Elected Member Briefing - Education Scotland inspection of ESOL

About this Briefing Note

Report by: Elaine Ritchie, Strategic Lead - Housing and Communities

EMBN Number: 162-25 

Date: 19 December 2025

Subject: Education Scotland inspection of ESOL

Responsible Officer: David Stokoe, Service Manager - Communities

Details

Purpose

To provide elected members on the Learning and Families Committee with an update on the outcomes of thematic inspection by Education Scotland of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision in Perth and Kinross. 

Briefing Information 

At the request of the national Community Learning and Development (CLD) Strategic Leadership Group, HM Inspectors undertook a thematic review focused of ESOL provision across Scotland. This follows concerns raised in the Learning: For All. For Life. A report from the Independent Review of Community Learning and Development (CLD) and Education Scotland's national report Evaluation of community learning and development in Scotland published in December 2024.  

The review aimed to gather insights into:  

• What has changed since 2024 
• What improvements are emerging 
• What barriers to provision remain

The Council volunteered to participate in the thematic inspection as one of the urban localities and an inspection team from Education Scotland visited Perth on 12 November where they met CLD staff, volunteers and learners at the ESOL learning centre on High Street, young people seeking asylum at Scott Street, UHI Perth and our third sector delivery partners ESOL Perth and Bajka.

The thematic review explored how effectively ESOL providers are responding to the challenges highlighted in the independent review, with a particular focus on: 

• accessibility of provision to meet individual learner needs, 
• collaboration among ESOL providers to remove barriers, and 
• workforce capacity to support learners effectively. 

Findings from the visit to Perth will be incorporated into a national report. However we did receive the following verbal feedback at the conclusion of the day: 

• The visit was well-organised and the inspection team were able to access all of the information they needed in their visit 
• There was evidence of clear partnership co-ordination with strong support for learners 
• There was evidence of impactful work meeting learner needs, and it was evident that access to classes was relatively easy 
• Visit to ESOL Perth enabled them to learn about wider issues which can affect learners and that learners look to ESOL Perth for support beyond ESOL provision  
• Effective communication channels evident in Perth UHI 
• Evidence of powerful stories and the positive impact that ESOL programmes have on learners 
• Welcome inclusive environment, positive picture, appropriate provision across all partners 
• Learners have a clear idea of where they want to go once initial learning complete 
• Wider support for learners also evident at CASA visit - integrated approach evident ("part of a family") 
• Stability/consistency - learners were given time to learn at their own pace 
• Passion of staff incredible - level of commitment clearly evident  
• Strong cultural approach to learning and taking part in community events 

Suggested areas for development:  

• Opportunity for workforce development across sectors to increase professionalism of ESOL provision   
• Uncertainty about long term funding was noted   

A summary of all findings will be drafted by Education Scotland using the evidence gathered during the thematic review. Initial findings will be shared with the CLD Strategic Leadership Group in December 2025. A final report will be published in early 2026. Following publication, HM Inspectors will engage with stakeholders to share the findings from the review.