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The Beattie report (1999) placed social inclusion firmly on the Scottish political agenda. The European Commission (1994) has accepted that successful social inclusion rests largely with the educational system and the education sector has discussed, debated and acknowledged the need for a socially inclusive system with many institutions declaring this as a key objective within their Strategic Plans. However, successful social inclusion will require educational establishments to provide support before, during, and (if to achieve lifelong learning) after the student leaves the institution. This article seeks to identify what formal support mechanisms are both desirable and achievable and compare these to current provision within Scottish further and higher education. The study will focus on a Scottish university, which recruits substantially from socially disadvantaged areas, and a further educational institution whose local catchments area includes 11 of the total 17 Social Inclusion Programme (SIP) areas in Scotland.