Call for help for pupils with additional support needs as cutbacks bite

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition has called for greater resourcing to support children and young people with additional support needs.

The call comes as new figures reveal that spend per pupil has slumped dramatically while the number of specialist teachers supporting pupils has dropped to a new low. The number of pupils with additional support needs (ASN) has escalated dramatically.

Figures reveal that per pupil spend on those with ASN has slumped from £4,276 in 201213 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). The figures, from the annual Scottish Government pupil census, indicate that between 2012 and 2018 the number of specialist teachers supporting those with ASN (publically funded primary, secondary, special and centrally employed) has decreased from 3,840 to 3,437, a decline of 403, representing a new low.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition, said: “It is vital those with ASN get the care and support they need, which is also key if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap. This is 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 and in key support staff categories.

“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, some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society.”

The figures show a fall in specialist support staff in 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).

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Today’s statistics show the number of non-teaching staff in schools who have a role in supporting pupils with additional support needs, including pupil support assistants, home-school link workers, behaviour support staff, educational psychologists and school nurses, has risen by 12 per cent since 2012.”