Welcome to Scotland: A guide for Service personnel and their families in Scotland (updated 2026)

Education

Scotland’s schools and early learning and childcare centres are welcoming places where we want all children and young people to achieve their potential. Education in Scotland is organised differently to the rest of the UK and spans the three to 18 curriculum, including Early Learning and Childcare (ELC). This section will help you understand you and your children and young people’s entitlements in Scotland.

You can find further information regarding education in Scotland on our Parent zone 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 website.

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

Early Learning and Childcare

The Scottish Government funds Local Authorities to deliver up to 1,140 hours of early learning and childcare (ELC) per year. This is a statutory entitlement available for all three and four year olds, and eligible two year olds. More information on the eligibility criteria for two year olds can found on the mygov.scot website. Once your child qualifies for funded ELC, they will stay eligible.

You can get funded hours for different types of registered ELC, 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 on the Parent Club website.

Ministry of Defence Wraparound Childcare (WAC)

The Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Wraparound Childcare (WAC) Allowance can support eligible Service families with children aged four to 11 years old (four to 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.

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

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

UK Nursery Authority (UKNA)

From September 2026, the UKNA scheme will ensure that should they be assigned to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, Defence will reimburse eligible working families the difference in the costs of Early Years childcare hours, matching the Government funded childcare hours they would be entitled to if assigned to England. UKNA does not provide childcare spaces.

General information on the support and benefits available to Service families can be found on the Discover My Benefits 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 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. Classes in Scotland are described by the stage of education, primary or secondary and the year group: P1 to P7 and S1 to S6. Currently 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 all state 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 hich 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 directly, 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. Typically the academic year runs from mid-August to the end of June. You can find term dates on the mygov.scot website.

What Will My Child Learn?

All state schools in Scotland plan their curriculum guided by Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence: Scotland’s 3-18 Curriculum framework. This seeks to educate the “whole child” so that they can achieve their full potential through the four capacities, successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens.

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

The secondary school curriculum has two phases: the broad general education (BGE) starts in P1 (age 5) to S3 (age 15) when senior phase starts. 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 and support positive post-school destinations. Young people can also study a range of qualifications and awards, including National Qualifications, Highers, National Progression Awards (NPA), Advanced Highers, Foundation Apprenticeships and Skills for Work courses.

Mapping Qualifications

You or your family may have gained qualifications through the Armed Forces or elsewhere in the UK. The Scottish Credit and can help you understand how these qualifications relate to Scottish qualifications.

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

Qualifications Scotland is the national body in Scotland responsible for developing, assessing and awarding qualifications, and for ensuring their quality and standards. Qualifications Scotland recently replaced the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) as part of a wide-ranging programme of reform within Scottish education.

Further information on the functions of the awarding body can be found on their website and include a guide to Scottish Qualifications and Learner support for National Qualifications.

Curriculum and Qualification Reform

O ver the coming years Scotland is making important changes to the way education is delivered to better support children and young people and ensure they are recognised for their knowledge, skills and achievements. You can read more about these changes on the gov.scot website.

The Scottish Government acknowledges that reform will take time and investment, with a proposed timeline extending to 2032. This aligns with our commitment to a phased, well supported and sustainable change. The work will continue to be developed collaboratively in conjunction with a range of stakeholders, including practitioners, children and young people.

Getting it right for every child (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. The GIRFEC approach provides a consistent framework and shared language for promoting, supporting and safeguarding the rights and wellbeing of children and young people; and enables services to coordinate a joined-up approach which puts children, young people and their families at the centre of decisions that affect them.

GIRFEC values and principles were developed together with representatives from the workforce across children’s services, as well as with children and young people:

• 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. The named person is usually a Health Visitor until a child starts school and a head or senior teacher thereafter
• a shared and holistic understanding of wellbeing and how their wellbeing should be 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. The child’s plan is a personalised plan developed to meet the needs of a child or young person when it is identified that the child or young person needs a range of extra support beyond universal provision to be planned, delivered or co-ordinated. The child’s plan should reflect the voice of the child or young person and explain why the plan has been created, the actions to be taken and the expected improved outcomes for the child or young person

More information can be found on the Scottish Government 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 dialling 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.

Additional Support for Service Children

In the first instance, discuss your child’s needs with the school or funded ELC provider, including any formal support plans (like an Education Health and Care Plan, also known as an 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. This includes support needs for neurodivergence, and a diagnosis of a neurodevelopmental condition is not required for support to be put in place. ASN in Scotland includes needs defined as Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in England, Additional Learning Needs (ALN) in Wales and Special Educational Needs (SEN) in Northern Ireland.

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 on the Enquire website 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 website.

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.

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 Schools 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 on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) website.

Following a recent agreement under the Armed Forces Covenant, 16 to 18 year olds from Service families are now guaranteed further education funding, based only on their residence in Scotland. However, colleges are ultimately responsible for assessing an individual’s criteria for funding, so it is advised 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).

To be eligible for funding you must either meet the general residence conditions or be able to demonstrate that you have a significant connection to Scotland.

A significant connection can include:

• Those born and lived all of their life in Scotland, or
• Those who have spent the greater part of their life in Scotland, or
• Those who completed their secondary education in Scotland.

If you do not meet the general residence conditions and you do not have a significant connection to Scotland, you should contact the funding body of the nation that you or your armed forces family member were living in at the time of signing up.

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. If you think you may be eligible for financial support from SAAS but are unsure, we strongly encourage you contact SAAS in the first instance for advice.

You may also wish to contact your relevant Service Families Federation for more information and advice. Links to the Families Federation websites can be found under the ‘Supporting You’ section of this guide. 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 on the Education Scotland website.