Fighting to get children their education

In the past year, 24 north and north-east families took legal action to get their kids into school. Across Scotland, there are hundreds more in the same position – forced to fight for a human right enshrined in law.

Families say the figures show autistic pupils are the “forgotten children” of the education system.

These parents aren’t just parents. They’re campaigners, advocates, researchers and champions for their kids.

Their stories are as unique as their children, but they have one thing in common. Every single one feels they have had to fight simply to secure an education for their child.

Govan Law Centre is an independent, communityowned practice which has represented dozens of northeast families at special tribunals at no cost to parents.

“We have a good success rate, but our priority is to resolve these cases without going to tribunal,” says Jennifer Barr, a senior solicitor at Govan Law. “A tribunal can be a very difficult and stressful experience for everyone involved.”

Unfortunately, many parents of autistic children don’t know that Govan Law Centre’s services exist.

“Parents are often surprised to learn about the rights they have,” says Jennifer.

And in her experience, councils aren’t in a rush to clue parents in on autism support.

“You have some authorities working very pro-actively, saying we must get this child to school... and others who let it drop off and forget about it. It’s like a postcode lottery depending on where you live.”

Last year, Govan Law Centre took Aberdeenshire Council to court 11 times and Aberdeen City four times.

“Sometimes you have education managers who are more knowledgeable in terms of making sure they put the support in,” says Jennifer.

“You have some very good authorities who go out of their way and try their best. Other authorities aren’t quite as aware, or misinterpret what the legal position is.”

The right to an education is enshrined in law, and failure to make reasonable adjustments for an autistic pupil is a form of discrimination.

The difficulty lies in how children access that education.

Govan Law Centre mostly deals with placing requests, where parents want their child to attend a special school.

Local authorities operate a “presumption of mainstream” where the goal is always to place a child in mainstream school. Sadly, the support doesn’t always follow them.

“What you generally see is that the educational authority can’t provide the support the child requires, so the parents look at independent special schools,” says Jennifer.

“There are exceptionally few cases where the council will fund that – they mostly just refuse outright.”

Families across the country have contacted The Press and Journal with stories of being refused support.

One of the main stumbling blocks are Co-ordinated Support Plans (CSPs), legal support plans for children with significant and complex needs. Local authorities must provide support detailed in to a CSP.

“There’s a chronic problem with CSPs,” says Jennifer. “The idea is great but the problem is the people who need them just aren’t receiving them.”

Statistics from the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition show that the proportion of pupils with additional support needs (ASN) has doubled in the last decade. Despite this, the number of CSPs across Scotland has dropped by 64%.

Across the north-east, fewer than 1% of children with complex additional support needs had a CSP in 2021.

Aberdeen City gave CSPs to just 0.16% of primary pupils with an ASN – the lowest in Scotland. In Aberdeenshire, it was 0.49%, and 0.27% in Highland. When asked for comment, the councils said cases were considered on an individual basis and support provided as needed.

Highland Council said ASN support is “universal” and doesn’t depend on one specific plan. A spokesperson added: “A range of planning mechanisms are used to support the needs of children and young people in school, including individualised support plans, child’s plans and co-ordinated support plans (CSPs).”

Jennifer says that in 95% of CSP tribunals, the council is instructed to prepare one.

The next challenge, though, is delivering the support. “Often what’s drawn up is unspecific,” says Jennifer.

“It can sometimes feel like local authorities are making it up as they go along.”