University Intake Targets for Paramedic Education 2025-26
Purpose
- I am writing to announce the university intake targets for BSc Paramedic Education programmes for the Academic Year (AY) 2025-26.
Background
- The five Scottish universities that have previously been awarded contracts to provide Paramedic Education – Glasgow Caledonian University, Queen Margaret University Edinburgh, Robert Gordon University, University of Stirling and University of the West of Scotland – will continue to deliver this programme.
- In setting this intake target, SFC received guidance from the Scottish Government’s Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Directorate. In 2023, for the first time, the CNO Directorate set a three-year intake target, covering the periods AY 2023-24, AY 2024-25 and AY 2025-26. The CNO Directorate’s guidance for the final year of this plan is provided as Annex A.
Intake target for AY 2025-26
- The overall intake target for Paramedic Education in AY 2025-26, as recommended by the CNO Directorate, is 335 students with ‘Home Fee’ status. This represents no change from the intake target for AY 2024-25 and is as set out in the three-year plan. The
AY 2025-26 intake targets for each of the five universities are set out in Table 1 below. - SFC will confirm the funded places and the associated funding with this programme in the final funding announcement for AY 2025-26, due to be published at the end of May 2025.
Rest of UK and international students
- The intake targets contained within this announcement are for students with ‘Home Fee’ status. Universities can recruit rest of UK (rUK), Republic of Ireland (RoI) and international students, but should discuss any recruitment with the Scottish Ambulance Service and placement providers before doing so. RUK, RoI and international students cannot be counted against the intake targets.
Monitoring
- Universities should return information on students on their Paramedic Education programmes to SFC through their annual Early Statistic Returns. Details of the information required will be published in the annual Early Statistic Returns Notes of Guidance on the SFC website.
- We would expect universities to continue to work with NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and provide information as required for their performance management role. Scottish Government colleagues will write to universities in due course to set out further details of the reporting requirements for NES’s performance management.
Under-recruitment policy
- SFC will continue to operate an under-recruitment policy for the Paramedic Education programme in AY 2025-26 and we may recover funding if universities under-recruit against their funded student places, subject to a tolerance of 3%.
Over-recruitment policy
- SFC will continue to operate an over-recruitment (‘consolidation’) policy for Paramedic Education in AY 2025-26. Universities may be liable for a financial penalty if they exceed their ‘consolidation number’ by more than 10%.
Further information
- Please contact Duncan Condie, Senior Funding Policy Officer, Finance Directorate,
tel: 0131 313 6671, email dcondie@sfc.ac.uk.
Table 1
Table 1: Breakdown of university intake targets for Paramedic Education in AYs 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 is included on Page 6 of University Intake Targets for Paramedic Education 2025-26
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