Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) St Mary's Music School Aided Places Scheme 2026-27

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment

Brief Summary

Type of proposal:

• Decision of a strategic nature relating to the rights and wellbeing of children

Name the proposal and describe its overall aims and intended purpose.

St Mary’s Music School Aided Places 2026-27. Scottish Ministers fund the remission of fees for eligible pupils at St Mary’s Music School, under the St Mary’s Music School (Aided Places) (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

St Mary’s Music School is Scotland’s only independent specialist music school, offering music and academic education to musically gifted children and young people aged 9-19 years. It attracts both day and boarding pupils from across Scotland and beyond.

Scottish Ministers provide financial support towards fees for eligible pupils at St Mary’s Music School (“the School”), under The St Mary’s Music School (Aided Places) (Scotland) Regulations 2015 (“the 2015 Regulations”). Scottish Government funding, up to 100 per cent, is available through the aided places scheme (“the Scheme”) to assist with the cost of tuition and boarding fees of up to 51 pupils at the School. Other pupils are supported by bursaries offered by the School. Administration of the Scheme is undertaken by the School, and Ministers have no part in the selection of pupils. Admissions to the School are on the basis of musical ability and potential, regardless of financial circumstances or background.

In consultation with the School, Scottish Ministers can prescribe the number of aided places that are available and allow the School to apply an increase to its fees, as agreed. Under current arrangements, the Scottish Government has no role in the recruitment of students at the School and has no oversight in the assessment process. The 2015 Regulations provide that Ministers must approve the maximum fees which the School can charge for pupils who hold aided places, with any changes considered annually. In practice this is achieved by Ministers setting the percentage change to be applied.

In reviewing the School’s fee increase, we have worked with the School to determine the most favourable approach, which would look to reduce any negative impact on pupils as far as possible, whilst looking to maintain the School’s viability and ensuring this public spending delivers value for money.

Start date of proposal’s development: February 2026

Start date of CRWIA process: February 2026

1. With reference given to the requirements of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 which aspects of the proposal are relevant to/impact upon children’s rights?

The Scheme gives musically gifted children, regardless of their family’s financial circumstances, the opportunity to benefit from a world class standard of music and academic education, following entry based on their musical ability and potential. As St Mary’s Music School is an independent school, fees are charged and the Scheme provides financial income-based support to families with the aim of ensuring those musically gifted pupils can benefit from this specialist education. This aligns with Article 29 of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 on the goals of education which includes the development of the child’s musical talents; and also Article 31 on Leisure, play and culture, promoting the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life.

2. Please provide a summary of the evidence gathered which will be used to inform your decision-making and the content of the proposal

Due to the possibility of any increase to school fees having an effect on a parent/carer decision to send their child to the School, we considered it important to engage with children and young people who currently attend the School in order to more fully understand the importance to them of their specialised musical education, and to understand the potential impact of any increase in fees.

It should be noted that this will be the second full school year where VAT is charged on school fees, following the removal of the VAT exemption from 1 January 2025, which has placed an additional financial pressure on parents/carers.

Exact costs to the Scottish Government of the Scheme for 2026-27 are as yet unknown, as this will depend on pupil type and parental income (and thus the proportion of the contribution due from Scottish Government in each case). However, estimated costs have been calculated based on these factors in 2025-26. These estimated costs must be balanced with the Scottish Government’s responsibility to ensure that public spending continues to deliver value for money, particularly given the current challenging economic environment and pressures on public finances.

Below are quotes from pupils currently attending the School. These were gathered during focus groups held at the School where a selection of junior and senior pupils receiving funding via the Scheme were chosen at random to take part in sessions to discuss their experiences at the School.

What does studying at St Mary’s Music School mean to you?

• Getting very good education in terms of academics and music
• Spending time with what I love doing - music
• Getting good education in terms of music and academics
• Being around people with same passion
• Surrounded by like-minded people
• Music and academics is well-balanced
• It means quite a lot because I enjoy playing and studying music
• Being able to develop musically in a space where the resources for this are easily provided.
• A personal environment where teaching is specialised and tailored to each persons particular needs.
• Committing yourself fully in all that you do, be it music or academics. It means submersing yourself in a somewhat pressured environment in order to nurture your ambitions.
• Lots of practice
• Small classes so lots of help from teachers
• Great SFL [support for learning]
• It gives us a sense of belonging.
• It helps us discover our musical and social identity.
• Better musical education that we can’t get in many other places, more 1:1 music lessons.
• Smaller class sizes.
• A safe environment.
• Timetabled practice time during the school day.

What opportunities have you had at St Mary’s Music School that you think you would not have had anywhere else?

• Performance opportunities
• Being in the vocal programme – doing all sorts of things like language class, scenes, performance class
• High quality music education
• 2 hours piano lesson a week
• Playing in concerts regularly
• Many/frequent 1-to-1 music lessons
• Masterclasses
• Focussed dedicated practice slots
• Practice slots in school time and coaching sessions
• Aural every morning
• More opportunities for music (performance, aural, theory, etc)
• Frequent chamber music and orchestra opportunities
• Specialised music classes to further musical development beyond the classroom
• Playing solo at the Usher Hall on several occasions.
• Being part of the SCO Academy.
• Playing in numerous chamber groups.
• Playing in incredible concert venues
• A musical environment.
• Playing in musical ensembles
• Good performance opportunities
• Opportunities to perform with lots of other pupils
• Concert trips
• Professional musicians come in to teach and perform.

What impacts on pupils might there be from an increase in parent’s contributions to school fees?

• Really dependent on the amount of increase since parents might no longer afford it.
• It would be difficult to come.
• We will not be able to come as parents could not afford it.
• St Mary’s is a very good place for people who want to be musicians, and it’s special in that way. It is good that people who need financial support can still come and progress their music.
• If funding stopped, some pupils wouldn’t be able to come, and there isn’t another full-time music school in Scotland.
• Parents would struggle to pay school fees so pupils would have to drop out.
• By losing lots of pupils, the school would have to close.

3. Further to the evidence described at ‘3’ have you identified any 'gaps' in evidence which may prevent determination of impact? If yes, please provide an explanation of how they will be addressed

Focus groups were carried out with a selection of junior and senior pupils at the school. These opinions therefore are not necessarily reflective of the views of all pupils in attendance at the School. Nonetheless, officials consider that the evidence gained from the focus group sessions can inform the assessment of any potential impact of changes to school fees.

4. Analysis of Evidence

Following the evidence gathered, including the feedback from children and young people, we consider that an increase in tuition fees would not impact pupils or parents except in the instance where the parents were required to pay the full fee due to the level of their net relevant income.

Article 29 (goals of education)

The Scheme gives musically gifted children the opportunity to benefit from a world class standard of music and academic education in a “unique environment,” regardless of their family’s financial circumstances. This contributes to promoting pupils’ wellbeing, inclusion, and ability to learn and thrive in a “healthy,” “competitive,” “bespoke” and nurturing learning environment to reach their full potential.

Calculations for increases to tuition fees are designed to ensure the School’s ongoing viability in a challenging financial climate. This in turn contributes to supporting the School to continue to offer the benefits of this specialist education, and aims to ensure that children (in particular those from lower income families) can continue to benefit; therefore positively contributing to Article 29.

Article 31 (leisure, play and culture)

The School provides a world-class standard of music and academic education, which allows pupils to participate freely in cultural life and the arts. Pupils have noted that they are offered many unique opportunities, such as attending “masterclasses with sector leading professionals,” “cathedral choir” and “amazing performance opportunities,” performing in notable venues. Changes to tuition fees are important in ensuring Scottish Government’s aim of maintaining the School’s viability, so that it can continue to provide these valuable cultural benefits for those children enrolled at the school.

5. What changes (if any) have been made to the proposal as a result of this assessment?

Further consideration has been given to the impact of a proposed increase to tuition fees in 2026-27 on the accessibility of specialised music instruction. A number of different options were explored, with the goal being to maintain the School’s financial viability to ensure pupils’ experiences were not impacted, whilst limiting increased financial pressures on both parents and the Scottish Government as far as possible.

An increase to fees was considered necessary, given increasing costs faced by the School. Ministers gave consideration to all impacted parties and subsequently approved a 4% increase to tuition fees.