Scottish Ministers have made the Education (Scotland) Act 2025 (Commencement No. 1 and Transitory Provision) Regulations 2025 (SSI 2025/351), bringing initial provisions of the 2025 Act into force on 1 December 2025. The instrument was made on 13 November and laid before the Scottish Parliament on 17 November 2025, according to the official text.
Regulation 2 appoints 1 December 2025 as the commencement date for the provisions listed in the Schedule to the Regulations. Where the Schedule specifies a purpose in column 3, the relevant provision comes into force only for that stated purpose, allowing targeted activation of discrete functions within the wider statute.
Regulation 3 provides a transitional reading for paragraph 3(10) of Schedule 1 to the Act, which relates to Qualifications Scotland: Part 2 (membership). For that paragraph, the terms “relevant qualification” and, by extension, “relevant teaching or training” are to be interpreted in line with the temporary definition set out in the Regulations.
During the transition period, “relevant qualification” includes three categories: a Qualifications Scotland qualification; a qualification devised or awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA); and a qualification accredited by either Qualifications Scotland or the SQA. This aligns statutory wording with the move from legacy SQA arrangements to the new body.
The transitional reading applies from 1 December 2025 until 30 November 2029. From 1 December 2029, the Act’s standing definition-limited to Qualifications Scotland qualifications and those accredited by Qualifications Scotland-will apply without the additional SQA routes.
In practical terms, the measure ensures that individuals holding SQA-devised or SQA-accredited awards are not excluded from the membership provisions in Schedule 1 during the four-year handover. References to “relevant teaching or training” are read on the same basis, maintaining continuity of eligibility linked to SQA-era professional formation.
The Regulations are made under section 66(2) and (4) of the Education (Scotland) Act 2025 (asp 11). The Bill received Royal Assent on 6 August 2025; sections 63 to 67 commenced the following day. The instrument is signed by Natalie Don‑Innes, authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers, at St Andrew’s House on 13 November 2025.
For education authorities, colleges, training providers and arm’s‑length bodies, implementation is primarily administrative. Internal governance documents, recruitment criteria and committee terms that reference “relevant qualification” should reflect the temporary reading, with mapping of SQA awards to Qualifications Scotland descriptors to ensure consistent application through to 30 November 2029.
The Regulations are a commencement and definitional instrument rather than a change to curricula or assessment practice. Learners’ certificates and operational teaching programmes are unaffected by this text; the effect is to provide legal certainty across appointments and governance while the institutional transition from SQA to Qualifications Scotland proceeds.