Education, Children and Young People Committee 17 December 2025
Good morning. The year 2025 is proving to be a landmark one in Scottish education. Children in our primary and secondary schools are achieving record levels in literacy and numeracy. Crucially, the poverty-related gap in attainment in literacy and numeracy between children from the most and the least deprived communities is at a record low level.
Attendance of children and young people has increased, with the attendance rate reaching 91 per cent in 2024-25. Thanks to our additional investment in this year’s budget, we have seen an increase in the number of teachers in Scotland’s classrooms, an improvement in the pupil-to-teacher ratio and a reduction in average class size. The evidence demonstrates that our focus on the ABCs—attendance, attainment, behaviour and curriculum—is working. It also demonstrates the commitment to equity in our schools, thanks to the transformational impact of the Scottish attainment challenge over the past decade.
Progress continues to be made on widening access to higher education. The latest Universities and Colleges Admissions Service data in 2025 shows continuing positive trends, such as the number of 18-year-olds accepted from the most deprived areas having increased to 2,200 since the 2024 cycle. That is a record high, with young people choosing to study in Scotland, supported by Scotland’s continued commitment to free tuition. There was also a positive picture for entrants to further and higher education who are care experienced or have a disability.
How we support children in their earliest years and ensure that no child is left behind is key to enabling more children and young people to succeed at school and beyond. The number of children in care is now at the lowest level since 2006. Every three and four-year-old and more than 230,000 children in primaries 1 to 5 are entitled to a free school meal, and we have expanded entitlement in primary 6 and 7 and into secondary 1 to 3. This year, we have awarded £3 million to 490 breakfast clubs, which has helped to establish 142 new clubs, created almost 9,000 places and supported up to 20,000 children.
However, I fully acknowledge that more work can always be done and that challenges remain. The proportion of eligible two-year-olds who are registered for early learning and childcare has fallen nationally, which is disappointing. Our investment in an Improvement Service project in five local authority areas seeks to address barriers and apply what works across Scotland.
Attendance is improving, but still too many children are persistently absent from school, which is why Education Scotland continues to run its improving attendance quality improvement programme, and I have tasked the interim chief inspector of education with ensuring that persistent absence is addressed in every school inspection.
New data shows that 43 per cent of our children and young people have additional support needs. Addressing that is a priority, and I set out more on that in my statement to the Parliament last week. I also recognise the financial challenges that colleges and universities face, and my officials continue to work closely with the sector to support them where we can.
I anticipate that the budget process will be challenging for the Scottish Government as a whole. In that context, there is strong delivery on our work to give children the best start in life. It is supported by this year’s £4.3 billion investment in education and skills, which is a £123 million uplift on the previous year. That should be celebrated but also protected.
My ministers and I welcome the opportunity to discuss those achievements and challenges with you this morning.