Tag: call for action

Call for action as number of legal plans for vulnerable children slumps

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), an alliance of leading providers of specialist care and education to vulnerable children and young people, has called for 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.

There were 3,279 pupils with such a plan in 2013 1. In 2023, this had fallen to 1,318, amounting to a drop of 59.8%. 2  This is a reduction from 2.5% to 0.5% of those pupils with ASN, amounting to 0.2% of the pupil population.

This is in contrast with England where the number of those receiving an education, health and care plan (EHCP), the CSP equivalent, is 4.3% of the pupil population. 

Amounting to more than 22 times the percentage of those receiving a CSP in Scotland, this figure is also on the increase.3

A concern raised by the coalition 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. Being legally enforceable, with legal action taken if the needs of the child or young person are not believed to have been met, is also another cause of this reluctance to issue.

This is all set against the backdrop of a lack of resources to support adequate CSP provision, with non-statutory alternatives often being offered in their place.

Also of concern is the fact that CSPs are 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 is despite the fact that there is a greater prevalence of those with ASN in the most deprived communities.

The coalition 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 and increased awarness and understanding of CSPs by families/carers and professionals. It has also called for a particular focus on care- experienced children and young people, and those from the most deprived neighbourhoods.

This sharp fall in the number of CSPs contrasts with a dramatic increase in the number of pupils with ASN, such as autism, dyslexia and mental health problems. In 2023 this reached a record high of 259,036.4 This represents 36.7% of the pupil population, rising from 131,593 in 2013, and is a near doubling (96.8%) in numbers from that year.5

If a lower number of those in more deprived communities are receiving a CSP in comparison with least deprived communities, they may not be getting the care and support they need, which has the potential to make closing the educational attainment gap even harder.

A spokesperson for the SCSC commented: “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. 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.”

“Scotland is in a unique position to help make COP a success”

First Minister sets out her ambition for COP26

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will deliver a keynote speech today setting out how COP26 in Glasgow can lead the world into the green revolution.

Ms Sturgeon will call on international leaders to take credible action to limit global temperature increases and to deliver a fair financial package for the global south.

In the week that delegates arrive in Scotland’s largest city, the First Minister addressed an audience of young people and students this morning to argue that the country is uniquely placed to build a bridge between the voices of civil society and world leaders.

The First Minister said that keeping the prospect of limiting global warning to less than 1.5 degrees alive, must be more than a slogan, and that delivering on the long promised £100bn of climate finance is an essential part of ensuring good faith between developed and developing countries.

Setting out further action by the Scottish Government, she added that Scotland will do what it can to contribute to a successful outcome at the Glasgow summit by bringing together member states in the negotiating room with the world’s regions, cities and devolved governments representing almost 2 billion people.

The First Minister said: “We will take seriously the responsibility of all governments – at all levels – to show ambition, and to galvanise action. If we do that, we can all contribute towards a successful summit.

“I have said that small countries can lead the way in this, and they can, but in the coming days, it is the countries which emit the most who most need to step up. They need to make ambitious pledges to achieve net zero. And those pledges must be backed by credible actions.

“The idea of “keeping 1.5 alive”, cannot simply be a face-saving slogan. It must be real. And there must be progress in Glasgow which makes that outcome more likely.”

Speaking about Scotland’s role, she went on: “Scotland is in a unique position to help make COP a success.

“And one of the ways in which we will do that, over the next three weeks, is by acting as a bridge.

“We will use our position, as the venue for COP, to create spaces and dialogues which encourage empathy, promote understanding and help people share perspectives.

“We will encourage national governments to match the ambition of cities, regions and state governments.

“We will help those around the negotiating table to hear from activists in the developed world and from the global South.”

Invest in Scottish maternity to tackle deprivation, says RCM in message to next government

Tackling Scotland’s social deprivation and inequalities by investing in maternity services and staff must be at the heart of the next government’s policy. That’s the message from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) in a Blueprint for maternity services published this week.

In five areas for action, it also calls for an end to Scotland’s midwife shortage, saying some areas of the country struggle to attract enough midwives. 

The pandemic has also exposed starkly existing inequalities hitting vulnerable women and those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.  Maternity and other areas of healthcare have a key role to play in efforts to address these inequalities, says the RCM 

The RCM’s five areas for action for the next Scottish Government are: 

  • tackling social deprivation; 
  • delivering the best maternity care for all the people of Scotland; 
  • supporting NHS staff to recover from the pandemic; 
  • ensuring Scotland has birthplaces that are fit for the future; and 
  • ending Scotland’s midwife shortage for good. 

Pulling no punches, the Blueprint says the pandemic ‘has been brutal’ on maternity and other NHS staff, who have worked throughout to ensure safe and high-quality care for women. This has hit their mental and physical health and they must be given the time and support to recover from it. 

Jon Skewes, Executive Director for External Relations at the RCM, said: “There has been a monumental effort from midwives, maternity support workers, and maternity care assistants through the pandemic. It is time to step-up and really invest in them, in their pay and in their working conditions.

“Right now, we have a demoralised and exhausted workforce and women falling through the cracks and not getting the care they deserve. Staff are also often working in old, poorly designed buildings that are simply not fit for purpose. The pandemic has exposed the extent and the impact on care of this crumbling infrastructure.” 

Additional training places for student midwives are also needed in more of Scotland’s universities. When they qualify new midwives generally stay within the regions they trained in leaving the chances of recruiting staff stacked against other areas without midwifery courses.  

Jon Skewes added: “Tackling deprivation goes way beyond maternity and the wider NHS. Fixing it must be done through multiple channels including social care, education, and others.

“Maternity is a very good place to start improving the health of the nation, reduce inequalities and indeed, save lives that should not be lost. This has been a really tough year for the NHS and the people using it as it creaked under the weight of pandemic demands.

“It has also been a remarkable year because of how its staff and the service responded. Now is the time to invest to make it fit for the future.”