The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), an alliance of leading providers of specialist care and education to vulnerable children and young people, is calling for urgent action following a sharp decline in the number of legally binding education support plans for those with complex or multiple additional support needs (ASN).
So-called co-ordinated support plans (CSPs), prepared by local authorities, are the only education plans that are legal documents. These provide some guarantees of entitlement to additional resources and legal redress, placing statutory duties on local authorities to review and ensure the provisions contained within it are being met.
However, despite a Scottish Government promise that there would be no reduction in the proportion of pupils receiving them since their introduction in 2004, there has been a significant fall in the number of pupils with a CSP to a record low. This is highlighted in the recent Scottish Government’s annual census of pupils and teachers in publicly funded schools.
In 2014, there were 3,128 pupils with such a plan. However, by 2024 this number had fallen to 1,215. This amounts to a drop of 61.1 per cent and is a reduction from 2.2 per cent to 0.4 per cent of those with ASN, amounting to 0.2 per cent of the pupil population.
This sharp fall in the number of CSPs contrasts with a dramatic increase in number of pupils with ASN, such as autism, dyslexia and mental health problems, which in 2024 reached a record high of 284,448. This represents 40.5 per cent of the pupil population, rising from 140,542 in 2014 (20.8 per cent of all pupils). It amounts to a more than doubling (102.4 per cent) in numbers over the past decade.
This situation is in contrast with England, where the number of those receiving an education, health and care plan (EHCP), the CSP equivalent, is 4.8 per cent of the pupil population. Amounting to around 24 times the percentage of those receiving a CSP in Scotland, this figure is also on the increase.
A concern raised by the SCSC is that local authorities are reluctant to issue CSPs because they are seen as cumbersome and time-consuming, as well as being resource-intensive and subject to enhanced scrutiny.
This is all set against the backdrop of an under-investment in services, with many local authorities now reluctant to provide what would be legally enforceable support, due to cuts in health, education and social work provision.
With legal action taken if the needs of the child or young person are not believed to have been met, non-statutory alternatives are often being offered in their place, with families or carers not being offered the option of a CSP.
Despite a greater prevalence of those with ASN in the most deprived communities, CSPs are also more likely to be opened for pupils with ASN living in the least deprived neighbourhoods, compared with those living in the most deprived neighbourhoods. This means that they may not be getting the care and support they so vitally need.
The SCSC has called for an expansion in access to CSPs, with the Scottish Government, local authorities, health and other relevant agencies collaborating more effectively to ensure that those requiring such a legal plan receive one.
This needs to be supported by the necessary resourcing of the services involved, and increased awareness and understanding of CSPs by families or carers, and professionals. This includes training for local authority and school staff, also highlighting statutory entitlements.
The SCSC has also called for a particular focus on care-experienced children and young people, and those from the most deprived neighbourhoods.
A spokesperson for the SCSC said:
“We are calling for action following figures highlighting a decline in the use of CSPs, which are designed to support those with the most complex needs. This is despite a Scottish Government assurance that they would not decline and against the backdrop of a dramatic increase in the numbers of those with ASN.
“By not providing this legally enforceable provision, many of these vulnerable individuals are being failed and not getting the support they are entitled to, meaning that they are not achieving their full potential.
“This is of particular significance given the devastating impact of Covid-19 and cost-of-living crisis. The Scottish Government, local authorities and other agencies need to collaborate to ensure that those requiring a CSP receive it, with the necessary resourcing in place to support this.
“With those with ASN drawn disproportionately from poorer neighbourhoods, if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap, they must get the care and support they need, when they need it.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
About the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition
The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC) is an alliance of leading providers of specialist care and education to vulnerable children and young people, as well as support to their families or carers.
It seeks to improve the lives of these children and young people, and its vision is to make Scotland the best place in the world for them to grow up in.
The SCSC aims to achieve this through campaigning to improve support for these vulnerable individuals. This seeks to ensure that a wide range of high-quality, well-resourced and easily accessible services is provided. Tailored to individual needs this will help them to achieve their full potential.
Members of the SCSC are:
• Falkland House School: An independent school based in Fife that specialises in the education and care of boys who require additional support for learning.
• LOVE Care: An education and social care provider that uses innovative ways to engage vulnerable individuals in learning and raise their attainment. This includes supporting children and young people through intensive early years programmes, as well as in the classroom and outside the education system.
• Spark of Genius: An organisation that offers residential care, education, autism services, post-16 employability programmes and adult services.
• Young Foundations: An organisation the specialises in the care of children and young people who have a range of complex needs.
Further information about the SCSC can be found at www.thescsc.org.uk.
