Success Looks Different: Celebrating Inclusive Education in Scotland

5 March 2025

Three schools and one nursery have been crowned winners of this year’s Success Looks Different Awards! 

The awards invited education settings to share how they celebrate the achievements of all pupils, including those who get additional support with their learning.  

The awards were created by the Inclusion Ambassadors, a group of secondary school-aged pupils from across Scotland who have a range of additional support needs. Now in their third year, the Success Looks Different Awards contribute towards the Scottish Government’s Additional Support for Learning Action Plan.  

The awards have four categories: Early Years, Primary School, Secondary School and Special School. This year, the application process required applicants to coproduce their submissions with children and young people. This was because the Inclusion Ambassadors wanted the voices of children and young people to come through more in applications. As one Inclusion Ambassador put it, an important reason for this is that “We want to make sure that applicants walk the walk and don’t just talk the talk”. 

The winners of each category were chosen by the Inclusion Ambassador themselves, and the group judged applications based on their own carefully crafted selection criteria. This includes how well applicants celebrate the individuality of pupils, how they demonstrate creativity and how well they share successes with the wider community.  

SUCCESS LOOKS DIFFERENT 2024-25 WINNERS 

EARLY YEARS 

• ELU Hamilton, South Lanarkshire 

PRIMARY SCHOOL 

• Buchanhaven Primary School, Aberdeenshire 

SECONDARY SCHOOL 

• Duncanrig Secondary School, South Lanarkshire 

SPECIAL SCHOOL 

• Parkhill Secondary School, Glasgow 

In total the Inclusion Ambassadors received 26 applications from 10 different local authority areas across Scotland. While the number of applications is lower than in previous years, this year’s submissions were particularly inspiring, thanks to the increased participation of children and young people. Submissions were incredibly creative with one school writing a song and another building a diorama (a miniature three-dimensional model) of their school space with QR codes that revealed soundbites from pupils sharing their thoughts about their school. 

Beth Fyfe (Advice and Information Officer) said: 

“The new Engagement Pack really helped to centre the voices of children and young people, and the submissions were so creative! The writing, drawings, videos, and photographs meant the Inclusion Ambassadors could directly connect to what the children and young people at each school and nursery wanted to say.” 

“The judging session was a great day. It was hard work getting through so many fantastic applications and it was tough for the Inclusion Ambassadors to select their winners – the standard was so high!” 

David Yule (Policy, Participation and Projects Officer) added: 

"2024-25 was another year of really high-quality applications from early learning settings and schools across Scotland. All schools showcased some really unique ways that they are celebrating the success of all pupils and presented these in creative and fun applications. Despite the difficult task of selecting winners, the Inclusion Ambassadors loved seeing what schools were doing to celebrate and shout about pupils’ success.” 

One of the Inclusion Ambassadors involved in the judging process reflected:  

“It was a good day, I really enjoyed it. Choosing the schools was amazing and it was a lovely safe space.” 

Jenny Gilruth (Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills) also shared her thoughts on this year’s awards, saying: 

“I want to congratulate the winners and all of those who took part in this year’s Success Look Different Awards. It's vital that we recognise the work being done to ensure our schools and early learning and childcare settings are inclusive places of learning. 

“This is an important opportunity to celebrate the achievements of children and young people with additional support needs and those dedicated to ensuring they can thrive and fulfil their potential. 

“I would also like to thank the Inclusion Ambassadors for their ongoing commitment to fostering inclusive learning environments.”