Information on Gaelic Education in West Dunbartonshire

The Education (Scotland) Act 2016 was passed on 2 February 2016 and contains several provisions in relation to Gaelic education. These provisions started on 1 February 2017.

This Act places a duty on local authorities (LA) to promote and support Gaelic medium education (GME) and Gaelic learner education (GLE) within the authority. The LA must set up a process by which parents can request Gaelic medium primary education (GMPE).  

More details on the provisions within the Act are available on Statutory Guidance for Gaelic Education.

Gaelic in West Dunbartonshire

At present, West Dunbartonshire does not have Gaelic medium education.  We are currently teaching Gaelic as an additional language in two of our local primary schools.

Assessment requests

(section 7 of the 2016 Act)

Parents of children under school age, and who have not yet started primary school, have the right to request an assessment of the need for GMPE from the authority in which they live.

Parents in the first instance should contact the local authority to enquire about their child accessing GMPE. 

Please complete the form to request an assessment to assess the need for Gaelic primary education.

Parents should note that a request for an assessment of the need for GMPE is not the same as an application to enrol their child in any existing, or potential, provision.

A diagram giving advice on how to complete this request form is available at Summary for Parents.

More information

The following link provides more information on Gaelic:

Gaelic within Scotland