Attainment in Edinburgh schools is at the highest levels ever recorded within the senior phase
A report highlighting achievements and progress in attainment among learners for academic session 2025-26 was discussed at Education, Children and Families Committee on 3 November.
Pupils in S4-S6 achieved the best attainment on record for the Council for almost all key breadth and depth measures including the number gaining good passes in National 3-5, Higher and Advanced Higher. The number of vocational qualifications passes also improved from 914 in 2023 to 2216 in 2026.
In primary schools, literacy and numeracy has improved on last year.
Despite the positive progress, there is more to be done to close the poverty related attainment gap and guidance and support continues to be offered to schools to make closing the gap a priority.
Commenting on the report, Councillor James Dalgleish, Education, Children and Families Convenor said: “This report shows the highest ever recorded attainment for young people in Edinburgh.
“The achievement shines a light on the hard work of our pupils, teachers and school staff. The National and Higher results are fantastic and to have over 2000 people achieve vocational passes is incredible work. These courses help young people make informed choices and also offer a route into work.
“While attainment overall has improved, the gap between the richest and poorest in Edinburgh is still too wide. I am committed to working closely with officers to understand why this is the case and how we can work to close the poverty related attainment gap.”
TODAY – Wednesday, 11 November 2026 threatening messages were sent to a number of schools in Scotland and across and the UK.
These messages were immediately assessed and are being treated as hoaxes. Our enquiries have established that there is nothing to suggest that they represent a credible threat or that there is any wider threat to the public.
We understand how distressing messages of this nature can be for pupils, parents, carers and school staff, and the concern they can understandably cause.
Our advice is that there is no requirement to evacuate schools or keep children away from education based solely on the content of the emails. They have been sent widely to distribution lists across the UK and Northern Ireland and our assessment remains that they do not represent a credible threat.
Police Scotland’s Cyber and Fraud Unit is carrying out extensive enquiries to establish the source of the messages, and officers continue to liaise with law enforcement partners across the UK and internationally.
Every SCS Homes tenant has kept their home this year, as record homelessness figures put pressure on ministers
Every tenancy in Simon Community Scotland’s SCS Homes project has been sustained this year, charity reveals
Across Scotland, 83% of Housing First tenancies are still in place 12 months after they start
The latest Scottish Government report on homelessness to 31st March 2026 highlighted that there were 41,443 homelessness applications, a slight increase of 197 compared to 2024–25
A record 10,715 children are living in temporary accommodation in Scotland
SCS Homes owns 32 homes in Edinburgh for people moving through Housing First, and every tenant has a named support worker and wider team support
Kirsty, who has been affected by homelessness since she was a teenager, shares her story in a new film for This is Community, the campaign marking 60 years of Simon Community Scotland
Every tenant in Simon Community Scotland’s SCS Homes has kept their home this year, while more people in Scotland are living in temporary accommodation than ever before.
Scottish Government figures show 19,004 households, including 10,715 children, were in temporary accommodation as of March 2026, the highest on record.
New YouGov polling found 58% of adults want the Government to do more.
SCS Homes takes a different approach.
The charity owns 32 homes across Edinburgh and lets them at affordable rents to people moving through the Housing First programme. Each tenant has a dedicated support worker who offers support tailored to each individual situation.
Charlie West, SCS Homes & Support Coordinator at Simon Community Scotland, said: “SCS Homes are more than just a roof over someone’s head, our homes offer stability, security and a fresh start.
“Alongside a home, each person has a dedicated support worker who offers ongoing, person-centred support.
“That helps people sustain their tenancy, build confidence, develop independent living skills and connect with the wider community. We also help open doors to other services, opportunities and support networks.
“We believe success isn’t just about ending homelessness. It’s about helping people maintain a home, become part of their community and build a life they can be proud of.”
Kirstyis one of the people living in an SCS Home. For a long time, she didn’t know where she would be sleeping from one night to the next.
The night before she moved in, she almost talked herself out of it. Her support worker, Melissa, was there, and that made the difference.
Melissa kept turning up afterwards too, helping with ordinary things – like getting the flooring sorted, until the flat started to feel like Kirsty’s own.
Kirsty said: “Not knowing where you’re sleeping from night to night, that’s tiring. I kept myself clean, and I kept myself out of trouble, and I got this place. And that’s just changed my life.
“I’ve got all my family. I’ve got everything back. I am the happiest woman ever.”
Melissabrings her own story to the job. She said: “I’ve got lived experience as well with addiction.
“Being able to share that with people I support is a good thing, because it can give people who are in active addiction a bit of hope that actually, you can do this.”
Kirsty’s film is the latest in This is Community, Simon Community Scotland’s 60th anniversary campaign.
SCS Homes began in 2021 with £5m of social investment from the Social and Sustainable Housing Fund, managed by Social and Sustainable Capital. £1 million of which came from the University of Edinburgh. Homes are let at local housing allowance rents.
Seven in 10 babies in Scotland are now breastfed after birth, the highest levels since records began, with new figures showing the greatest increases in the most deprived areas of the country.
The 2025-26 Infant Feeding statistics also reveal that breastfeeding is being maintained for longer, with over three quarters of women (77%) continuing to breastfeed by 6-8 weeks, compared to 64% in 2016-17.
To gain more insight into breastfeeding experiences and build on existing support, the Scottish Government has also announced a new infant feeding survey. This will explore factors influencing what a newborn is fed, as well as experiences of support, maternal nutrition and wider social and economic influences on families.
Public Health Minister Maree Todd said: “Breastfeeding gives babies the best nutritional start in life, so I welcome the news that so many babies in Scotland are now being breastfed.
“I also want to thank all the healthcare staff and their partner organisations who work tirelessly to help new mums to achieve their breastfeeding goals.
“Our new infant feeding survey will complement these annual statistics, providing valuable insight into the experiences of new mothers across Scotland. It will enable us to continue reducing inequalities and improve outcomes for women, babies and families across the country.
“We will also continue to support new parents with their infant feeding choices as we know breastfeeding may not be possible for every woman.”
UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative Programme Director, Shereen Fisher said: “The Scottish Infant Feeding Survey is an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mothers’ experiences of feeding and caring for their babies, the support available to them, and the wider factors that shape their experiences.
“Listening to mothers and families, and understanding where inequalities persist, is essential to improving services and ensuring every family receives compassionate, evidence-based support that responds to their needs.
“We welcome the contribution this survey will make to building the evidence and shaping future support for babies and families across Scotland.”
First phase of Your Voice: Visitor Levy is now open for ideas until 6 December 2026
Residents across Edinburgh are being asked to share their ideas for how some of the funds raised through the Visitor Levy should be spent in their local areas, as the Council launches Your Voice: Visitor Levy.
Each of the Council’s 17 electoral wards will benefit from a share of £1.7m over three years, allowing the benefits to reach every part of the city. Residents will directly decide how to spend the portion of Levy income in their local ward via a new online voting portal.
The initiative is a new Participatory Budgeting programme, which gives residents the chance to suggest ideas and vote on how public money should be spent. Visitor Levy funding must be reinvested in facilities and services used by visitors, helping to improve Edinburgh for residents, workers and students too.
The share of the fund that each ward will receive is influenced by local needs and population, with areas of greater economic need getting a slightly larger share.
Culture and Communities Convener Margaret Graham said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for everyone to help shape how a portion of Visitor Levy funding is invested in neighbourhoods across the city.
“We want to hear directly from local people about what matters most in your communities – and encourage visitors to see more of the Edinburgh’s wonderful neighbourhoods beyond the city centre.
“The ideas you share now will help community groups in your area develop proposals that reflect genuine local priorities and deliver things that benefit both residents and visitors.
“We know communities themselves are best placed to identify local needs and opportunities, and we’re keen to make participation easy as possible with plenty of opportunities to participate and have your say.
“Whether it’s improving parks and public spaces, supporting cultural activities, celebrating local heritage, or creating new opportunities for sport and physical activities, now is your chance to tell us what would make the biggest difference where you live.
“These suggested themes are just a starting point, and we’re looking forward to seeing the first sets of project ideas emerge and take shape in every corner of the city.”
The first stage of the initiative opens today with a call for communities and residents to say how they want the money to be spent in their area.
Step 1: Tell us your ideas (9 November – 6 December 2026) Before applications open, we want to hear from local people about what matters to them most. Ideas shared will help community groups and charities put forward projects that reflect real local needs.
People can take part in two ways:
Submit ideas online: tell us what kind of projects you want to see funded in your local community.
Invite the Your Voice team to a meeting: community groups with a meeting or network event between 9 November and 6 December can get in touch at yourvoice@edinburgh.gov.uk, and a member of the team will attend to explain the project and collect ideas.
Potential projects could include:
Community and public art
Cultural events and performances
Sport events and physical activities
Improvements to parks and public spaces
Heritage and community history projects
These are just suggestions, and everyone who takes part will also be given the opportunity to suggest other types of projects.
Next steps
4 January – 6 March 2027: Applications open. Community organisations and charities will apply for funding in response to the ideas and priorities local people have shared.
May – June 2027: Residents vote. Local people will decide which proposals they want to see funded in their ward.
June – July 2027: Awards made. Successful applicants with the highest number of votes will receive the funding.
Your Voice: Visitor Levy is funded by the Edinburgh Visitor Levy, which came into effect in July.
The initiative has been designed to empower the city’s local communities, increase civic engagement and improve Edinburgh’s neighbourhoods in a way that addresses local priorities.
In accordance with the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act (2024), funds raised by the levy must be reinvested in local facilities and services substantially used by business and leisure visitors. However, participatory budgeting may also benefit residents and those who work and study in Edinburgh.
The levy’s agreed investment programmes are worth over £90 million over the next three years and have been designed to sustain and enhance Edinburgh’s reputation as one of the most beautiful and enjoyable destinations in the world.
The £2.62m Innovate Fund to provide extra support for all eligible cultural and arts organisations – including those operating at a local community level – to improve resilience, support programming innovation and enhance cultural output.
A £132,000 contribution towards Edinburgh’s Festival Carnival and Mardi Gras events, which took place over the weekend of 18/19 July, providing an early demonstration of the Council’s intent to reinvest the levy’s funds into experiences that everyone can enjoy, whether they are visitors or residents.
Funding ten festival city ambassadors to help visitors find their way around the capital this summer, and work alongside the Council’s partners to make sure Edinburgh remains a vibrant and inclusive place.
Detectives investigating disorder in the Oxgangs area of Edinburgh on Bonfire Night are appealing for witnesses.
Around 5.30pm on Thursday, 5 November, 2026, police received a report of a group of youths creating a blockage on Oxgangs Road North.
Officers attended and fireworks were set off in their direction.
Several small fires in bins and the park were extinguished by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
No injuries were reported during the incident.
Detective Inspector Sophie McWhinnie said: “Antisocial behaviour, disorder and targeting officers in this way is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
“Extensive enquiries are ongoing to identify those responsible and ensure they are brought to justice.
“We’re appealing for anyone who was in the area who witnessed what happened, or may have mobile phone footage, to get in touch.
“We’d also urge people to check any private CCTV, ring doorbells or dashcams in case they have captured anything which could be of significance to our investigation.”
Anyone with information can contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident 2538 of Thursday, 5 November, 2026.
Zero carbon ready homes on premium site will include 169 affordable properties – construction due to start in February 2027
Hundreds of new zero-carbon-ready homes are set to be built in New Brunstane, with a major development due to get under way next year at one of the most sought-after sites in Edinburgh.
Persimmon Homes East Scotland is bringing forward plans for 485 new homes, including 316 private properties and 169 affordable homes.
The development will offer a mix of homes ranging from two-bedroom terraces to five-bedroom detached properties, providing options for first-time buyers, families and downsizers.
All of the homes will be zero-carbon-ready, featuring the latest energy-efficient technology. Each home will include solar panels, electric vehicle charging points and sustainable non-gas heating, including air source heat pumps.
Construction is expected to begin in February 2027. The site forms part of a wider development area which already benefits from planning approval. City of Edinburgh Council approved the wider Planning Permission in Principle in November 2020, with Dandara subsequently securing approval for the detailed matters of the wider site in July 2023.
Mark Sinclair, Land Director at Persimmon Homes East Scotland, said:“This is an exciting opportunity to deliver a significant number of high-quality new homes, on one of the most sought-after sites in Edinburgh.
“The new community will feature zero-carbon-ready homes and offer something for everyone – from first-time buyers and growing families to downsizers. 169 of the homes will also be allocated to help local people in housing need.
“We look forward to getting work under way next year and delivering high-quality, energy-efficient homes for people in the local area.”
Thousands of A&E patients across the UK every day, including patients in mental health crisis and children, are being forced to receive care on chairs or trolleys, in waiting rooms or in corridors, according to a new survey conducted by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM).
This new survey, the results of which were first published by ITV News yesterday, asked clinical leads – doctors who lead Emergency Departments (EDs) – from 106 hospitals across the four nations of the UK to count the number of patients experiencing corridor care at a given moment in time at the start of November.
Corridor care is where patients are treated in inappropriate spaces in EDs. These spaces include ambulances, corridors, chairs in waiting rooms, converted storerooms, offices or cupboards.
According to the survey, around one in five (19.5%) patients in EDs at the time were experiencing corridor care, and there was at least one patient subject to it in the vast majority (88.7%) of hospitals.
Patients experiencing a mental health crisis were more likely to experience corridor care, with more than a quarter (27.6%) receiving care in inappropriate spaces at the time of the survey. Meanwhile, around one in 30 children (3.5% of paediatric patients) in A&E at the time of the survey were experiencing corridor care.
Dr Ian Higginson, RCEM President, said: “Corridor care is awful and represents a stain on our health service. It is undignified and dangerous for our patients, and it’s a symptom of the wider crisis facing our Emergency Departments.
“Our data today shows that the scale of the problem remains enormous. Health service leaders must pay attention to this and take action. Despite attempts to paint a rosy picture, the harsh reality is that most clinical leads think things are worse than this time last year, and have low confidence going into winter.
“Those of us working on the frontlines are struggling to explain to people why they may have to spend the night on a chair or trolley in a waiting room or busy corridor – despite the pain and fear that they are experiencing. It’s awful.
“It impacts everyone including, as our survey showed, some of the most vulnerable in our society: children, the elderly, and people suffering from a mental health crisis. These patients are not statistics, they are humans who deserve better.”
Corridor care is, predominantly, not driven by too many people attending A&E – but by an inability to get the sickest patients into inpatient hospital beds or alternative services, an issue itself caused by inadequate capacity, hospitals not working effectively, or difficulties discharging patients back home or into social care.
Today, RCEM urges the governments of the UK to take immediate action to reduce overcrowding in Emergency Departments by:
Opening up all available beds now, in hospitals with overcrowded Emergency Departments
Removing recruitment freezes in services contributing to urgent and emergency care
Ensuring that services needed to avoid admission or free up beds are open for longer hours, and seven days a week, with adequate staffing to support this. This includes the Christmas period
In the longer term ensuring that delays to discharge are minimised, and that there are enough hospital beds and community options available for patients who need them
RCEM is further calling on health system leaders to ensure that corridor care in all of its forms is properly measured. The College, earlier this year, raised concerns about the definition of corridor care adopted by NHS England on the grounds that it was too narrow. Our survey shows just how narrow it is.
Dr Higginson added: “For this crisis to be tackled meaningfully, we need to understand its full scale. To do that we must collect the right data and get a true picture on just how many patients – and their families – are affected by corridor care.
“We have been working with politicians in some of the devolved nations ahead of plans to begin formally recording corridor care. We urge all governments to adopt an improved definition of corridor care to ensure that the problem is fully appreciated, and so that there is transparency in discussions.”
