Introduction
Primary schooling is organised as a separate level of education over seven years (P1-P7, ISCED level 1) from age 5 to 12. All publicly funded primary schools are administered by local authorities. Primary education is also provided in Scotland’s 8 grant-aided schools, and at independent schools.
Primary schools generally cater for considerably smaller numbers of pupils than secondary schools. In 2016 there were 2,031 primary schools in Scotland compared to 359 secondary schools.
The majority of primary schools have less than 400 pupils and around a third have less than 100 (see table 1.2 in Pupil Census 2016 Supplementary Data for statistics on school size).
Legislative requirements
Primary schooling aims to provide a broad education in accordance with the philosophy of Curriculum for Excellence. The two key priorities of Curriculum for Excellence are:
Curriculum for Excellence (‘CfE’, described in more detail under Chapter 2.1 Fundamental Principles and National Policies and Chapter 5.2 Teaching and Learning in Primary Education) aims to ensure that all children and young people in Scotland develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they will need to flourish in life, learning and work, now and in the future.
CfE promotes health and wellbeing, as well as strong literacy and numeracy skills. It also encourages children to:
- Engage with and understand their environment
- To express themselves through drama, art, music and physical activity
- To develop their religious, moral and social awareness
- To learn about the impact of science and technology on society
The statutory responsibility for provision of education in Scotland rests with local authorities and is set out in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. In accordance with Section 31 of the 1980 Act a person of school age is defined as someone who has attained the age of 5 years and has not attained the age of 16 years.
The only stipulation in the Education Acts about the curriculum is that schools must provide religious education and religious observance, although parents may withdraw their children from both.
The Education (Scotland) 2016 Act introduced new measures to improve schooling in Scotland. This includes:
- Improving the attainment of pupils from poorer backgrounds
- Widening access to Gaelic medium education
- Extending the rights of children with additional support needs
This act also introduced the National Improvement Framework (NIF), which aims to raise attainment, ensure equalities of outcomes for all children and young people, and improve the data and evidence-base available to policy makers to base decisions and targeted provision on.
Regulations made by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (or predecessors), as a result of powers granted in the various Education Acts are also important. These deal with administrative matters, for example keeping class registers, the maximum size of classes and the nature of promoted posts.
As a consequence of the Teaching Council (Scotland) Act 1965, a teacher must be registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) as a primary teacher in order to teach in a primary school. This means that the teacher must have trained specifically for work in primary schools.
Legislative References
Teaching Council (Scotland) Act 1965 (Act of Parliament) : 1965, c19
Education (Scotland) Act 1980 (Act of Parliament) : 1980, c.44.
Education (Scotland) Act 1981 (Act of Parliament) : 1981, c.58.
Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000 (Act of the Scottish Parliament) : 2000, asp6.