‘Postcode lottery’ for those with Additional Support Needs (ASN) e.g.:
Thousands of children and young people in Scotland with Additional Support Needs (ASN), such as those with learning difficulties, learning disabilities, autism and care experience, may not be getting the support they are entitled to according to the Scottish Children's Services Coalition (SCSC).
The SCSC is an alliance of leading independent and third sector service providers that care for and support vulnerable children and young people, as well as their families. It campaigns to make Scotland a world leader in the care and support of vulnerable children and young people (members in Notes to Editors). The coalition has raised concerns of a ‘postcode lottery’ of care and support after a response to a Scottish Parliamentary Question from Richard Lochhead MSP.
The answer to the question from Mr Lochhead indicates major disparities between local authorities when it comes to the proportion of pupils recorded with ASN (see Notes to Editors for full table). This raises concerns that many children and young people may not be getting the full care and support they are entitled to on the back of these widely varying figures.
While for Scotland as a whole 22.5% of pupils in 2015 were recorded as having ASN (in publically funded primary, secondary and special schools), there are major disparities in the percentage of pupils who have ASN between local authorities.
For example, 29.8% of pupils in schools in Glasgow were recorded as having ASN, compared with 8% in neighbouring North Lanarkshire. North Ayrshire recorded figures of 27.1% for school pupils with ASN, compared with South Ayrshire recording 11.6%.
With those with ASN coming disproportionately from lower income households and areas of deprivation, the coalition has also raised concerns that it makes it harder for the Scottish Government to close the educational attainment gap if some local authorities are not identifying those with ASN.
Without a consistent and aligned method of recording such critical statistics it is difficult to ascertain if the numbers of categories of those with ASN is increasing, decreasing or staying the same. This clearly has an impact on the resourcing committed to dealing with this vulnerable group and ensuring that it is targeted in the most effective manner.
On the back of these figures the coalition has repeated its call for urgent action to ensure that better quality and more reliable information on those with ASN is gathered by local authorities, urging the Scottish Government to provide stricter guidance on this matter. This will ensure that those with ASN are getting the care and support they need.
A spokesperson for the SCSC commented:
“As a coalition we find it worrying at these major disparities which indicate, for example, that as a percentage of the pupil population nearly more than four times as many children and young people in Glasgow have ASN compared with North Lanarkshire.
“This inconsistency in gathering information on and identifying those with ASN by local authorities requires clearer and comprehensive guidance from the Scottish Government, which is also key if it we are to close the educational attainment gap.
“The Scottish Government must commit to working more closely with local authorities to tackle this and develop a universal method to ensure that better information is recorded so that accurate numbers can be reported. Only then will we truly be able to provide the best support for some of Scotland’s most vulnerable people.”
ENDS
For further information please contact Alex Orr, Policy Adviser to the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition, on 0131 603 8996 or [email protected].
Notes to Editors
1. Question S5W-01096: Richard Lochhead, Moray, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 28/06/2016
To ask the Scottish Government how many and what percentage of (a) pupils with additional support needs and (b) hours of support provision there have been in each of the last five years, also broken down by local authority.
Answered by John Swinney (25/07/2016): The following tables show how many and the percentage of pupils with additional support needs in each local authority for the last five years.
The information on hours of support provision is not held centrally.
Percentage of pupils with an Additional Support Need
| All sectors | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| Aberdeen City | 9.5% | 11.2% | 12.5% | 12.1% | 15.9% |
| Aberdeenshire | 28.3% | 29.6% | 30.7% | 32.6% | 35.7% |
| Angus | 8.6% | 9.7% | 9.9% | 10.7% | 10.5% |
| Argyll and Bute | 15.7% | 16.0% | 17.0% | 18.0% | 19.4% |
| Clackmannanshire | 11.0% | 18.2% | 24.1% | 24.8% | 25.5% |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 12.7% | 20.6% | 23.3% | 24.9% | 26.5% |
| Dundee City | 12.0% | 13.0% | 13.7% | 14.1% | 16.8% |
| East Ayrshire | 16.6% | 18.4% | 19.5% | 20.2% | 22.6% |
| East Dunbartonshire | 9.4% | 13.4% | 18.3% | 19.4% | 20.6% |
| East Lothian | 17.7% | 19.7% | 21.6% | 21.5% | 21.1% |
| East Renfrewshire | 10.5% | 16.2% | 15.8% | 17.2% | 17.6% |
| Edinburgh City | 16.5% | 18.9% | 20.4% | 20.8% | 23.6% |
| Eilean Siar | 27.4% | 29.1% | 28.1% | 31.4% | 33.0% |
| Falkirk | 9.2% | 11.3% | 13.9% | 15.4% | 16.3% |
| Fife | 14.1% | 13.8% | 14.3% | 14.5% | 17.1% |
| Glasgow City | 22.4% | 33.1% | 32.7% | 32.1% | 29.8% |
| Highland | 18.2% | 21.6% | 23.5% | 24.2% | 33.6% |
| Inverclyde | 14.6% | 19.4% | 21.5% | 23.8% | 25.9% |
| Midlothian | 7.9% | 12.1% | 15.5% | 18.6% | 22.3% |
| Moray | 12.0% | 14.5% | 19.9% | 22.8% | 26.8% |
| North Ayrshire | 14.5% | 18.0% | 21.7% | 25.7% | 27.1% |
| North Lanarkshire | 6.6% | 7.1% | 7.4% | 7.6% | 8.0% |
| Orkney Islands | 9.6% | 18.9% | 21.8% | 23.3% | 26.3% |
| Perth and Kinross | 24.1% | 26.2% | 29.0% | 31.4% | 32.8% |
| Renfrewshire | 7.1% | 7.6% | 13.9% | 14.3% | 14.4% |
| Scottish Borders | 8.0% | 11.9% | 17.3% | 24.9% | 28.5% |
| Shetland Islands | 24.4% | 22.8% | 20.9% | 21.7% | 23.3% |
| South Ayrshire | 24.7% | 27.2% | 20.9% | 12.0% | 11.6% |
| South Lanarkshire | 6.8% | 7.6% | 14.6% | 19.0% | 21.0% |
| Stirling | 10.7% | 13.2% | 23.0% | 24.4% | 25.0% |
| West Dunbartonshire | 35.2% | 36.2% | 36.9% | 37.0% | 35.3% |
| West Lothian | 10.5% | 11.3% | 12.3% | 19.0% | 22.8% |
| All local authorities | 14.6% | 17.5% | 19.5% | 20.7% | 22.5% |
| Grant aided | 20.8% | 25.5% | 26.5% | 25.1% | 25.1% |
| Scotland | 14.6% | 17.6% | 19.5% | 20.8% | 22.5% |
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 25/07/2016
2. The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC) is an alliance of leading independent and third sector service providers that care for and support vulnerable children and young people, as well as their families.
Its vision is for Scotland to become a world leader in the care and support of vulnerable children and young people. The SCSC aims to achieve this through campaigning for a wide range of high-quality, well-resourced and quickly accessible services. This is so that they get best possible care and support, tailored to their individual needs and helping them to achieve their full potential.
SCSC members deliver specialist care and education services to children and young people with Additional Support Needs (ASN), as well as direct help and support to their families. They also provide independent advocacy, advice and representation to children and young people with care experience.
Members of the SCSC are:
Further information about the SCSC can be found at www.thescsc.org.uk.
