Education, schools and adult learning

Bridge of Weir Early Learning and Childcare Class (ELCC) is a Renfrewshire Council nursery.

The headteacher is Susan Bell.

This nursery is for children aged 2 to 5.

Placements available

Term time placement

Placements are available 6 hours a day, 5 days a week during term time.

Morning or afternoon placement

Morning or afternoon placements are available 5 hours a day between 8am and 6pm, for up to 48 weeks in the year.

Extended day placement

Extended day placement is available up to 10 hours a day between 8am and 6pm, for up to 48 weeks in the year.

Blended placement

Blended placements can be 1140 hours in total, split between 2 settings - for example, between a nursery and childminder.

To contact the link education manager, email education@renfrewshire.gov.uk.

Auchenlodment Early Learning and Childcare Class (ELCC) is a Renfrewshire Council nursery.

The acting headteacher is Lorna Brown.

This nursery is for children aged 2 to 5.

Placements available

Term time placement

Placements are available 6 hours a day, 5 days a week during term time.

Blended placement

Blended placements are 1140 hours in total, split between 2 settings - for example, between a nursery and childminder.

To contact the link education manager, email education@renfrewshire.gov.uk.

Before choosing to home educate your child 

You should consider whether you’ll be able to provide a sufficient education for your child at home.

Families use many different approaches to home education. Some follow a structured timetable and curriculum similar to a school. Others take a more flexible approach based on their child's interests, strengths, and learning style.

There is no single approach that all home educating families must follow.

You could choose to use:

• Scotland's  Curriculum for Excellence
• resources from Education Scotland website 
• approaches used in other countries
• your own learning philosophy or educational approach
• online learning programmes
• private tutors.

If your child is being educated by a private tutor or any other professional, you should consider requesting a Disclosure check. Find out more about Disclosure checks on the Scottish Government website.

Features of a suitable education

A suitable education will:

• help your child get ready for life in their community and wider society
• reflect your child's needs, interests, and aspirations
• provide engaging and meaningful learning experiences
• include a range of activities and opportunities appropriate to your child’s stage of development
• include physical activity
• allow opportunities to interact with other children and adults.

You do not need teaching qualifications to home educate, but you must be committed to providing appropriate learning opportunities.

Qualifications and further education

Before choosing home education, you should read the sections on examinations and qualifications in the Scottish Government’s Home Education Guidance (Scottish Government website).

If your child plans to gain formal qualifications, you'll need to consider:

• how qualifications will be achieved 
• assessment requirements
• examination arrangements
• any associated costs.

If you’re home educating your child, you’ll take responsibility for arranging and funding formal qualifications.

You can find out more about examinations and qualifications for home educated learners at the Qualifications Scotland website.

Home educated young people can also apply for college courses. Find out more on the Colleges Scotland website.

They may also consider correspondence and online courses, which can provide additional options for students who prefer to work independently. These will usually follow a structured curriculum and programme of work.

Request to withdraw your child from school for home education

Make a request by email

To make a request to withdraw your child from school and educate them at home, email:

• ESRG@renfrewshire.gov.uk

Please include:

• "Home Education Request" as the subject line
• your name, contact details, and home address
• your child's name and date of birth
• the name of their current school and class.

What happens next

We'll ask you to complete our home education proposal template.

The proposal should explain how you'll provide a suitable education that meets your child's age, learning needs, and abilities.

How long a decision takes

We aim to make a decision within 6 weeks.

Sometimes we may need to ask you for more information before we can make a decision.

We’ll also check that there are no child protection concerns, in line with national guidance.

Once we make a decision, we'll write to you to confirm the outcome. 

If we approve your request, we'll:

• confirm that your child is being home educated
• remove your child from the school roll
• send a copy of the decision to the head teacher.

Annual contact

We'll contact you once a year as you must submit:

• a progress report
• your plans for the year ahead
• any updated contact details.

If we become concerned about a child's safety or wellbeing, we'll work with their family and relevant services to make sure they are receiving a suitable education.

In some circumstances, we may ask that a child returns to school.

Financial support

If you’re home educating your child, you may qualify for financial support depending on your circumstances.

Support may include:

• Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA)
• Scottish Child Payment (Scottish Government website).

Support provided through schools, such as free school meals and school clothing grants, is not available to home educating families.

Find out more about help with money and benefits.

Additional support and health needs

If your child has an additional support need (also known as additional support for learning), you can find out more information on support available at:

• Enquire website – Enquire is the Scottish advice service for additional support for learning
• Reach website - Reach offers advice about rights to education and support for children in Scotland.

You can find health information at:

• Immunisations (NHS Inform website) - information about vaccination schedules
• Better Health - Every Mind Matters (NHS website) - for advice on looking after a child or young person's mental health
• Renfrewshire Advice Line - for advice and support with day-to-day activities, including physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, and occupational therapy.

You can also find out information free period products and where to get them. 

When your child reaches school leaving age

We'll contact you when your child reaches school leaving age to provide information about support that may be available.

This can include support through:

• Skills Development Scotland
• Invest in Renfrewshire.

If your circumstances change

You must let us know if you:

• move out of Renfrewshire
• want your child to return to school.

To tell us about a change in circumstances, email: ESRG@renfrewshire.gov.uk.

If you move to another council area, you should contact your new council to let them know that you're home educating. 

If you give us written permission, we can share your contact details with the home education service in your new council area.

If we refuse consent

If we do not give consent for you to home educate your child, we’ll write to you to outline why your request has been refused. 

You’ll be given the opportunity to address the grounds on which it has been refused and resubmit your request if you wish.

If you do not agree with the reasons why we refused your request, you can make a complaint through our complaints process.

Contact us

If you would like to discuss home education with us, email Joyce Young at: joyce.young@renfrewshire.gov.uk 

Please include:

• "Home Education Enquiry" in the subject line
• your name and contact details
• your child's name
• the name of their current school, nursery or education setting (if they attend one).

More information

• Home Education Scotland website
• Scottish Home Education Forum
• Home Education Advisory Service website
• Education Scotland website - national body providing support and guidance on education in Scotland
• Parent Club website - advice and support for parents and carers
• Enquire website - Scotland's advice service for additional support for learning
• North of Scotland Home Educators - email: norscothe@hotmail.co.uk.

Every child and young person has the right to an education. As a parent or carer, you can provide that education by:

• sending your child to school, or
• educating them at home.

Choosing to educate your child at home is known as home education.

You’ll take the legal responsibility for deciding what your child will learn and how.

If your child is attending school, you need to request our consent to withdraw them from school before they can be educated at home. You can do this by completing our Request to withdraw your child from school for home education process below.

We will not refuse your request to withdraw your child from school unless we have good reason – for example, if we have significant concerns about your child’s welfare or protection, or we do not think you can give them the education and support they need.

You do not need consent if your child has not been enrolled at a school, for example if:

• they have not started primary school or secondary school, or
• you have just moved to Renfrewshire, and they have not started school in the new area.

If you do not need consent, we encourage you to tell us if you’re home educating so we’re able to share important information with you. You can tell us by emailing ESRG@renfrewshire.gov.uk.

We aim to build positive relationships with home educating families based on trust, mutual understanding, and respect.

Our approach to home education follows the Scottish Government’s Home Education Guidance (Scottish Government website). This guidance does not apply to flexi-schooling arrangements.

Home education principles

We recognise that:

• home education is a parental choice
• families choose home education for many different reasons
• parents and carers have the right to home educate, if they offer an education suitable to their child's age and ability
• children and young people should have opportunities to share their views about their education.

We deal with all enquiries and requests fairly, consistently, and as quickly as possible.

While we do not provide educational resources for home educators, we can offer advice and guidance by:

• email
• telephone
• Microsoft Teams meetings
• in-person meetings where appropriate.

Curriculum for Excellence is the school curriculum for ages 3 to 18 in Scotland. It aims to help children and young people develop the knowledge, skills, and attributes they need in life, learning, and work. 

The curriculum is the learning that is planned for children and young people from early learning and childcare, through school and beyond. They can experience this across: 

• curriculum areas and subjects
• interdisciplinary learning
• ethos and life of the school
• opportunities for personal achievement.

The curriculum focuses on developing 4 capacities, helping children to become:

• successful learners
• confident individuals
• responsible citizens
• effective contributors.

Curriculum phases

Curriculum for Excellence is divided into 2 phases: the broad general education and the senior phase.

The broad general education begins in early learning and childcare and continues to the end of S3 (the third year of secondary school).

The senior phase takes place from S4 to S6 in secondary schools and includes ages 16 to 18 out of school. It builds on the experiences and outcomes young people will have achieved by S3. 

It enables young people to continue developing their skills for learning, life, and work through qualifications and a range of opportunities for personal development (such as work placements).

More information

Find out more about the Curriculum for Excellence (Education Scotland website).

You can find more information and guidance about the curriculum and framework at Scotland’s Curriculum website.

We're building a new primary school in Dargavel Village. 

It is called Thistle Primary School, as chosen by local pupils and residents after a public vote.

The new school will have capacity for around 800 pupils and will include a full-size sports pitch and facilities for use by the wider community. 

Thistle Primary is due to open in August 2027, in time for the start of that year's new school term.

You can see how Thistle Primary will look with these videos.

The new school is in addition to the existing Dargavel Primary School and is needed to meet future demand as more new houses are built in the area in the years ahead. 

The new primary school will be non-denominational. The denominational school for the Dargavel area will continue to be St John Bosco Primary School, in Erskine. 

The associated high school for the new primary school will be Park Mains High School.

Thistle Primary School catchment

The location and catchment area for the new school were decided after a formal consultation with the community, which ran in early 2024. 

Read more information about the consultation on the new primary school in Dargavel

Check if you live in the school catchment

You can search this interactive map using your postcode and home address to check if you live in the Thistle Primary catchment.

You can also see the agreed catchment areas for the new and existing primary schools in Dargavel on the map below.

These new catchment areas will come into effect when the new school opens in 2027. 

Until then, the existing Dargavel Primary will continue to be the catchment primary school for all of Dargavel Village.

Starting school from August 2027

Parents of children due to start Primary 1 in August 2027 can register their child for Thistle Primary when the Renfrewshire-wide P1 registration period opens in November 2026. Find out more about registering your child for primary 1 at school.

Any other family living in the Thistle Primary catchment whose child has already started school will have the opportunity to move their child there should they wish.

Early Learning and Childcare

Thistle includes an Early Learning and Childcare Class (ELCC).

Thistle ELCC is currently under construction and will include:

• a dedicated indoor playroom
• outdoor space for learning and play
• separate, controlled entrance
• spaces designed around the needs of younger children.

Find out more about applying for a free nursery or childcare place.

Community engagement

We're committed to working with the community throughout the design, planning and construction of Thistle Primary School. This has included:

• a detailed space-planning exercise in late 2023, which included a series of focus groups and a community survey, where we asked what people wanted from a new school with community facilities 
• the formal consultation on the school's location and catchment in early 2024
• a 12-week period of engagement in summer/autumn 2024 in advance of the the full planning application being submitted. This included 2 public events and a series of focus groups.

Parent and carer updates

We're keeping parents and carers updated directly on our work to increase school capacity in Dargavel. 

If you would like to receive these updates you can sign-up for our Dargavel community email newsletter.

• November 2026 - update from the head teacher
• September 2026 - head teacher welcome and school updates 
• June 2026 - construction and admissions update
• November 2025 - progress update on Thistle Primary construction and roll projections
• June 2025 - update on progress with new school build and work planned for summer
• May 2025 - update on naming of new school.

If you have any questions or would like more information on Thistle Primary School, you can contact us by:

• email: thistleconsultation@renfrewshire.gov.uk. 

The headteacher at Woodlands Primary School is Linda Berry.

The associated secondary school is Linwood High School.

The headteacher at Williamsburgh Primary School is Vhairi Cochrane.

The associated secondary school is Paisley Grammar School Community Campus.

The headteacher at West Primary School is Lynne McGinn.

The associated secondary school is Castlehead High School.

The headteacher at Wallace Primary School is David Rigmand.

The associated secondary school is Castlehead High School.