Gaelic Language Plan: progress report
This report provides a summary of His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education’s (HMIE) progress in delivering commitments for the Gaelic Language Plan during the academic year 2024 to 2025.
It evaluates the delivery against the planned actions across inspection, building capacity, supporting improvement, influencing policy and corporate responsibilities.
Evidence of progress is from internal monitoring and progress data, as well as stakeholder evaluations from questionnaires and discussions.
The statutory basis for this report
A progress report is required under Section 6 of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005. This enables Bòrd na Gàidhlig to request a report on the extent to which HMIE has implemented the measures set out in the plan.
The aims of the plan are integral to the inspectorate’s statutory inspection functions. Objectives set out how inspection reflects and evaluates the distinctiveness of Gaelic education. HMIE aims to ensure that equal respect for the language is embedded across methodologies and reporting. The aims of the HMIE Gaelic Language Plan align with national priorities for Gaelic.
Gaelic has increased significance within the Education (Scotland) Act 2025. Section 33 of the Act formally establishes the office of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland. This places explicit statutory duties on the Chief Inspector to advance and protect the interests of learners receiving Gaelic Education. Section 43 specifies that the Chief Inspector must have regard for:
“those who are receiving, or wish to receive, Gaelic Learner Education, Gaelic Medium Education, and the experience of persons providing teaching or training in a relevant educational establishment”.
Executive summary
In the 2024 to 2025 academic year, HMIE continued to deliver substantial inspection and improvement activities for Gaelic Medium Education, Gaelic (Learners), and the wider connected, interdependent educational system. HMIE recorded positive progress in several areas, notably:
- strengthened assurance and public accountability
- deployment of specialist inspectors
- reporting of progress
- evidence-based contributions to national policy development
The Advice on Gaelic Education continues to support self-evaluation successfully for the Gaelic sector. It also supports transparency in how we inspect the Gaelic sector alongside other sector frameworks, such as the How good is our series.
We published a national report of analysis of inspection findings on Gaelic in January 2026.