Education Resources

About us

Education Resources is the largest service within South Lanarkshire Council. We are responsible for delivering high‑quality education and related support services to children, young people and families across South Lanarkshire, from early years through to post‑school destinations.

Every day, our services support around 55,000 learners and their families, working across diverse communities with differing needs, strengths and aspirations. We employ over 7,000 staff, including teachers, early years practitioners, support staff, educational psychologists and central specialist teams, all committed to improving outcomes for children and young people.

Our educational provision

We deliver education and learning through a wide range of settings and services, including:

Primary education across 129 primary schools, including schools for children with additional support needs
Secondary education across 20 secondary schools, including ASN schools and a Social, Emotional and Behavioural Needs establishment
Early Learning and Childcare, including 67 nursery classes within schools, 22 standalone council nurseries and 98 funded partner early years providers
Community learning and development, through our Youth, Family and Community Learning Service
Specialist support services, including Educational Psychology, Inclusion Services and central improvement teams

Together, these services ensure children and young people are supported throughout their educational journey and beyond.

Our purpose and commitment

Education Resources is committed to meeting the needs of every child and young person, regardless of background, ability or circumstance. Our approach is grounded in:

equity and inclusion
children’s rights and participation
wellbeing and belonging
high‑quality learning, teaching and assessment

Our work is closely aligned with the Council Plan, the Community Plan, and the Scottish Government’s National Improvement Framework, ensuring our priorities contribute to improved learning outcomes, wellbeing and life chances for all learners.

Our current focus

Education Resources is responding to national reform, local priorities and feedback from children, families, staff and partners. This includes learning from Education Scotland’s review of local authorities, which highlighted the importance of strong improvement cultures, consistent support and effective self‑evaluation. Our current focus includes:

Improving learning, teaching and assessment

High‑quality learning and teaching remain at the heart of what we do. This includes:

Improving consistency in learning, teaching and assessment across all settings
Strengthening literacy, numeracy and digital skills for all learners
Developing adaptive teaching approaches to better meet individual needs
Using digital tools, including emerging technologies such as AI, to enhance learning

Developing a coherent 3–18 curriculum

Curriculum reform is a key national priority. We are working to ensure our curriculum is:

Relevant, coherent and future‑focused
Strongly focused on skills for learning, life and work
Inclusive of wellbeing, literacy and numeracy across all stages
Carefully planned to support smooth transitions from early years through to senior phase

Wellbeing, inclusion and equity

Wellbeing and inclusion underpin everything we do. This includes:

improving school attendance and engagement
strengthening support for learners with additional support needs
improving experiences and outcomes for care‑experienced children and young people
supporting families through early help, intervention and locality‑based approaches
strengthening parental engagement, particularly where children have complex needs

This work reflects national legislation, including the incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and our commitment to ensuring every child feels safe, supported and included.

A self-improving system

To deliver sustainable improvement, Education Resources is developing a more connected and cohesive 3–18 education support service. This includes:

strengthening leadership at all levels
improving self‑evaluation and evidence‑based improvement planning
making better use of data to support learning and wellbeing
providing clearer, more consistent support to schools and early years settings
ensuring the views of children, young people, parents, carers and staff shape improvement

This work is helping to build a strong focus on collaboration, professional learning and shared responsibility.