The Gaelic Medium Education (Assessment Requests) (Scotland) Regulations 2016

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Section 7(1) of the Education (Scotland) Act 2016 (“the 2016 Act”) provides that a parent of a child under school age may request the education authority in whose area the child is resident to assess the need for Gaelic medium primary education (“GMPE”). Such a request will trigger the assessment process in sections 8 to 13 of the 2016 Act.

Section 7(2) of the 2016 Act requires that such a request must relate to only one child (“the specified child”) and contain evidence of demand for GMPE from parents of other children under school age in the same year group and resident in the same education authority area as the specified child.

Section 7(3) of the 2016 Act provides that such a request may also contain evidence that there is demand for GMPE from parents of other children under school age resident in the same education authority area as the specified child but in a different year group.

Section 7(4) of the 2016 Act defines “year group” to mean the group of children under school age all of whom, on commencing primary education at a primary school in that education authority area, will be in the same yearly stage of primary education. This definition is relied on in these Regulations.

Section 7(5) of the 2016 Act enables the Scottish Ministers to make, by regulations, further provision about requests under section 7(1). Section 7(6) specifies that such regulations may, in particular, include provision for or in connection with the form of the request and the manner in which it is made as well as any information that must or may accompany the request.

As such, regulation 2 and the schedule of these Regulations prescribe the form that a request to assess the need for GMPE must follow (including the information which it must and may contain) and regulation 3 prescribes the manner in which the request must be made. Regulation 2 allows the form to be adapted for electronic use so long as it is to the same effect as the form set out in the schedule of these Regulations.