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A wide range of factors may lead to a child or young person having a need for additional support, which will help them to get the most out of their pre-school or school education.
Additional support may be required if, for example, they have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, learning difficulties, learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, physical or mental health problems, are looked after, or encounter adverse life events such as bereavement or divorce within the family.
The Scottish Government pupil census indicates that in 2019, 215,897 pupils in Scotland’s schools (publically funded primary, secondary and special) were identified with ASN. This represents just under a third of all pupils (30.9%), of which 58.4% were boys. The number of pupils identified with ASN has increased by 82.9% since 2012 (from 118,034 pupils).
Children and young people with ASN have disproportionately poorer educational and employment outcomes than those with no ASN. This has an obvious impact on the individual concerned, society and the economy. They are also disproportionately from lower income families and areas of deprivation.
It is vital that those children and young people who are thought, for whatever reason, to require additional support, have this identified as early as possible and are promptly assessed and provided with the care and support they need. Such early intervention can assist in preventing further difficulties developing later, maximising their life chances and reducing the costs to society and the economy.
Presumption of mainstreaming
The cornerstone of an inclusive approach to education is a presumption of mainstreaming for pupils with ASN, meaning that they are educated in a mainstream school unless exceptional circumstances apply. As a coalition we are fully in a support of a presumption to mainstream those children and young people with ASN. However, we are concerned about the impact of a lack of resources and co-ordinated support when it comes to supporting an increasing number of those with ASN in mainstream schools.
Through a lack of resources many children and young people with ASN are ending up poorly supported, which also impacts on fellow pupils and teachers, or are excluded from school altogether. An increase in specialist provision is required to meet the needs of these children and young people, ensuring that ‘inclusion’ is meaningful. While we support a presumption to mainstream those with ASN, there are a large number of children and young people currently in mainstream education whose interests would be most appropriately served by being in a special school or special unit attached to a mainstream school.
Well-resourced services will help to address the poorer educational and employment outcomes these children and young people experience, supporting the closing of the educational attainment gap and creating a more equal society.
Under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (as amended), education authorities have a statutory requirement to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of children and young people for whose education they are responsible.
However, the combination of an increasing demand on services, set against a background of cuts to public services and delays in identification, assessment and intervention, means that many children and young people with ASN are missing out on the care and support they so vitally need. This is leading to a potential ‘lost generation’ of vulnerable children and young people.
We have built up a strong reputation campaigning for an increase in the provision of a wide range of high-quality and quickly accessible services for children and young people with ASN.
