Inspection ratings awarded to specialist schools for students with Additional Support Needs (ASN): FOI release

Information requested

Inspection ratings awarded to specialist schools for students with Additional Support Needs (ASN) by Education Scotland.

For the period from August 2011 to present day(June 2025), please provide:

1. Annual breakdown by inspection rating for specialist ASN schools inspected by Education Scotland, showing the number of schools that received each of the following ratings:

- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Satisfactory
- Weak
- Unsatisfactory

2. Year-by-year data showing:

- Total number of specialist ASN schools inspected each academic year
- Number and percentage of specialist ASN schools receiving each rating level
- Breakdown by local authority area (if possible)

3. Comparative data (if available):

- How these ratings compare to mainstream primary and secondary schools over the same period
- Any analysis or reports on inspection outcomes specifically for specialist ASN schools

4. Clarification on scope,

- Definition used for "specialist ASN schools" in your records
- Whether this includes grant-aided specialist schools, independent specialist schools, or only local authority specialist schools
- Any schools that provide specialist ASN education but may be categorised differently in your systems

Please provide this information in a clear tabular format showing:

- Academic year
- School name and local authority
- Rating received for each quality indicator assessed
- Overall inspection outcome

Response

You have clarified that you are requesting information on public, independent and grant aided special schools. In response to requests 1 and 2, a list of all special school inspections and the grades awarded for quality indicators (QIs) is included in Annex A, along with details of all school inspections. The data is provided in Excel format to allow filtering as necessary.

Notes on the data provided in Annex A

1. Data provided in Annex A was taken at 1 July 2025.
2. Data includes all sectors of schools (primary; secondary; all through; and special schools) and all funding types (public; grant aided; and independent).
3. QI information is provided from academic year 2011/12 to academic year 2024/25.
4. During the period for which you have requested information, HM Inspectors have inspected schools using a number of quality frameworks and QIs. The data provided is where a grade for a QI was reported.
5. Grades have not been provided for schools that are currently in the process of being inspected and where the report is not yet published.
6. QIs used and graded by HM Inspectors have changed over time:

From 2007- 2016 the QIs graded were:-

• QI 1.1 Improvements in performance
• QI 2.1 Learners’ experiences
• QI 5.3 Meeting learning needs:
• QI 5.1 The curriculum
• QI 5.9 Improvement through self-evaluation

From September 2016 onwards the QIs graded were:-

• QI 1.3 Leadership of change
• QI 2.3 Learning, teaching and assessment
• QI 3.2 Raising attainment and achievement
• QI 3.1 Ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion

From February 2017 – June 2018 the QIs graded for a short model inspection were:-

• QI 1.1 Self-evaluation for self improvement
• QI 3.2 Raising attainment and achievement

From September 2018 onwards the QIs graded for a short model inspection were:-

• QI 2.3 Learning, teaching and assessment
• QI 3.2 Raising attainment and achievement
• A six point scale is used for grading QIs, which is set out below. This six point scale applied to all the quality frameworks for the timeframe provided.

QI Gradings
6	Excellent
5	Very good
4	Good
3	Satisfactory
2	Weak
1	Unsatisfactory

1. Schools may be subject to special inspections requested by Scottish Ministers under Section 66 (1) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. These inspections are not included in the data provided.

2. On 13 March 2020, Education Scotland paused all routine inspections of early learning and childcare settings and schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Routine inspections resumed in September 2022.

In response to request 3, regarding comparative data, you have clarified that you are interested in seeing what percentage of primary and secondary schools, private and publicly funded, are awarded excellent, very good, good, satisfactory, weak, unsatisfactory gradings each year since 2011. We have included in Annex A the gradings for all inspections carried out since academic year 2011/12. The data is provided in Excel format to allow filtering as necessary.

HM Inspectors use the same inspection framework to inspect all Scottish schools. The framework “How good is our school?” (4th edition) (2015) sets out the standards expected of all schools in Scotland. Whilst there is a single quality framework, HM Inspectors may apply this framework and evaluate the QIs in a different way in special schools. HM Inspectors recognise children and young people within special schools have additional support needs. HM Inspectors evaluate how well schools adapt to these circumstances by implementing flexible, personalised approaches to learning. For these reasons HM Inspectors would not compare inspection gradings across sectors.

With regards to your request for any analysis or reports on inspection outcomes specifically for specialist ASN schools some of this information is already available on the Education Scotland website:

• Quality and Improvement in Scottish Education 2012-2016
• Special and residential special schools 2012-2016
• Summary of reference quality indicator evaluations, June 2012 (National Performance Framework)
• Summary of reference quality indicator evaluations, June 2014 (National Performance Framework)
• School inspection findings 2018-19
• Inspection reports and summary of inspection findings published on Education Scotland website, which can be filtered to select special schools.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you cannot access the internet to obtain this information from the links above, then please contact us again and we will arrange to send you a paper copy.

Some of the information you have requested is not available as an exemption under Section 30(c) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 applies in this case.

Section 30(c) – the effective conduct of public affairs

This exemption covers situations where releasing information would, or would be likely to, significantly harm the effective conduct of public affairs.

HM Inspectors need a private space to analyse evidence, develop key messages, and carry out quality assurance before sharing findings that may inform policy or be communicated to the education system. The information requested relates to ongoing discussions and analysis that are not yet finalised. Releasing it at this stage could discourage open and honest discussion in future and affect the quality of the final outputs.

This exemption is subject to the public interest test. We have considered whether the public interest in releasing the information outweighs the interest in applying the exemption. While we recognise the importance of transparency and accountability, we believe there is a stronger public interest in protecting the ability of HM Inspectors to carry out their work effectively. Allowing space for careful analysis and discussion is essential to ensure that inspection findings are robust and reliable.

In response to request 4, clarification of scope. Education Scotland use the definition special school where a local authority or grant aided school has been formally designated as a special school in the Scottish Government’s School Contact details.

Some mainstream schools in Scotland include integrated special units. These units are inspected at the same time as the mainstream school in which they are based. HM Inspectors do not provide separate inspection gradings for these units. Instead, the quality of provision within the unit contributes to the overall evaluation of the school as a whole.

In some cases, a unit may have a separate SEED code listed in the Scottish Government’s School Contact Details. However, this does not necessarily mean it is identified or inspected as a standalone special school. Such units are typically included as part of the broader school inspection.

We note your clarification that you do not require information on units within schools.

For independent schools Education Scotland uses the variable “ASN in the register of independent schools to distinguish a special school.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202500471953 - Information released - Annex A

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Excel document

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