Risk of 'lost generation' without increased investment in additional support needs
Schools are struggling to provide ASN pupils with the education and support they need
Children’s charities have warned of a “lost generation” of vulnerable young people without increased classroom support.
A coalition of children’s charities has echoed calls for the Scottish government to use additional Westminster cash for special needs provision.
The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition is following a push from the GMB union to ring fence extra funds from a UK government increase in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) spending in English schools.
The group highlights a recent Scottish government-commissioned report on additional support needs (ASN) that found a “growing gap” between what ASN pupils are promised and what they receive.
A spokesperson said: “Undertaken by former chief inspector of education Janie McManus, the report highlights growing pressures on teachers and wide variations in access to services between council areas, as numbers of those with ASN soar to just under 300,000 individuals, more than two in five of the pupil population.”
Schools are struggling to cope with rising numbers of pupils with ASN, a rise in complex needs and teachers lacking specific skills.
Over the last decade, spending per pupil on supporting ASN has declined by almost a third, and there have been cuts in specialist ASN teacher numbers, which have been dropped by 240.
The group added: “The call in the report for timely access to specialist services across education, health and social care, and early intervention is to be welcomed, but there needs to be adequate resourcing and staffing in place to turn this vision into a reality.
“We would urge the Scottish Government to prioritise the windfall that will come from proposed increased spending on those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in English schools, on those Scottish pupils with ASN, delivering genuine inclusion.
“Without urgent action we are facing a lost generation of vulnerable children and young people who are not getting the care and support they so vitally need.”
Earlier this month, GMB Scotland called for ministers to prioritise “any additional budget headroom” from increased Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) spending in English schools.
Specifically, the union wants any increased funding to be ring fenced to employ more Pupil Support Assistants (PSA).
Keir Greenaway, the union’s Senior Organiser, wrote to cabinet secretary Jenny Gilruth to call for further investment in ASN provision.
Mr Greenaway outlined how GMB members in schools are increasingly raising concerns about capacity and the difficulty of supporting rising numbers of young people with complex needs.
The union’s position is that, not only does there need to be an increase in the number of PSAs but that they are receive up-to-date job evaluations, support, and resources necessary to carry out their work to a high standard.
A Scottish Government spokesman said the consequentials confirmed by the UK government represent less than half of one per cent of the Scottish government budget over three years.
The spokesman added that the government is investing a further £28m to “support the ASN workforce,in addition to record spend of over £1 billion by local authorities on ASN in 2024-25.”
“We have also committed to a wider review to see what more can be done to support pupils and staff,” he said.
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