman Catholic Church (2001 Census in Scotland). Most of the Roman Catholic population is descended from Irish immigrants in the 19th century, coming mainly into the west and south-west of Scotland. Until 1918 the Roman Catholic Church had its own primary and secondary school system. By the Education Act of that year, however, responsibility for the schools was handed over to the State on the understanding that they would remain denominational. The Roman Catholic Church retains considerable influence over the appointment of staff, the teaching of religious education and the ethos of denominational schools. Like the Church of Scotland, it has the right of representation on education committees. It has a committee, the Catholic Education Commission ( CEC), which concerns itself with matters in Scottish education which affect the Church.

In addition to various other Christian denominations, several other world faiths (notably Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh) are practised, in the main by ethnic minority groups. There are no publicly-funded schools in Scotland specifically for children belonging to other faiths.

Official and Minority Languages

English is the official language of government, business, education, the law and other professions. It is spoken everywhere in Scotland, albeit alongside Scottish-English in most areas and Gaelic in parts of the Highlands and many of the Western Isles.

The UK Government signed the Council of Europe Charter for Regional or Minority Languages on 2 March 2000. The Scots language will be covered by Part II of the Charter, with Gaelic being specified under Part III. The UK Government ratified the Charter on 27 March 2001.

The Scots language survives in Scotland in the form of dialects spoken in different parts of the country, some of which are closer to Standard English than others. The Scots language has its own rich literary tradition. Curriculum guidance advocates the inclusion of Scots literature in the school curriculum with the aim of teaching a proper awareness and appreciation of the language. The Scottish Arts Council provides financial support to a number of Scots language organisations.

A number of other languages are spoken by groups which have come into the country as migrants at various times. The Italian community in Scotland, which was established in the nineteenth century and still maintains close contacts with Italy, retains its own language. Cantonese is the main language of the Chinese community and other groups originally from the Indian sub-continent have brought their languages (among them Punjabi, Gujerati, Urdu, Hindi and Bengali) to Scotland.

Demographic and Economic Indicators

The estimated population of Scotland on 30 June 2003 was 5.1 million, accounting for 8% of the population of the United Kingdom. Since reaching a peak in 1974, the population has been on a gradual declining trend with some fluctuations. In the last ten years there has been a population increase in 4 out of 10 years. The population of people aged 15 or under has remained at about 19% between 1991 and 2003.

The population is very unevenly spread, with almost 70% living in the relatively narrow Central Belt closely associated with the two major river estuaries of the Forth and the Clyde. This area includes Scotland's two largest cities, Glasgow (population 577,090) (2003 mid-year estimate) and Edinburgh (population 448,370). Population in other parts of Scotland is very thinly spread.

Scotland, with an area of 7,792,500 hectares, accounts for about a third of the total area of the United Kingdom. The Scottish mainland from the border with England to the north coast is about 440 km in direct line and its maximum breadth is about 240 km. In addition to the mainland there are some 380 islands (790 if all the very smallest islands, which are little more than rocks, are included) of which around 100 are inhabited and some are relatively large in area, e.g. the Shetland Isles.

Gross Domestic Product ( GDP) in Scotland totalled £69.2 billion in 2001, an average level of £13,660 per head. The largest elements in the GDP are manufacturing (21%); public admin, education and health (21%); real estate and business services (18%); and retail and wholesale (11%). The manufacturing sector in Scotland is strongly oriented towards export and 57% of Scottish exports go to other countries in the European Union. Most of the industrial activity is concentrated in the relatively small area of the Central Belt, although Aberdeen, outside that area, is an important centre of the oil industry. Glasgow and the surrounding area of west central Scotland constitute the main industrial centre. Edinburgh is the capital city and administrative centre, with a major concentration of financial and professional institutions as well as an important manufacturing sector.

Scotland has a history of fairly high levels of unemployment and during the 1980s the unemployment rate (International Labour Organisation definition) rose to 14.9% (1987). Between then and 1990 there was a steady decline to about 9.3% overall. Unemployment has risen and fallen again over recent years. In Spring 2004 it stood at 6.0% (with male unemployment at 7.0% and female unemployment at 5.0%), compared to 4.8 in the United Kingdom as a whole. The overall figures, however, conceal a very wide range of levels of unemployment in different parts of the country. (Information for 1987 and 1991 is based on the 1991 census, whereas the information for 2004 is based on the 2001 census. This is the only time series currently available for Scotland.)

1.2 Basis of the Education System: Principles and legislation

The principles which underpin Scottish education are not laid down by law. They are partly a reflection of Government policy and partly a consensus view as set out in the many reports and advisory documents produced by the system. These form the basis of educational practice. The legislation is mainly concerned with the administration and organisation of the system, with recent legislation, e.g. the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc Act, 2000 having a strong focus on defining outcomes to be achieved in order to allow for local flexibility in implementation.

Education in Scotland has always enjoyed a high status and most of the key principles/values on which it is built are long established. The provision of free, compulsory education for all within a specified age group (currently 5-16) is fundamental. So, too, is the broadly based and flexible curriculum.

The basic legal framework for education in Scotland consisted of a series of Education (Scotland) Acts which are Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom but apply specifically and only to Scotland. With the exception of a few clauses which make deliberate reference to Scotland, Education Acts for England and Wales do not apply. The Education (Scotland) Acts are supplemented by regulations which have the force of law. Following Devolution in 1999, all new legislation dealing with education is now a matter for the Scottish Parliament.

In Scotland the Education Acts are mainly concerned with the organisation and administration of education, giving powers to certain bodies, for example to the Scottish Ministers to make regulations or to education authorities or to Her Majesty's Inspectors of Education in connection with the provision of education. Regulations also tend to deal with administrative matters, but in more detail than the legislation. Currently, curriculum is not governed by legislation in Scotland, apart from the stipulation that religious and moral education is compulsory, unless parents withdraw their children from it.

The current Education Act is the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, as amended in 1981. Amongst other things, this Act gives power to education authorities to provide pre-primary education, lays down the ages between which education is compulsory, lays a duty on parents to see that their child is educated and on education authorities to make provision for education. It entitles pupils to receive education appropriate to their "age, aptitude and ability", to receive guidance in secondary schools and to be supported as necessary by psychological, health and social work services.

Its amending Act of 1981 gave parents the right to choose the school to which they send their children and set up the assisted places scheme for independent schools (now being phased out). It also made some far-reaching changes in the way in which provision was made for children with special needs by establishing the Record of Needs and set up machinery for determining the pay and conditions of service of teachers.

The Standards in Scotland's Schools etc Act 2000 gave every child in Scotland a right to education for the first time, outlined measures to modernise the teaching profession and enhance its status, and established a framework of improvement for school education. The framework includes a new set of National Priorities for school education, defined as follows:

National Priority 1 - Achievement & Attainment

• to raise standards of educational attainment for all in schools, especially in the core skills of literacy and numeracy, and to achieve better levels in national measures of achievement, including examination results;

National Priority 2 - Framework for Learning

• to support and develop the skills of teachers and the self-discipline of pupils, and to enhance school environments so that they are conducive to teaching and learning;

National Priority 3 - Inclusion & Equality

• to promote equality and help every pupil benefit from education, with particular regard paid to pupils with disabilities and special educational needs, and to Gaelic and other lesser used languages;

National Priority 4 - Values & Citizenship

• to work with parents to teach pupils respect for self and one another and their interdependence with other members of their neighbourhood and society, and to teach them the duties and responsibilities of citizenship in a democratic society; and

National Priority 5 - Learning for Life

• to equip pupils with the foundation skills, attitudes and expectations necessary to prosper in a changing society, and to encourage creativity and ambition.

More recently, The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 will come into force in late 2005. It will repeal the current legislation relating to special educational needs and will introduce a new legislative framework relating to children with additional support needs. A Code of Practice and Regulations to accompany the Act are currently being drafted. Drafts of various documents which are being consulted on are available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Consultations/Current.

Further Education and Higher Education are the subject of a separate Act, the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992, which established a new structure for these sectors of education. There are also a number of other Scottish Acts, currently in force, which are concerned with education and there are several Acts, not primarily concerned with education, such as the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986, the Children Act 1989 and the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, which also have implications for the Scottish educational system and the organisation and administration of schools and colleges.

1.3 Distribution of responsibilities for the organisation and administration of the education and training system

Central Government

The First Minister for Scotland is responsible to the Scottish Parliament for the overall supervision and development of the education service in Scotland and for legislation affecting Scottish education, through The Scottish Executive Education Department ( SEED) and Scottish Executive Enterprise, Transport & Lifelong Learning Department ( SEETLLD). Community Learning & Development, encompassing adult and community education as well as wider community development, participation and regeneration matters, has recently become the responsibility of Communities Scotland, the Scottish Executive's agency for housing and regeneration.

The SEED has responsibility for pre-school and compulsory and post-compulsory school education. It broadly determines national aims and standards, formulates national policy, commissions policy-related research, issues guidelines in the area of curriculum and assessment and oversees teacher training and supply. In practice, the First Minister delegates day-to-day responsibility to the Minister (and Deputy Minister) for Education & Young People. The First Minister is advised by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education ( HMIE), and by the national bodies dealing with the development of the curriculum (Learning & Teaching Scotland) and with public examinations (the Scottish Qualifications Authority).

At a referendum held in Scotland on 11 September 1997 the electorate endorsed the proposals set out in the Government's White Paper 'Scotland's Parliament' to establish a devolved Scottish Parliament. The Scotland Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 17 December 1997 and received Royal Assent on 19 November 1998. Elections took place on 6 May 1999 and the new Scottish Parliament assumed full powers on 1 July 1999. Following the establishment of the Scottish Parliament, the Secretary of State for Scotland represents Scottish interests within the UK Government. The First Minister heads the Scottish Executive and takes responsibility for Scottish policy and legislation in devolved areas.
The Scottish devolved government, or Scottish Executive, is led by the Scottish Cabinet. Headed by the First Minister, there are currently 11 members of the Cabinet, supported by 7 Depute Ministers (who, with the exception of the Solicitor General, are not members of the Executive). In addition to the 11 Cabinet Ministers the Lord Advocate usually attends meetings of the Cabinet, although he is not formally a member (but is a member of the Scottish Administration).

The Scottish Parliament has powers to legislate on a wide range of subjects of importance to the people of Scotland, including education, training and lifelong learning. Scotland remains a full part of the United Kingdom and 'reserved' matters, e.g. foreign policy, defence, UK fiscal, economic and monetary matters continue to be governed at a UK level.

Local Government

The provision of publicly funded education is the responsibility of the 32 unitary councils, known as Scottish Local Authorities ( SLAs). The Standards in Scotland's Schools etc Act 2000 requires education authorities to "endeavour to secure improvement in the quality of the school education which is provided in the schools managed by them". The Act sets out a framework for the improvement of the performance of schools and defines five National Priorities in Education.

Under this framework, the local authorities are required to publish plans showing improvement objectives for the schools in their areas. The schools themselves are required to publish development plans taking into account the improvement objectives set by their local authority. Both authorities and schools are also required to publish annual reports on progress. Local Authorities are also responsible for the construction of buildings, the employment of teachers and other staff and the provision of equipment and materials. They exercise responsibility for the curriculum taught in schools, taking account of national guidance and local circumstances.

An important development since 2002 has been the commitment to roll out the Integrated Community School approach to all Scottish schools by 2007. This approach aims to raise standards and promote social inclusion. While there is no single model for Integrated Community Schools, most bring several existing schools together to work as a cluster, with a team of professionals providing a range of services including education, social work, family support and health education. Integration of services is a key feature of these schools and the Scottish Executive is committed to rolling out the new integrated school approach to every school by 2007, and is making £78m available between 2002-03 and 2005-06 to support this development.

Scottish schools are all working towards becoming Health Promoting Schools by 2007 and a Scottish Health Promoting Schools Unit was set up to assist them with this in May 2002.

Each Scottish Local Authority ( SLA) has an education committee composed of elected local councillors and representatives of the main churches and teachers' groups. The committee is responsible for making policy decisions on educational provision, within the framework of national law and regulations. The executive functions are fulfilled by an education department, headed in each case by a Director of Education (or equivalent) who may have one or more deputes and a number of assistant directors.

Institutions

The School Boards (Scotland) Act of 1988 requires that Scottish local authorities seek to establish a School Board for each school (except nursery schools) under their management. The Boards comprise elected parent and staff members and other co-opted members of the local community. The Director of Education (or a person nominated by the Director) and the local Councillor are also entitled to attend Board meetings and speak. The head teacher of the school is the Board's chief professional adviser. Boards have powers which are broadly consultative.

Many schools also have active Parent Teacher Associations ( PTAs), represented at national level by the Scottish Parent Teacher Council ( SPTC). Formed in 1947, the SPTC aims to advance education by encouraging the fullest co-operation between home and school, education authorities, central government and all those concerned with education in Scotland.

Under the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992, most Scottish further education colleges transferred from local authority control and became incorporated bodies, funded directly by central Government. Each College of Further Education is managed by a Board of Management, at least half of whose members come from industry or commerce, and which includes a nominee of the Local Enterprise Company. The Scottish Executive has delegated substantial powers to these Boards, and Colleges are now able to undertake commercial activities. The Colleges have well-established links with local industry and commerce.

In 1999 a Scottish Further Education Funding Council ( SFEFC) was established, under powers provided in the 1992 Act. The Council funds Scotland's forty-three incorporated FE colleges, using financial resources made available to the Council by the Government. The Council works closely with the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council ( SHEFC).

As in the rest of the UK, Higher Education Institutions ( HEIs) in Scotland are autonomous. Universities and certain other HEIs have powers to award their own degrees; the remainder have validation arrangements with another HEI. Evaluation at national level in higher education is carried out by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council ( SHEFC) and through the Quality Assurance Agency ( QAA) for Higher Education. QAA (Scotland) is part of this UK-wide independent body whose role is to provide public confidence in both the quality of teaching and learning and the standards of qualifications in HEIs. Universities Scotland, SHEFC, National Union of Students ( NUS) Scotland and QAA Scotland have formed a national 'Quality Working Group' through which these organisations have developed and implemented the new enhancement led arrangements for quality.

1.4 Quality Assurance

All educational institutions ( e.g. schools, further education colleges, teacher education institutions, community learning and development providers, etc) receiving grants from public funds and Local Authority education services are subject to external evaluation. HM Inspectorate of Education ( HMIE) in Scotland is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Ministers under the terms of the Scotland Act 1998. HMIE operates independently and impartially whilst remaining directly accountable to Scottish Ministers for the standards of its work. This status safeguards the independence of its inspection, review and reporting within the overall context of Scottish Ministers' strategic objectives for the Scottish education system. Her Majesty's Inspectors ( HMIs) are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the First Minister, which guarantees their independence. Her Majesty's Senior Chief Inspector leads HMIE and has direct access to appropriate Scottish Ministers.

Local authorities also carry out their own quality assessment of the various aspects of the educational provision which they make. At institutional level schools and further education colleges are responsible themselves for monitoring and evaluating their performance and progress and they are required to produce both an annual Standards and Quality or self-evaluation report on their own work and a development plan, setting out the results of an internal audit and their plans and objectives for the future.

The Education Department and the Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department of the Scottish Executive, in collaboration with HMIE, have published guidance to assist the schools and FE colleges respectively in carrying out self-evaluation. The guidance suggests use of performance or quality indicators in preparing development plans and using examination results and other data in this process.

The system of quality assurance in higher education institutions since April 1993 has been the responsibility of the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council ( SHEFC) and, apart from a small involvement by HM Inspectorate of Education in teacher education courses, neither the Education Department nor the Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department of the Scottish Executive plays an active part in the system. With effect from September 2000, the UK Quality Assurance Agency ( QAA) for Higher Education has undertaken the assessment of the quality of learning & teaching in Scottish higher education institutions.

1.5 Financing

The Scottish Executive supports school education and community learning and development as an element in the grant which it pays annually to local authorities, with grant levels agreed on a three-year funding cycle to help with forward planning. The actual amount allocated by the local authorities to education is their own responsibility. Day-to-day responsibility for spending is delegated to a considerable extent (between 80 and 90%) to schools themselves.

Further education colleges are currently funded by the Scottish Executive through the Scottish Further Education Funding Council ( SFEFC) which was set up on 1 January 1999 but assumed full powers only on 1 July 1999. Higher education is currently funded by the Executive through the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council ( SHEFC). However, the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Bill was introduced to Parliament in September 2004 with the principal purpose of merging the two Councils to create the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council. The Bill also extends the powers of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman to the actions of FE and HE institutions.

Further education colleges and higher education institutions also have income from services which they provide in such fields as training, research and specialist advice.

Schools

Education is the most expensive service provided by local authorities, generally accounting for around 50% of their overall budget. Public sector school education is provided free to the pupils, as are books and stationery. The cost of education in publicly funded schools is met from resources raised by local authorities ( e.g. via revenue from council tax) and from grant aid from the Scottish Executive Education Department. The education budget is agreed at local authority level with the education committee in each local authority determining the level of support to be given to its schools.

Capital expenditure on new buildings, modernisation projects and equipment is financed by the education authorities within broad capital expenditure limits laid down annually by Government. These limits cover all local authority capital programmes.

Further Education

The Scottish Executive provides funding for the 46 Scottish Further Education colleges through the Scottish Further Education Funding Council ( SFEFC). The SFEFC funds the 42 incorporated (self-governing) colleges directly, and Orkney and Shetland colleges through their local authorities. Two other institutions, Newbattle Abbey College and Sabhal Mor Ostaig, the Gaelic college on the island of Skye, also receive financial support from the SFEFC in recognition of their distinctive educational roles. All the colleges also receive fees from organisations and firms for which they supply education and training.

Higher Education

Higher Education Institutions are funded by the Scottish Executive through the Scottish Higher Education Council ( SHEFC) which is responsible for distributing funding to the individual institutions for teaching, research and associated activities. The Council also provides the First Minister with information and advice relating to all aspects of higher education in Scotland, including the financial needs of the sector.

1.6 Advisory and consultative bodies

The education system is supported by a number of agencies linked, in most cases through their funding, to the Scottish Executive. These are:

• Learning and Teaching Scotland ( LTS) - a non-departmental public body ( NDPB) which was created in 2000 from the merger of the Scottish Council for Educational Technology ( SCET) with the Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum ( SCCC). LTS is responsible for providing advice, support, resources and staff development to enhance the quality of educational experience for the improvement of pupil and student attainment. LTS also works closely with the SEED in taking forward developments in the curriculum and in information and communication technology ( ICT) in education.
• The Scottish Qualifications Authority ( SQA), a statutory body which has responsibility for most national qualifications below degree level offered in Scotland. It also approves education and training establishments which offer courses leading to its qualifications.
• The Scottish Further Education Unit ( SFEU), the centre established to support key developments and innovations in the further education sector in Scotland. The Unit supports teaching and learning, the application of information and communications technology, and organisational, professional and managerial development. It also supports colleges in implementing key Government policy initiatives.
• Communities Scotland ( CS) - An Executive Agency established in 2001 with responsibility for supporting community learning and development practice including professional training.
• The Scottish Council for Research in Education ( SCRE) - SCRE carries out research on all aspects of education and acts as a national forum for debate about educational research issues in Scotland. It has recently merged with the University of Glasgow Faculty of Education.
• The Scottish Further Education Funding Council ( SFEFC) - The SFEFC is a statutory body established in 1999 to administer the funding of further education colleges in Scotland and to oversee evaluative procedures for these institutions.
• The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council ( SHEFC), a statutory body established in 1993 to administer the funding of all Higher Education Institutions ( HEIs), including universities, and to oversee evaluative procedures for such institutions.
• The General Teaching Council for Scotland ( GTCS), established in 1965 and statutorily responsible for maintaining a register of teachers in Scotland and for the establishment and monitoring of professional teaching standards. Ministers must, by law, consult the GTC on matters concerning teacher education.

1.7 Private Sector

The law permits individuals and bodies to provide education outside the education authority system, with certain provisos. In the case of groups of fewer than five pupils of school age, those offering the education must prove to the satisfaction of the education authority that they are providing satisfactory education. If there are five or more pupils of school age, the school must be registered with the SEED and is subject to inspection by HM Inspectorate of Education before final registration is granted. HM Inspectors have to be satisfied that the premises conform to certain basic accommodation standards, that the owners are 'fit and proper persons' to run such an establishment and that the teachers are similarly acceptable.

The Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Act 2000 makes some changes to the arrangements for the registration of private schools. It requires prospective managers of any new private school to apply for provisional registration before the school becomes operational and it gives Scottish Ministers wider powers to refuse provisional registration. Private schools in Scotland are normally referred to as independent schools. Only a very small proportion of children and young people in Scotland (approximately 4%) attend such schools. Parents pay fees for the attendance of their children at these schools.

Independent schools vary enormously in size, ranging from fewer than 20 pupils to over 2,000. Some offer a complete education from pre-school age to 18; others are for primary age or secondary age pupils. Independent schools have some freedom in the number of days on which they have to open in the year. There is no legal requirement for an independent school to follow a particular teaching programme. In some the courses bear close resemblance to those offered in education authority schools. Others are modelled on English 'preparatory schools' or 'public schools' and prepare their pupils either to enter the English public schools system or to sit English examinations. A number have a very strong religious orientation. One is a specialist music school. Most of the larger independent schools are members of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools ( SCIS) in which they can come together to discuss matters of common interest and to organise training for their staff and governing bodies.

Independent schools are inspected by HM Inspectorate of Education in the same way as local authority schools. In carrying out such an inspection, HMI take into account the stated educational aims of the school. In addition, as a result of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, a programme of inspections of the care and welfare of residential pupils in independent schools which are boarding schools is carried out by HM Inspectors.

The Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Act 2000 further adds to this to allow Scottish Ministers to serve a Notice of Complaint on an independent school in a case of "failure to provide adequately for the welfare of a child or children attending the school".

As from April 2005 all independent boarding schools have to be registered and inspected by the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care in accordance with the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001.

In November 2003 the Scottish Executive announced proposed legislation that would give Ministers extra powers to ensure improvements in independent schools. Plans were set out in the consultation paper Ensuring Improvement in Our Schools and an accompanying draft Parliamentary Bill. The School Education (Ministerial Powers and Independent Schools) (Scotland) Act 2004 received Royal Assent on 12 November 2004.

There are 5 specialist music schools, of which one is independent; the others are located within larger schools run by education authorities. There is also a specialist school of dance and a specialist sports school, both of which are located within schools in Glasgow. Pupils are admitted to these specialist schools only after a rigorous audition, and competition for places is keen. Pupils in the specialist schools follow the normal, curriculum but with adjustments to allow time to be devoted to the specialism. They normally spend additional time on the specialism in the evenings, and at weekends. Pupils in these schools, however, have opportunities to take the same certificates as those in other schools.

The law also allows parents to educate their children at home and a very small number do so. If the local education authority is aware of children who are being home educated, and there is evidence that they are not being provided with an efficient education, the authority has a duty to intervene. Under these circumstances parents have to satisfy the local education authority that the education they are offering is suitable for the child's age, ability and aptitude.

We are grateful to the European Eurydice Unit in Brussels for kindly allowing us to reproduce the above diagram.

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