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Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (the Act) requires Scottish public authorities to produce and maintain a guide to information. Authorities are under a legal obligation to:
- publish the classes of information that they make routinely available
- tell the public how to access the information and what it might cost
Education Scotland has adopted the Model Publication Scheme produced by the Scottish Information Commissioner with no amendments.
The purpose of this 'Guide to information' is to:
- allow the public to see what information is available (and what is not available) in relation to each class (a class is a group of information having one or more common characteristics such as subject or origin)
- state what charges may be applied
- explain how to find the information easily
- provide contact details for enquiries and to get help with accessing the information
- explain how to request information we hold that has not been published
Education Scotland
Education Scotland is the Scottish Government's national curriculum agency for Scotland, centring on design, delivery and ongoing improvement of the curriculum that is taught in schools and settings across the country.
It came into existence on 1 July 2011 as an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government.
Availability and formats
The information we publish through the model publication scheme is, wherever possible, available on the Education Scotland website.
We offer alternative arrangements for people who do not want to, or cannot, access the information online or by inspection at our premises. For example, we can usually arrange to send information to you in paper copy (although there may be a charge for this).
Exempt information
We will publish the information we hold which falls within the classes of information below. If a document contains information that is exempt under Scotland's Freedom of Information laws, FOI (for example sensitive personal information or a trade secret), we will remove or redact the information before publication and explain why.
Copyright
The information we produce is subject to Crown copyright, which is administered by the Queen's Printer for Scotland. The material listed in this publication scheme is Crown copyright unless stated otherwise. You may use and re-use the information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence, provided it is reproduced accurately and not used in any misleading context.
Where any of the Crown copyright items published through this guide are being republished or copied to others, the source of the material must be identified and the copyright status acknowledged.
Images and videos we publish are also subject to Crown copyright protection unless otherwise indicated. For example some photographs and videos which are identified as the copyright of a third party are not covered by Crown copyright.
It is your responsibility to obtain permission or other authorisation to use such material from the copyright holder. If you are unsure about copyright status of our material please contact us.
For further information on Crown copyright policy and licensing arrangements see the National Archives guidance.
Charges
This section explains when we may make a charge for our publications and how any charge will be calculated.
There is no charge to view information on our website or at our premises or for information provided by email. We may charge for providing information to you e.g. photocopying and postage, but we will charge you no more than it actually costs us to do so. We will always tell you what the cost is before providing the information to you.
Photocopying is charged at 10p per A4 sheet for black and white copying and 30p per A4 sheet for colour copying.
When providing copies of pre-printed publications, we will charge no more than the cost per copy of the total print run. We do not pass on any other costs to you in relation to our published information.
Please note that this charging schedule does not apply to any commercial publications.
We are required by the Equality Act 2010 to take steps to meet the needs of people who share a relevant protected characteristic. In terms of access to information, this means making reasonable adjustments to our practices to ensure that information is physically accessible.
This may, for example, involve producing information in a larger script or different format where it is practicable to do so. The costs of this will be met by us. Charges for information are available only through request.
Non-environmental information
Education Scotland does not charge anyone for making Freedom of Information requests (FOI) for, nor for providing, information under FOISA, but we will refuse to deal with a request where we estimate that it will cost more than £600 to locate, retrieve and provide the information.
Environmental information
Education Scotland does not charge anyone for making Environmental Information requests (EIRs) for, nor for providing, environmental information under the EIRs, up to a limit of £600. Thereafter we may charge the full cost of providing the information.
In the event that we decide to charge for the full cost of a request under the EIRs costing over £600, we will issue you with notification of the charge and how it has been calculated. If you decide not to proceed with the request there will be no charge to you.
Charges are calculated on the basis of the actual cost to the agency of locating, retrieving and providing the environmental information.
Photocopying is charged at 10p per A4 sheet for black and white copying and 30p per A4 sheet for colour copying.
Postage is charged at actual rate for first class mail.
Staff time is calculated at actual cost per staff member hourly salary rate to a maximum of £15 per person per hour.
Advice and assistance
You can contact us for assistance with any aspect of this Guide to Information.
We will also advise you how to ask for information that we do not publish or how to complain if you are dissatisfied with any aspect of this publication scheme.
Duration
Where available and still current, information will be accessible through this Guide to Information for at least the current and previous two financial years. If you would like to see previous versions, you may make a request to us for that information.
This Guide to Information was last updated in June 2026.
The classes of information that we publish
We publish information that we hold within the following classes. Once information is published under a class we will continue to make it available for the current and previous two financial years.
Where information has been updated or superseded, only the current version will be available. If you would like to see previous versions, you may make a request to us for that information.
Class 1: About the authority
Information about Education Scotland - who we are; where to find us; how to contact us; how we are managed; and our external relations.
General Information
How Education Scotland is run
Governance and Accountability
- Education Scotland Framework
- Education Scotland Annual Report and Accounts
- Education Scotland Corporate Plan
- Education Scotland Annual Action Plan 2025-26
- Corporate Finance Strategy 25-26
- Digital Strategy
- Gaelic Language Plan
- Corporate Parenting Plan
- Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy
- Estates Strategy
- Procurement Strategy
- Records Management Policy
- Education Scotland Equality Strategy
- Education Scotland Equality Policy
- Equality Impact Assessments
- Children’s Rights and Participation Strategy
External Relations/working with others
Class 2: How we deliver our functions and services
Information about our work, our strategy and policies for delivering functions and services and information for our service users.
- What we do
- Curriculum Improvement Cycle
- Education Scotland Corporate Plan
- Education Scotland Annual Action Plan 2025-26
- Events
- Professional Learning Activities
- Professional Learning Programmes
- Professional Learning Video Library
- Glow
- Practitioner Resources – By Theme
- Parentzone
- Education Scotland Associates
- Early Learning and Childcare
- Community Learning and Development
- Scottish Attainment Challenge
Class 3: How we take decisions and what we have decided
Information about the decisions we take, how we make decisions and how we involve others.
Class 4: What we spend and how we spend it
Information about our strategy for, and management of, financial resources in sufficient detail to explain how we plan to spend public money and what has actually been spent.
Class 5: How we manage our human, physical and information resources
Information about how we manage the human, physical and information resources of the agency.
Class 6: How we procure goods and services from external providers
Information about how we procure goods and services, and our contracts with external providers.
Class 7: How we are performing
Information about how the agency performs as an organisation, and how well it delivers its functions and services
Class 8: Our commercial publications
Information packaged and made available for sale on a commercial basis.
We do not hold or publish data under this class.
Class 9: Our open data
Open data made available by Education Scotland as described by the Scottish Government’s Open Data Resource Pack.
We do not hold or publish data under this class.
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