Additional support needs shortfall

Sir

Around a third of children and young people in Scotland’s publicly-funded schools (that’s around 233,000 pupils) need additional support.

And that number has been increasing for years.

The Scottish Government’s stated ambition is for all children and young people in Scotland to have the opportunity to grow up loved, safe and respected, enabling them to reach their full potential.

These ambitions aren’t, however, consistently being delivered in practice.

In 2020, an independent review found that not all pupils in Scotland are always getting the additional support they need, when they need it.

In many cases, individuals’ needs are not given the focus they should be. Numerous aspects of additional support therefore need to be improved.

It’s distressing and frustrating that we repeatedly hear of the barriers that some families fight against to get the right support to help their child to learn.

Too often, families are worn down by a prolonged search for the right support, and by having to manage a crisis that could have and should have been avoided.

Families are partners with public services and should be regarded as such.

Central to the Accounts Commission’s priorities is emphasising and reporting on the debilitating and life-impacting inequalities faced by too many across Scotland’s communities.

The lack of the right support, at the right time, for children and young people who need additional support – and their families – can exacerbate and intensify these inequalities.

So we will continue to focus on this important area as part of our ongoing work.

Stephen Moore, Member of the Accounts Commission