There are more Scottish pupils with ASN than ever previously reported, but the amount of students with legal plans for their extra support has dropped.
Coordinated support plans (CSPs) are legally binding education plans that guarantee a pupil’s entitlement to additional support. These plans are produced by local authorities and place legal duties on councils to manage and review their provision.
But the number of students with protection via these plans has reached its lowest point, according to the Scottish Government’s most recent school census data.
In response, the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC) is calling for the Scottish Government to work with local authorities to increase the number of ASN pupils who have access to legal protection for their support.
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A spokesperson for the SCSC warned that the growing number of pupils with ASN, coupled with a steady decline in the number of CSPs, could leave vulnerable pupils without vital protection.
“With those with ASN drawn disproportionately from poorer neighbourhoods, if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap, they must get the care and support they need, when they need it.”
Additional support needs include autism, dyslexia and other learning disabilities and mental health issues. They also cover certain family circumstances, such as children who serve as a primary caregiver.
CSPs give pupils with ASN legal protection and entitlement to the extra resources their circumstances require.
In 2023, the government reported that 259,036 pupils in Scotland have ASN. This represents 36.7% of the current student population and is almost double the recorded number from a decade ago (131,593 in 2013).
But the number of children protected by CSPs does match the rise in the ASN population. According to the same data, 1,318 students had a CSP in 2023.
That number represents 0.5% of Scotland’s pupils with ASN. In 2013, the number was much higher – 3,279 pupils were covered by CSPs – although the rate of protected ASN students was still only 2.5%.
The number of pupils with CSPs in 2023 is roughly 100 fewer than in 2022 and marks four consecutive years of decline since the Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020.
According to the SCSC, an alliance of specialist childcare providers for vulnerable young people, the drop could be attributed to the burden that CSPs place on local authorities.
CSPs can be resource-intensive to execute and could leave councils vulnerable to legal action if not carried out fully.
But there may also be an issue of awareness and access to knowledge about CSPs. The SCSC has found that pupils with ASN from Scotland’s least deprived areas are more likely to have a CSP, compared to pupils from more challenging socioeconomic backgrounds.
Although CSPs are delivered by local authorities, the SCSC announced this week that it will be calling on the Scottish Government to help reverse the trend and increase access to CSPs for Scotland’s most vulnerable pupils.
“We are calling for action following figures highlighting a decline in the use of CSPs, which are designed to support those with the most complex needs.
“This is despite a Scottish Government assurance that they would not decline and against the backdrop of a dramatic increase in the numbers of those with ASN.
“By not providing this legally enforceable provision, many of these vulnerable individuals are being failed and not getting the support they are entitled to.
“This is of particular significance given the devastating impact of Covid-19 and cost-of-living crisis.
“The Scottish Government, local authorities and other agencies need to collaborate to ensure that those requiring a CSP receive it, with the necessary resourcing in place to support this.”
A spokesman for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) said that there are a variety of action plans available to parents and carers, and there needs to be more education about each.
“Local authorities are committed to supporting all children and young people to achieve the best possible outcomes.
"Our Additional Support for Learning action plan, overseen jointly with the Scottish Government, sets out the steps we are taking to improve the support for children and young people.
"Councils design support for children and young people based on their needs, and Coordinated Support Plans are used where input is required from agencies such as health or social work.
"The Short Life Working Group on Coordinated Support Plans published a report in November 2021 which noted there are a number of different plans available to support children and young people with additional needs, and further work is needed to clarify the relationship between these different plans.”
The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.
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