• Number of specialist ASN teachers slumps to a record low
• More than doubling in the number of pupils with additional support needs since 2014
The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), an alliance of leading providers of specialist care and education to vulnerable children and young people, has raised concerns over cuts in specialist support being provided to those with additional support needs (ASN).
This concern comes as new figures from the Scottish Government’s annual teacher census indicate that the number of specialist ASN teachers has fallen to a record low of 2,837 in 2024.
In contrast, the number of those pupils with ASN has soared to a record high, now amounting to 40.5 per cent of the pupil population. This includes those with mental health problems, learning disability, autism and dyslexia.
These numbers have been increasing for years, more than doubling (102.4 per cent) over the last decade to 284,448 pupils. This is a rise from 140,501 in 2014, when those with ASN represented 20.8 per cent of all pupils.
Between 2014 and 2024 the number of ASN teachers (publicly funded primary, secondary, special and centrally employed) has fallen from 3,077 to 2,837, a record low and a decrease of 240 teachers.
In 2014, while each ASN teacher was supporting 40 pupils with ASN, by 2023 this figure had risen to each teacher now supporting 100 such pupils.
Against a background of spending cuts and reduction in specialist support, the SCSC has called for greater resourcing from both the Scottish Government and local authorities to ensure that those with ASN, who are disproportionately drawn from poorer neighbourhoods, are getting the care and support that they need.
The coalition has also raised concerns about the effectiveness of a presumption of mainstreaming, meaning that all pupils are educated in a mainstream educational environment unless exceptional circumstances apply, without the necessary support.
A spokesperson for the SCSC commented:
“It is vital that those with ASN get the care and support they need. This is also key if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap as we know that those with ASN are disproportionately drawn from poorer neighbourhoods. With cuts in support, including in the number of specialist teachers, it is going to be extremely challenging to reduce the current inequalities faced by those with ASN.
“While we also support the presumption of mainstreaming, which means that all children and young people are educated in a mainstream educational environment unless exceptional circumstances apply, it is clearly difficult to see how this is functioning properly given the fall in specialist support and increase in the number of those with ASN.
“The Scottish Government and local authorities need to work together to provide the necessary resourcing to address the needs of those children and young people with ASN, who represent some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society. “
-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 Learning: An education and social care charity 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 independent organisation offering residential care, education, autism services, post-16 employability programmes and adult services.
• Young Foundations: An independent organisation specialising in the care of children and young people with a range of complex needs.
Further information about the SCSC can be found at www.thescsc.org.uk.
