Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee 10 December 2025
The last of our new petitions today is PE2195, lodged by Willie French and Tam Baillie on behalf of Upstart Scotland, which calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to establish in Scottish education a relationship-centred, play-based kindergarten stage for children between the ages of three and seven.
The Scottish Government’s response to the petition states that the early level of the curriculum for excellence is designed to support the implementation of a responsive, continuous, play-based curriculum for children from age three until the end of primary 1 for the majority of children. The submission goes on to state that raising the school starting age and introducing a kindergarten stage would represent a fundamental change in the scope of education in Scotland and a significant structural change to the provision of education. The response states that there would be a number of significant delivery implications in raising the school starting age.
The petitioners’ submission notes that children in Scotland start formal schooling at an earlier age than most of their international peers. The petitioners recognise the value of the Scottish Government’s policies in the “Realising the Ambition: Being Me” document, but point to a lack of published evidence regarding the extent to which the guidance has been implemented. The submission highlights that evidence from its group, Upstart, suggests that the adoption of “realising the ambition”—that is the name of the programme—is inconsistent and that other policy drivers may hinder its implementation. The petitioners believe that establishing a kindergarten stage would align better with the priority of reducing the poverty-related attainment gap and would meet the developmental needs of children more effectively than current arrangements.
Do members have any comments or suggestions for action?