November 2025. We provided a response to His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education’s consultation on school inspections.
School inspections are one of the ways Scotland has chosen to ensure all children’s right to education is realised.
The right to education is aspirational – even as early as 1948, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) education was to be “directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It should promote understanding [and] tolerance…”[1]
The UNCRC expands on this, addressing the right to education in two articles.
Article 28 expanded the right to education to include the development of different forms of secondary education; to make higher education accessible to all; to encourage attendance at schools; and to ensure discipline is administered in a manner consistent with the child’s dignity.[2]
Article 29 focuses on the aims of education in a way which is still progressive and visionary. It focuses on children’s individual needs, with education directed to “the development of the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential.”[3] It outlines five aims of education, which go beyond merely specifying what a child should learn. The focus is on developing the child and preparing them “for a responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of the sexes and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin”.[4]
In 2001, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued its first General Comment on Article 29(1) on the aims of education.[5] General Comment 1 recommended a range of steps states should take to align their education system with Article 29(1). These include:
- Adopt an age and developmentally appropriate curriculum consistent with Article 29, including assessing the appropriateness of teaching materials. In Scotland, this means that curriculum review should include consideration of compliance with children’s rights, as well as whether children are being taught about their rights and the rights of others.
- Ensure all staff involved in delivery of education receive the training in children’s human rights they need so that teaching and culture in schools reflect “the spirit and educational philosophy” of the Convention.
- Ensure that the general school environment and school policies reflect the values underlying Article 29.
- The aims of education, as outlined in Article 29, should be promoted broadly, so that parents and other organisations understand them.[6]
We explored the right to education in international human rights law in more detail in our report This is our lives, it matters a lot, published earlier this year.[7]
We have not responded to all sections of the consultation – particularly those that are technical in nature.
The purpose of school inspections
An independent inspectorate of education is one of the ways that Scotland has chosen to quality assure school education in Scotland. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) therefore has an important role in ensuring that the education delivered by Scotland’s schools is consistent with children’s right to education as outlined in Articles 28 and 29 of the UNCRC. HMIE will play a vital role in implementing incorporation of the UNCRC in Scottish schools.
People involved in inspection
Children and young people have a right to participate in decisions that affect them.[8] In our evidence to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on the Education (Scotland) (Act) 2025, we called for children to be given a role planning for and conducting inspections, along the lines of the Care Inspectorate’s young inspection volunteers[9]. Over the last year we have included members of our young advisors group in visits to a range of schools and other settings. Their involvement changed the tone of visits and we have noted that some children are more open to speaking about their experiences (good and bad) with a young person.
We would therefore recommend a role for children and young people that extended beyond involvement in their own school’s inspection.
We welcome the suggestion of enhanced roles for associate assessors and lay members as part of inspection teams and would suggest this could be a way to include children and young people. It is also a way to include adults with skills and knowledge which complement the teaching background of inspectors, for example in youth work, support for children with additional support needs as well as community representation. Although Articles 28 and 29 are the key focus of education, schools can have positive and negative effects on a wide range of children’s rights.[10] In our evidence on the Education (Scotland) Act, we highlighted the example of the use of restraint and seclusion as an area in which HMIE play an important role in ensuring children’s rights are respected.
Inspection frequency and selection
We did not take a position on any proposals for frequency of inspection during the passage of the Education (Scotland) Act 2025. Different schools will need different arrangements. We would expect more frequent inspections at some types of schools, for example schools in secure care settings. We are aware that concerns can arise at schools on a range of issues and that local authorities respond to these. However, we would welcome an approach which also enabled HMIE involvement at an early stage.
Design and content of a school inspection framework
As outlined above, Article 12 of the UNCRC gives children and young people a right to participate in all aspects of decision making involving them. We would therefore expect children and young people to have a significant role in the review of How Good Is Our School. This would need to be a carefully planned and properly resourced exercise that ensures that a wide range of views, ages and experiences were reflected.
Our view would be that all the aspects of education listed in questions 6.3 and 6.4 are important – they all have clear connections to children’s rights.
Children’s rights are an essential part of inspections, HMIE has a legal obligation, in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 to act in a way compatible with the rights contained in the UNCRC.[11] We are therefore concerned that question 6.3 appears to invite respondents to rank its importance.
Reporting on the outcomes of education
In addition to their right to participate in decision making, which includes a right to be notified of the outcome, the right to freedom of expression (UNCRC Article 13) includes a right to receive information in child friendly formats. Our view is that there should, at a minimum, be a child friendly version of all reports, with additional versions created for other audiences.
[1] UDHR Article 26 https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
[2] UNCRC Article 28 https://www.cypcs.org.uk/rights/uncrc/full-uncrc/#28
[3] UNCRC Article 29 (1)(a) https://www.cypcs.org.uk/rights/uncrc/full-uncrc/#29
[4] UNCRC Article 29(1)(d) https://www.cypcs.org.uk/rights/uncrc/full-uncrc/#29
[5] UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2001. General Comment No. 1, Article 29(1) The aims of education. https:// www.refworld.org/legal/general/crc/2001/en/39221
[6] Ibid
[7] CYPCS, 2025. This is our lives, it matters a lot. Putting children’s rights at the heart of education. https://www.cypcs.org.uk/wpcypcs/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/March-2025-Education-reform-report-FINAL.pdf
[8] UNCRC Article 12
[9] CYPCS, 2024. Education (Scotland) Bill. https://www.cypcs.org.uk/resources/ed-bill-2024/
[10] CYPCS, 2025. This is our lives, it matters a lot. Putting children’s rights at the heart of education. https://www.cypcs.org.uk/wpcypcs/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/March-2025-Education-reform-report-FINAL.pdf page 15.
[11] United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 section 6 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2024/1/contents/enacted