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This information applies to Scotland only
Education authority schools
One of the local authority’s obligations is to provide an educational service. The education authority provides free schooling for all 5-16 year olds in the area, as well as school or college places for those who want to stay on after 16.
Local schools
The education authority:
- makes decisions on what is taught in its schools
- ensures pupils have proper supervision and safe conditions at school
- publishes information on each school in its area
- provides information about how parents can exercise parental choice about which school their children attend.
As a parent you have some choice in which school your children go to.
The parents of pupils at each education authority school may have decided to set up a parent council to support the school and represent parents’ views to the school. In many cases, parent councils will have replaced the old school boards.
Special schools
The responsibility of the education authority to provide education for 5-16 year olds includes those with additional support needs. Education for pupils with additional support needs is usually provided in mainstream schools, where adequate support should be given. Additional support needs covers a wide variety of needs from bullying to learning difficulties. If you feel that your child needs extra help, you may wish to talk to the school about this.
More about additional support for learning.
There are a number of special schools in Scotland which generally deal with children who have very specific or severe additional support needs. The teachers and other staff are usually specially trained in appropriate methods of teaching and care. A small number of children in special schools attend on a residential basis so that they can receive full-time care.
Some special schools are independently run, for example by charities. The education authority may pay for a child to attend one of these.
Denominational schools
Some schools in Scotland are associated with a religious denomination. These schools are provided by the education authority. If you would like your child to attend one of these schools, you can make a special placing request. The schools are run in the same way as other education authority schools. The main differences are:
- special time may be set aside for religious services;
- an unpaid religious supervisor, for example the local priest, will report to the education authority on the religious instruction in the school.
Independent schools
Independent schools are not funded by government. Funding may be from fees only or from both fees and charitable donations.
Some schools may have scholarship schemes to assist with the cost of fees.If you are applying for a place for your child, you may wish to ask the school about scholarships or other financial assistance. You can find out more about independent schools from the Scottish Council of Independent Schools website  www.scis.org.uk.
Independent schools must be approved by the Scottish Minister for Schools and Skills. This means it must reach certain standards on premises, numbers, ages and sex of pupils, teaching staff and safety standards. Once approved the school will be placed on the Register of Independent Schools maintained by the Scottish Education Department.
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