The Scottish Government and councils must fundamentally rethink how they plan, fund and staff additional support for learning as part of core school education in Scotland.
Since legislation in 2004 to make additional support for learning (ASL) more inclusive, there has been an eight-fold increase in pupils recorded as receiving ASL; currently 40 per cent of Scottish pupils – or 285,000 children – receive ASL. Almost all support is now delivered in mainstream classrooms, and it has become an increasingly central part of what teachers do.
The Scottish Government failed to plan for the impacts of this inclusive approach, and poor data means it is not possible to determine the scale, complexity and nature of needs across Scotland. The Scottish Government and councils urgently need better information to understand pupils’ needs and appropriate level of resource to support them.
Existing measures show a wide gap in outcomes for pupils receiving additional support compared with other pupils, including being more likely to be absent or excluded from school. More appropriate ways of measuring the achievements of pupils who receive ASL are still to be developed.
Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “The Scottish Government has failed to plan effectively for its inclusive approach to additional support for learning. Current gaps in data mean it is unclear whether all children’s right to have an education that fully develops their personality, talents and abilities is being met.
“The Scottish Government and councils urgently need better quality data to understand pupils’ additional support needs and the resources required to provide support to enable all pupils to reach their full potential.”
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Ruth MacLeod, Member of the Accounts Commission, said: “Councils and the Scottish Government must fundamentally rethink how additional support for learning is planned and provided as a core part of Scotland’s school education.
“This includes reviewing how mainstream and special education is provided to meet current and future additional support needs and demands.
“It is critical they work with pupils, parents and carers and staff throughout this process.”
COSLA’s Children and Young People Spokesperson, Councillor Tony Buchanan @antbuc1), has commented following report published today about Additional Support For Learning from the Auditor General and Accounts Commission.
The Auditor General and Accounts Commission published a briefing paper on additional support for learning (ASL) on 27th February 2025. It makes a series of recommendations to Scottish Government and Councils, touching on data, measuring the outcomes of children and young people with additional support needs, funding, workforce planning and school buildings.
The COSLA Children and Young People Board will discuss the briefing at their meeting on 7th March.
Councillor Tony Buchanan, said: “Local Government is fully committed to supporting all children and young people to learn and to providing opportunities so that they can realise their full potential. The briefing paper published by the Auditor General and Accounts Commission on additional support for learning is welcomed.
The COSLA Children and Young People Board will be updated next week, with an initial consideration of the recommendations. COSLA, alongside the Scottish Government, co-chair the Additional Support for Learning Project Board.
“There will be an opportunity for the project board to consider the recommendations fully when they meet next month and consider how these can inform their priorities.”