Concerns raised over escalating number of children needing additional support

Increase of over 97,000 in the number of pupils with ASN since 2012
Decline in number of specialist ASN teachers by 376 since 2012
Decline of almost £1000 spend per ASN pupil since 2012/13

An alliance of leading independent and third sector organisations, the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), has called for greater resourcing to support children and young people with additional support needs (ASN), both during and after the Covid-19 crisis.

The call comes as new figures from the annual Scottish Government pupil census reveal that while the number of specialist teachers supporting those with ASN has dropped the number of those with ASN has escalated dramatically.

Between 2012 ¹ and 2019 ² the number of specialist teachers supporting those with ASN (publically funded primary, secondary, special and centrally employed) has decreased from 3,840 to 3,464, a decline of 376.

This fall is against the background of an overall increase by 82.9 per cent since 2012 in the number of pupils identified with ASN, from 118,034 ³ to 215,897 in 2019 ⁴,representing just under a third of all pupils (30.9 per cent).

Recently revealed figures also indicate that average spend per pupil on additional support for learning by local authority (primary, secondary and special education) has fallen from £4,276 in 2012/13 5 to £3,286 in 2018/19.

Against a background of a per pupil cut in spending and in specialist support, the SCSC has called for greater resourcing from both the Scottish Government and local authorities to ensure that those with ASN in Scotland’s schools, who disproportionately come from lower income families and areas of deprivation, are getting the care and support that they need.

It 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.

The fall in the number of specialist teachers is set against a background of dramatic increases in the reasons pupils being identified with ASN, such as autism, dyslexia and mental health problems, in Scotland’s schools.

A spokesperson for the SCSC commented: ““It is vital that those with ASN get the care and support they need, especially during and as we come out of the current Covid-19 crisis.

“This is also key if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap as we know that those with ASN disproportionately come from lower income families and areas of deprivation. Such a situation is clearly challenging in an environment of austerity and evidence of cuts in spending per pupil with ASN and in the number of specialist teachers supporting this group.

“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 for all those with ASN given this fall in specialist support and increase in the number of those identified with conditions such as autism and mental health problems.

“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.”

Plans in place to support vulnerable pupils

Plans to ensure learning continues for Edinburgh’s vulnerable young people are being put in place across the Capital.

Two dedicated hub schools opened today for identified children with complex additional support needs, including those of key workers.

A programme of activities, planned in conjunction with the pupils’ own class teachers, will be delivered by staff from special schools and supported by teams from the Additional Support for Learning service (ASL). Both schools will continue to be open over the Easter holidays.

Other children and young people with additional support needs are being supported by their schools through a combination of video conferencing, online learning activities and learning packs which have been sent home by their schools.

Class teams are in regular contact with these pupils to support their wellbeing and ensure their learning continues with 250 iPads being allocated to allow face to face contact for vulnerable children.

Our schools are teaming up with psychological services and other partners to provide further family support, advice and remote learning for vulnerable pupils. The ASL service has shared a list of recommended resources and contact details with schools, early years settings and families to support children with complex needs.

The ASL teams have also put in place bespoke one to one support for our children, young people and families with the highest need with a large focus being on the outdoors. To achieve this they will be using the hubs they have set up at Urban Nature and our own Seaview Centre.

Th council is currently working with partners to ensure that provision is available for children with complex additional support needs whose parents are key workers, and our children with the most complex needs, over the Easter holidays.

Information about this will be shared directly with parents next week.

Council Leader Adam McVey said: “Our special schools and the Additional Support for Learning service have been working extremely hard to make sure parents and carers for children with additional support needs have been supplied with online and digital resources along with home learning materials.

This is clearly a very worrying time for everyone in the city but even more so for those families with children who have additional support needs. The team have pulled out all the stops to ensure learning can continue for these young people and support for keyworker families continues.

Depute Leader Cammy Day said ‘Opening the two schools means that those young people with the most complex needs will continue to receive learning and their parents and carers are being supported.

This is very much a team effort and I would like to thank all partners for their support for our vulnerable learners during this challenging time.

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Additional support for learning: £15 million to recruit frontline staff

Approximately 1,000 extra pupil support assistants will be recruited this year to work with children with additional support needs.

This week the First Minister announced £15 million for councils to expand on the 13,636 pupil support assistants already working in Scotland’s classrooms – but the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition say greater investment yet is still required.

Visiting West End Campus in Dundee, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Every child should have the support they need to reach their full learning potential.

Through listening to the experiences of children and young people with additional support needs, their families and those who support them, we recognise we need to do more to enhance their experience at school.

“Working in partnership with local authorities we will invest an extra £15 million in the coming year to increase frontline staff to support learners with additional support needs.

“This will make an significant impact in our classrooms and will help to ensure our young people and their families get the right help at the right time.”

COSLA Spokesperson Councillor Stephen McCabe said: “Additional resource for Local Government is always welcomed and this funding will make a positive difference to children and young people in classrooms across Scotland, helping those with additional support needs to reach their full potential on their school journey.

“Core Local Government services like education are vital to all of Scotland’s communities and COSLA will work hard in the coming months to ensure that Councils across Scotland continue to have the resources they need to support every child, young person, citizen and community.”

Responding to the Scottish Government announcement, a spokesperson for the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition commented: “This increase in investment to expand the number of pupil support assistants working in Scotland’s schools is to be greatly welcomed.

“However, what is also vital is boost in the number of ASN teachers, who have seen their numbers slashed over the last few years, as well as specialist support staff.

“Between 2012 and 2018 the number of specialist teachers supporting those with ASN has decreased from 3,840 to 3,437, a decline of 403, representing a new low.

“There has also been a fall in the number of specialist support staff in key categories such as behaviour support staff, where the number has dropped by 58 from 2012 (from 180 to 122) and by 43 in the number of educational psychologists (from 411 to 368).

“This fall is against the background of an overall increase by 68.7 per cent since 2012 in the number of pupils identified with ASN, from 118,034 to 199,065 in 2018, representing just over a quarter of all pupils (28.7 per cent).

“Figures reveal that per pupil spend on those with ASN has slumped from £4,276 in 2012/13 to £3,387 in 2017/18. This amounts to a cut of £889 per pupil, representing a 26.1 per cent drop in real terms (20.8 per cent in cash terms).

“It is vital that those with ASN get the care and support they need, which is also key if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap. Any increase in support, which this Scottish Government announcement does, is to be welcomed, but this is clearly challenging in an environment of austerity and evidence of cuts in sspending per pupil with ASN.”

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