SNP told to order major review of staffing and funding for Scottish schools after 768% rise in ASN pupils

A watchdog has called for a fundamental review of the way Scottish schools are funded and staffed as it accused the Scottish Government of failing to properly plan for the impact of its inclusion drive.

In a new report, Audit Scotland highlighted a 768 per cent growth in the number of pupils with additional support needs (ASN) in the nation since legislation changed in 2004.

It comes amid rising concerns that many of these pupils are not receiving sufficient support in mainstream schools, as teachers and other school staff struggle to cope.

The trend has repeatedly been raised in discussions relating to deteriorating behaviour in schools.

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The exact reason for the rise in ASN numbers remains unclear, but it has been partly put down to the inclusive approach to additional support for learning (ASL) outlined in a 2004 law in Scotland, along with changes to data recording, increasing awareness of needs and conditions like autism, as well as mental health pressures and the impact of events such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

The numbers in Scotland have increased particularly sharply since 2010, when the recording of new categories of ASN started, including those recorded as “other need”, or those with short term needs or without a specific plan in place.

A total of 40 per cent of pupils in Scotland now have an ASN, or 284,448 youngsters, and two-thirds of them have needs that are considered short term, or do not have specific planning in place.

Under the “presumption of mainstreaming” pupils, 93 per cent of ASN pupils spend all of their time in mainstream classes, while just 3 per cent attend special schools.

Despite rocketing numbers of ASN pupils, the number of special ASL schools in Scotland has fallen from 190 in 2006 to 107 last year, with growing numbers of parents left “frustrated and stressed” as bids for places are refused.

Audit Scotland found it was not possible to determine the full “scale, complexity and nature” of ASN across Scotland due to “inconsistencies and gaps in data recording”.

With the vast majority of ASN pupils in mainstream schools, the watchdog was also unable to ascertain how much money was being spent to specifically support these youngsters, and it said there was a lack of appropriate ways to measure their achievements.

The report said: “This, coupled with gaps in understanding additional support needs, makes it difficult to assess whether the Scottish Government, councils and their partners are planning for and providing the appropriate support to meet pupils’ needs, in line with their rights.”

It added: “Providing ASL is an increasingly core part of what classroom teachers do. However, the Scottish Government has not planned effectively for the potential impact of this inclusive approach to ASL.

“It is not specifically reflected in funding formulas for education and education planning, such as training for teachers and support staff, class sizes and the design of school buildings.

“The Scottish Government and councils need to fundamentally evaluate how education is funded, staffed and assessed to support all pupils to reach their full potential.”

A series of recommendations are made in the report to improve the collection of data and to measure outcomes for ASN pupils, as well as overall planning and resourcing, including “capacity in classrooms, staffing numbers and the mix of teachers and other staff, training and qualifications for teachers and support assistants, and building design”.

Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, said: “This report echoes what we have been saying for years – that the presumption of mainstream policy was introduced without sufficient planning, resourcing or funding.

“The result has been that too many children are not receiving the level of support they require to learn and achieve and that schools have been left struggling to do their best for pupils with a huge impact on the workload and welfare of staff.

“Many teachers are increasingly expected to teach children with such high and complex needs that they require almost one-on-one support, at the same time as teaching the rest of their class. Such a situation undermines the right of all pupils to a high-quality education and those pupils who deserve to have their additional learning needs met with specialist support.”

Scottish Labour education spokesperson Pam Duncan-Glancy said “This damning report shows the shameful scale of the SNP’s failure on education and the number of pupils being badly let down on their watch.

“This report confirms what parents and teachers already know – parents are constantly fighting for their children’s education and teachers are being worked to the bone but they aren’t getting the support they need from the government.”

Conservative education spokesman Miles Briggs said: “This damning verdict highlights that kids with additional support needs are the latest category of pupils being let down by an SNP government with a dismal record on education.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “All children and young people should receive support to reach their full potential and should not face barriers to their learning. Scotland’s inclusive approach to education is enshrined in the Additional Support for Learning Act (2004) and has a broad consensus of support.

“The Scottish Government welcomes Audit Scotland’s report. Ministers will engage with Audit Scotland to consider its recommendations carefully alongside local authorities, who carry the statutory responsibility for Additional Support for Learning (ASL) in our schools.

“Since the ASL (Scotland) Act was enacted in 2004 the number of pupils in schools with ASN has increased to 40 per cent, which does present challenges. That’s why the 2025-26 budget includes an additional £29 million for ASN, building on the record investment of over £1 billion spent by local authorities in the last year alone.

“It is encouraging that school leaver destinations for pupils with ASN are at near-record levels, and we are seeing record achievement through curriculum for excellence.”