Number of Scots pupils with autism doubles in six years
● Figures show dramatic rise in need for schools’ additional support services
The number of Scottish school pupils identified as being on the autism spectrum disorder has more than doubled since 2012.
The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC) has highlighted a “dramatic increase” in the reasons pupils are being identified with additional support needs (ASN) in the country’s schools.
Figures, based on an analysis of the annual Scottish Government Pupil Census, show that, between 2012 and last year, the number of pupils identified with autism spectrum disorder in publicly funded primary, secondary and special schools has increased by 101 per cent.
The increase is in part due to growing recognition and diagnosis of these conditions, as well as continued improvements in recording.
Greater clarity in these figures means that support and funding can be more targeted towards the needs of the child or young person concerned.
SCSC, an alliance of leading independent and third-sector service providers, has repeated its call for greater resourcing by local authorities and the Scottish Government to support
those with ASN, who disproportionately come from lower-income families and areas of deprivation.
The figures indicate that, between 2012 and 2018, the number of specialist teachers supporting those with ASN has fallen from 3,840 to 3,437 – a decline of 403, representing a new low.
The coalition also highlighted a drop in the number of specialist support staff in key categories such as behaviour support staff, where the number has dropped by 58 between 2012 and 2018 – from 180 to 122 – and by 43 in the number of educational psychologists – from 411 to 368.
This increase in those with ASN is set against a background of a cut in spending of £883 per pupil with ASN since 2012.
The coalition also raised concerns about the effectiveness of a presumption of mainstreaming, the proposition that all pupils be educated in a mainstream educational environment.
A spokesperson for the SCSC said: “It is clearly positive to see that we are become increasingly good at identifying and recording those with ASN such as autism, dyslexia, mental health problems and learning difficulties.
“Greater clarity in these figures allows resourcing to be targeted in a more appropriate manner.
“However, what is key is that we provide those requiring it with the care and support that they need, if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap.
“This is clearly difficult in an environment of austerity and budget cuts, with evidence of cuts in the number of ASN teachers and support staff.
“While we also support the presumption of mainstreaming – that all children and young people be 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.”
Scottish Labour’s education spokesperson, Iain Gray, said the increases were “dramatic” and demanded a proper response from the Scottish Government, but claimed the pupils with ASN were being let down by the SNP administration.
He said: “Almost a third of pupils are identified as needing additional support, all while there are fewer staff to provide it.
“This all comes down to the lack of resources, with a huge fall in per pupil funding since 2010.
“The direct consequences of these cuts are being felt by those young people most in need.”
The Scottish Conservative health spokesperson Miles Briggs said: “It is welcome to see that pupils with ASN such as autism, dyslexia, mental health problems and learning difficulties are being identified.
“However, it is still the case that, in many cases, the ASN diagnosis process is currently failing pupils and families.
“That is why Scottish Conservatives have called on the SNP to introduce a threemonth waiting time target and take direct action to tackling delays in autism diagnosis.
“The SNP must record, publish and monitor autism diagnosis in every health board area, which would give a greater understanding to health professionals.
“These are all measures already in place in the rest of the UK.”
Over the past six years, there has been an extraordinary increase in the number of children recognised to have ‘additional support needs’ or ASN.
The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC) found that between 2012 and 2018 the overall figure had gone up from 118,034 to 199,065, meaning that nearly 29 per cent of all pupils need some form of extra help. A breakdown reveals a 101 per cent increase in pupils with an autism spectrum disorder and a 252 per cent rise in children with mental health problems.
It is thought that one of the main reasons for the changes is that we have become better at spotting and recording such conditions, so the situation isn’t as simple as it first appears. However, over the same period, there has been a fall of more than ten per cent in the number of specialist teachers providing the support these children need and a reduction in the amount of money spent per pupil with ASN from more than £4,250 to just under £3,400. So it seems fairly clear that as it has emerged such problems are significantly more prevalent than we once thought, the amount of support available has been reduced.
While the SCSC said it backed
the “presumption of mainstreaming” – the idea that pupils with ASNS should be taught in ordinary schools if at all possible – it added that it was “difficult to see how this is functioning properly” given the figures.
Scotland’s teachers are at the frontline of such issues, charged with the practicalities of children’s education, and it’s hard to avoid the suggestion that this is a factor in growing complaints about teacher stress and the rise in the number of sick days taken for mental health reasons.
If a pupil requires extra help the teacher does not have time to give, that’s bad for the child and the teacher. If the teacher chooses to give the child sufficient attention, the rest of the class could suffer. But it’s wrong to put teachers in that position. Pupils with ASNS should not be in competition with their classmates.
The aims of mainstreaming are laudable, but if we cannot afford the level of support required, perhaps specialist facilities would be more efficient. Striking the right balance is difficult – a task best left to the experts – but it doesn’t seem like Scotland is doing that at the moment. The risk is that our current system is failing all concerned.