Warning thousands of children with support needs missing out
Thousands of Scottish children with additional support needs (ASN) may not be getting the necessary support, it was claimed yesterday.
The scottish children’ s services Coalition( SC SC) made the claim after new figures suggested there was a worsening ratio of ASN children to specialist staff. Figures from the school staff census showed there was a 55.5 per cent increase in the number of ASN pupils from 118,034 to 183,491 between 2012 and 2017.
The number of specialist support staff has only risen by 6 per cent from 12,992 to 13,761 over the same period.
A SCSC spokesperson said: “The fact that the number of ASN support staff has risen by only 6 per cent since 2012 is deeply disturbing, especially as we are aware of the increasing numbers of those with ASN and we know the great benefits to be gained through early detection and intervention.
“ASN disproportionately affects those children from lower income families and areas of deprivation. If we are to close the attainment gap, this is one group of individuals we need to devote resources to.”
Education secretary John Swinney said: “These statistics show there are more than 13,000 pupil support assistants in Scotland in 2017. While this figure is not comparable with the total for last year of around 12,000, we are determined that all children and young people get the support they need to reach their full potential.
“Children and young people should learn in the environment which best suits their needs, whether in a mainstream or special school setting.”