Scotland's distinct and independent education system predates the devolution era and the international excellence of Scottish education long predates the Act of Union.
The Scottish Government is committed to making , and the journey towards achieving this ambition has gathered pace since the Scottish Parliament was re-established in 1999.
We could go further and faster towards making Scotland the best place in the world for children and young people to grow up a reality in an independent Scotland. But still, too many decisions impacting our young people are being left to the UK Government – from social security policies pushing children into poverty, to cuts to capital budgets limiting investments the Scottish Government can make, decisions made at Westminster are holding back Scotland's young people from meeting their full potential.
Making decisions on education in Scotland, for Scotland has seen a transformation in the life chances of our children and young people: from the offer of a baby box, to the most generous ELC offer across the UK, to investing more per pupil than anywhere else across the UK, to free tuition fees. Building on our achievements to date, this paper has set out the actions the Scottish Government could take in an independent Scotland to enable every child and young person, and every learner whatever their age, to flourish.