Section 3: School suitability

Suitability is a measure of whether a school is fit for the purpose of delivering the education curriculum. It measures the extent to which a school building and its grounds support quality learning and teaching. This includes 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 easily it can be adjusted or adapted to 'flex' in response to future, changes in the scale and nature of demand and usage, changes in climate and 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:

1. Good – Performing well and operating effectively
2. Satisfactory – Performing well but with minor problems
3. Poor – Showing major problems and/or not operating optimally
4. 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 decreased since last year

The number of schools by suitability rating from 2010 to 2025.

There were 388 fewer schools with a poor or bad suitability rating in 2025 than in 2010 (from 651 to 263). The number also decreased since last year, with 15 fewer than in 2024, marking the lowest figure since 2010.  The number of schools with good or satisfactory ratings has risen slightly since last year, up four from 2024. This continues a trend sustained over the past three years, with the total remaining over 200 higher than in 2010.

The proportion of schools with good or satisfactory suitability has increased 14 percentage points from 75.2% in 2010 to 89.2% in 2025 - representing the highest proportion since 2010.

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 2010 are available in the supplementary tables.

Figure 9: Number of schools by suitability rating, 2021 to 2025 [Note 2]

Figure 10: Percentage of schools by suitability rating, 2021 to 2025 [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 decreased since last year

The number of pupils on roll by school suitability rating from 2010 to 2025.

Considering the number of pupils in each school, there has been a 13.2 percentage point increase in the proportion of pupils in good or satisfactory suitability schools from 76.6% in 2010 to 89.8% in 2025.

The number of pupils in schools with poor or bad suitability ratings has dropped by more than 53% between 2010 and 2025, from 154,783 to 71,231. This represents 10.2% of pupils, which is the second lowest proportion since 2010.

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 2021 to 2025

Figure 13: Percentage of pupils by school suitability rating 2021 to 2025