Education unions demand better funding for additional support needs

Branding current provisions inexcusable, organisations representing support workers and parents, as well as teaching unions, collectively voiced concerns at insufficient levels of funding to deliver ASN provision. 

The lack of provision was said to be detrimental to the wellbeing of pupils and staff, as well as the wider school community.

It comes as nearly 40% of the school-age population require support with additional needs, it has been revealed. 

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Leanne McGuire, chair of Glasgow City Parents Group, said: “As parents, we see first hand how lack of funding for ASN impacts the entire school community.

“It’s heartbreaking to watch staff struggle to meet the needs of almost 40% of students. We urgently need the Scottish Government to ensure all our children receive the education and care they deserve.”

Cheryl Burnett, chair of the National Parent Forum of Scotland, added: “This has reached crisis point where we have been asked by parents regularly to provide advocacy and signpost for support to enable children to receive their entitlement.

“Requests for advocacy support are coming through on a daily basis with many parents left feeling that their children are being failed by our current system.”

Lobby groups are now urging the Scottish Government and local authorities to fully resource legal duties for all pupils needing extra help and questioned if the Getting it Right for Every Child policy was effective.

Andrea Bradley, general secretary of Education Institute Scotland (EIS), said: “The under-funding and under-resourcing of ASN provision is a national scandal.

“The lack of resourcing and staffing is letting down the large and growing number of young people in need of additional support, a very large number of whom also live in poverty, piling untold pressure on already over-burdened teaching and support staff, and disrupting the learning and teaching environments across our schools.

“The Scottish Government and local authorities cannot sweep this issue under the carpet any longer – they must invest in ASN provision to ensure that we can mitigate the impact of poverty on children’s education and truly get it right for every child.”

Mike Corbett, NASUWT Scotland national official, said: “The longer the Scottish Government fails to act, the bigger the challenge becomes for teachers and schools. Ministers cannot continue to ignore their duty to ensure every child can have their needs met.”

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Lilian Macer, Scotland regional secretary, Unison, added: “The number of pupils identified as having ASN is set to grow, yet funding levels and resources are woefully inadequate to meet the current number, let alone even more.

“Unison members are the army of classroom assistants who support our children with additional learning needs. They tell us that too many children attend mainstream schools but are not getting the education they deserve.

“Resources to support children with ASN should help them access an education not just a mainstream school. Staff cope with cuts to educational resources and to wider teams who should be supporting children like social work, CAMHS, speech and language therapy – which are all harder to access.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “While it is for local councils to determine the most appropriate educational provision, the Scottish Government is committed to improving outcomes for young people with additional support needs.

“Spending on additional support for learning reached a record high of £926 million in the latest available figures [2022-23] to help address growing demand in this area.

“Through our continued investment of £15 million per year, the number of FTE additional pupils support staff has also increased by 725 (4.4%), bringing the total number of support staff in Scotland in 2023 to 17,330.”