Legislation – Education (Scotland) Act 2025
Part 1
Qualifications Scotland
2 The function of awarding qualifications
3 The quality assurance function
6 Working with, or recognition of, others
7 Duties when exercising functions
8 Consultation with Strategic Advisory Council
10 Expert Group on Qualifications Standards
12 The teacher and practitioner charter
13 Reviewing and revising the charters
15 Guidance about assistance for people with educational support needs
16 Corporate plan of Qualifications Scotland
17 Annual report of Qualifications Scotland
18 Annual quality assurance compliance report of Qualifications Scotland
19 Reports of advice to Qualifications Scotland from certain committees
20 Accounts and audit of Qualifications Scotland
21 Scottish Ministers’ power to direct Qualifications Scotland
22 Guidance by the Scottish Ministers to Qualifications Scotland
23 Provision of information by Qualifications Scotland
24 Corporate plan of the Accreditation Committee
25 Annual report of the Accreditation Committee
26 Scottish Ministers’ power to direct the Accreditation Committee
28 Funding and use of resources
31 Review of arrangements for assuring quality of qualifications
32 Review of accreditation function
Part 2
His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland
33 His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland
34 Deputy Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland
35 His Majesty’s Inspectors of Education in Scotland
36 Assistance with inspections
39 Meaning of “relevant educational establishment” and “excepted establishment”
40 The voluntary arrangements function
43 Duties when exercising functions
48 Report on performance of the Scottish education system
50 Protection from actions of defamation
52 Powers of entry and inspection
55 Necessary improvements: referral to Scottish Ministers
56 Preliminary notice of enforcement action
Part 3
General and miscellaneous
59 Transfer of staff, property etc. to Qualifications Scotland
60 Dissolution of the Scottish Qualifications Authority
62 Consequential modifications
SCHEDULES
Schedule 1 Qualifications Scotland
Schedule 2 The Office of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland
Schedule 3 Transfer of staff, property etc. to Qualifications Scotland
Part 2His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland
Enforcement following school-related inspections
55Necessary improvements: referral to Scottish Ministers
(1)
This section applies where, after an inspection carried out in pursuance of section 38(2) of a public school, a grant-aided school or an education authority, the report on the inspection prepared under section 46 identifies that a relevant person requires to take action to secure improvement in—
(a)
in the case of inspection of a school, a matter relating to the school or the school education provided in it,
(b)
in the case of inspection of an education authority, the way the education authority exercises a function in relation to the provision of school education.
(2)
The Chief Inspector must make a referral to the Scottish Ministers where it appears to the Chief Inspector that—
(a)
having been given sufficient opportunity to secure improvement in the matter or exercise of the function in question, the relevant person is failing or has failed to take satisfactory action to do so, and
(b)
having regard to the seriousness of the failure, an enforcement direction is justified.
(3)
A referral under subsection (2) must—
(a)
be in writing,
(b)
specify the failure mentioned in subsection (2)(a), and
(c)
include recommendations as to the action which, in the opinion of the Chief Inspector, the relevant person requires to take to remedy, or prevent the recurrence of, the failure.
(4)
Where a referral is made under subsection (2), the Chief Inspector must inform the relevant person of that fact.
(5)
For the purposes of this section and sections 56 and 57—
(a)
“relevant person” means—
(i)
in relation to the inspection of a public school or an education authority, the education authority,
(ii)
in relation to the inspection of a grant-aided school, the managers of the school,
(b)
any expression used in this section and in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 has the same meaning as in that Act.