Providing education for our children and young people

At a time when students in other parts of the UK face mounting debt and tuition fees, our resolute commitment to free tuition and our enhanced student support offering means that access to university remains based on the ability to learn and not the ability to pay.

New UCAS figures show a record number of young people in Scotland securing a place at university or college. There has been a 4.2% increase in Scottish 17 and 18 years old securing a place, going from 16,650 in 2024 to 17,350 in 2025. Of all students accepted, 93.7% (29,840) of Scottish applicants secured their first UCAS’ choice, which is a 1.4% decrease on last year, but 3.5% increase on 2022. 3,660 international undergraduate students have been accepted into Scottish universities and colleges, a 5.4% increase on last year, and 8.2% increase when compared to 2022. Figures obtained in September 2025 from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre show that around three-quarters of a million, or 740,000, Scottish-domiciled students have benefitted from free tuition since 2007.

A question is frequently asked, what has the SNP government done for Scotland since being elected? A reasonable question when one party has led the Government for so long. There are many, many achievements and positives to answer that question and I'll be outlining them by subject in the weeks to come. Today I'm focussing on how the SNP government has backed, and continues to back, children and young people within education.

Pre-primary education expenditure has more than doubled in real terms over the past decade to £1.1 billion in 2024-25, up from £516 million in 2015-16, with 95% of this going on the delivery of the 1140 hours early learning and childcare offer, which helps families by relieving them of the rising cost of childcare meaning more money in your pocket to spend elsewhere. Our 2026-27 Budget safeguards this childcare funding worth up to £6,000 per child each year which families across Scotland have benefitted from since 2021, enabling those that wish to return to work to do so.

New figures show that spending on schools across Scotland has increased by over £1 billion in real terms over the past decade. Statistics published last week show that funding for schools rose to £7 billion in 2024-25, up 19.7% from £5.8 billion in 2014-15. Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has shown that school spending per pupil was around £1,700, or 20%, higher in Scotland than in England last year with an increase of over £1,000 in real terms per pupil over the last decade.

The number of teachers in permanent posts has remained stable at more than 80% over the past 10 years. Additionally, during the same time, the number of teachers in Scotland's classrooms has increased by more than 2,500.

The 2026-27 Budget also allocates additional funding of £15 million to build on existing delivery of breakfast clubs - leading to the roll out of a national offer by August 2027, ensuring as many children as possible start their school day with a full tummy and are set up for learning. Free school meals provision continues for P6/7 children in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment, as well as support via the school clothing grant to help with the cost of uniforms.

Literacy and numeracy attainment is at the highest levels on record and record numbers of young Scots are going to university where they will benefit from free tuition thanks to our commitment to higher education being based on the ability to learn rather than pay. For numeracy, a record 80.3% of pupils across P1, P4 and P7 reached expected levels while S3 also reached a new high of 90.3%. For literacy, achievement is also at a record high in both primary (74%) and Secondary (88.3%). On top of that, the literacy Attainment Gap between those from the least and most deprived areas is at a new low according to the latest Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels 2023-24 (ACEL) statistics.

A sure measure of education improving is the increasing number of young people leaving school into positive destinations. Among 2023-24 school leavers, 93.1% were in a positive follow-up destination (including Higher Education, Further Education, Employment, Training, Personal Skills Development and Voluntary Work), up from 92.8% in 2022-23. Over the longer term it has increased from 85.9% in 2009-10. The gap between the proportion of school leavers from our most and least deprived communities in positive follow-up destinations increased from 7.5 percentage points in 2022-23 to 8.3 percentage points in 2023-24, and although the gap has widened since 2022-23, it remains narrower than all years prior to 2019-20.

Access to higher education at university for Scottish students from the most deprived areas has increased to a near record high. The number of 17- and 18-year-olds from the most deprived areas (SIMD Quintile 1) who have secured a place in university or college via UCAS in 2025 reached a record high of 2,060 young people – a 5.5% increase on 2024. This data from UCAS highlights a slight narrowing in the gap in progression rates between the most and least disadvantaged Scottish 18-year-olds, with 16% of those in SIMD Quintile 1 accepted, compared to 43.6% of those in SIMD Quintile 5.

The estate within which our children and young people are educated has also seen investment. The proportion of Scotland’s schools reported as being in good or satisfactory condition has increased to 92% (91.7% in 2024). This represents a 29.3% increase since 2007, when this series of school condition statistics began and the figure stood at 62.7%. Since 2007-08, 1,156 school builds or substantial refurbishment projects have been completed - including the Laurencekirk Community Campus in 2014 and Forfar Community Campus in 2017.

We all know that academia is not for everyone and in recognition of this the SNP government has invested heavily with more than £100 million allocated for Modern and Foundation Apprenticeships in 2025–26. Contracts are issued by Skills Development Scotland to employers, training providers, colleges, and learning providers to support new apprenticeship starts. Since 2008, approximately 400,000 apprenticeship opportunities have been created for young people across Scotland. This continued investment by the SNP government underscores the central role apprenticeships play in developing essential skills, supporting pathways into high‑quality careers, and contributing to a sustainable, skilled workforce.

To encourage young entrepeneurial minds, the Entrepreneurial Education Fund for 2025–26 provides up to £1.2 million to support courses and projects that encourage young people from diverse backgrounds to consider business ownership as a career. Last year, the fund supported programmes that embedded entrepreneurial learning throughout schools from P1 to S6, and this year its scope has expanded to include more vocational programmes at SCQF Levels 7 and 8.

To improve the national education and skills system, the SNP Scottish Government has passed the Education (Scotland) Bill to introduce major reforms. The legislation establishes a new national qualifications body designed to place pupils’ and teachers’ experiences at the centre of how qualifications are developed and delivered. It also creates a new, more independent inspectorate, which will have the authority to determine both the focus and frequency of school inspections—ensuring this function is carried out independently from Ministers.

And finally, the Scottish Languages Bill has designated Scots and Gaelic as official languages and introduced new educational standards to support them. It also enables the creation of areas of linguistic significance to strengthen Gaelic communities. Additionally, the Scottish Government is investing £5.7 million to promote these languages and encourage growth in Gaelic-speaking areas. ensuring the continuation of our historic national languages.

So, to answer that question what has the SNP government done for Scotland's Education since being elected? I'd argue that the SNP government has backed, and continues to back, children and young people within education and will continue to prioritise this investment in our citizens of the future.

Be sure to vote SNP on 7th May for more investment in our education system and to safeguard delivering improvements to the opportunities and the life chances of the children and young people of Scotland.