Official Report 1094KB pdf
The next item of business is a statement by Jenny Gilruth on the additional support for learning review. The cabinet secretary will take questions at the end of her statement, so there should be no interventions or interruptions.
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National statistics that were published in December show that there has been another increase in the number of children in Scotland with an identified support need and that the support needs identified are becoming more complex.
At the same time, attainment for pupils with an identified additional support need is improving. The proportion of pupils in primary school with additional support needs who achieve the expected level in literacy increased from 41 per cent in 2016-17 to 54 per cent in 2024-25. Similarly, the proportion of primary pupils with ASN who achieve the expected level in numeracy increased from 52 per cent in 2016-17 to 63 per cent in 2024-25. Literacy and numeracy rates for secondary 3 ASN pupils are now both above 80 per cent.
We should never lose sight of the fact that, in Scotland, we acknowledge and give rights to a much wider group of children than other parts of the United Kingdom do. Every looked-after child is deemed to have a support need. Young carers have rights to have their support needs assessed. Every child at school has the right to support, whether for a short-term or a long-term need, and they should receive that support in a consistent, effective and inclusive way. However, those rights are meaningless if the support is not provided, schools cannot cope, teachers are overwhelmed and other pupils’ learning is routinely disrupted.
Today, I will provide the Parliament with an update on the work that the Government has been leading, including in relation to the “Additional Support for Learning Action Plan” and the previously agreed review of ASN, which was a direct ask of Opposition parties last year.
Funding matters. Local authority spending on ASN reached more than £1 billion in 2023-24 compared with just under £7 million back in 2019-20, when the Morgan review was published. In addition, the pupil equity fund is being used in innovative ways by Scotland’s headteachers to respond to increasing demands related to additional support needs. For example, last year, I visited Fair Isle primary school in Kirkcaldy, where the headteacher was using her pupil equity funding to employ an extra member of staff. That teacher worked with smaller groups of pupils with additional support needs, giving them the tailored input that their learning required. Other examples of PEF inputs include nurture rooms, outdoor learning, music therapy, sensory gardens and extra classroom assistants, to name but a few.
In 2025-26, further funding was provided to bolster the ASN workforce and teacher numbers nationally and locally. I am pleased that that additional funding will continue into 2026-27, subject to the passing of the Scottish Government’s budget. Those investments provide the scaffolding that is necessary to increase capacity in classrooms and help teachers and support staff to deliver what children need.
Last year, when we discussed the parameters of a further review into additional support needs, I was grateful to MSPs from across the chamber for their cross-party engagement. A number of helpful contributions were made in that discussion, including recognition that we should build on the previous reviews and a request for a national event to share best practice, on which I will say more later.
There was also a clear ask from Opposition parties for a short, sharp review that would report before the pre-election period. I can announce today that Janie McManus, our professional adviser for education, will lead that review. The rigorous, evidence-informed review will focus on the national and local system conditions that support ASN delivery, the experiences of delivery in schools and how policy is translating into effective practice. The work is intentionally designed to focus on the existing evidence and to take forward feedback from previous reviews, particularly about the capacity and complexity in the system. The priority is identifying what needs to happen next to strengthen delivery. Given that the ask for the review came from Opposition parties, I have written to party spokespeople this afternoon to invite them to a briefing with Ms McManus, to ensure that her review takes cognisance of their views on where improvement can be strengthened.
In November, we held a national data summit, which highlighted that ASN data collection varies across local authorities. Members know that ASN measurements can encompass a wide range of needs, which can be defined and met in a wide range of ways. That is demonstrated by the 2024 statistics, which showed that the overall ASN rate in local authorities ranged from 27 per cent to 52 per cent. It is, therefore, important that we support consistent reporting to ensure that we have an accurate data set from which to drive improvement.
That is why, in December, I announced a new national programme to improve additional support for learning data. The work will improve the breakdown of data into meaningful categories and strengthen the quality and completeness of school-level recording. It will also include practical support and targeted guidance on categories in order to create a consistent approach across Scotland to the recording of additional support needs. That matters because it will help us to understand the extent of issues and challenges and to identify localised pockets of need.
We also need better support for the teaching profession. In many schools across the country, the ASN cohort in classrooms is more than 50 per cent. The necessary differentiation required in lessons, which has always been a feature of our learning environments, has increased as identification rates have improved and our approach to inclusion has, rightly, broadened.
A key priority, which was identified by teachers, for the new centre for teaching excellence is additional support for learning. I can announce today that, this spring, a dedicated research hub on pedagogy for inclusion will open, with a specific focus on additional support needs. The hub will provide accessible resources and professional learning aligned to the priorities that teachers have identified. Teachers will be able to access the latest research and evidence through briefs from the centre, and they will receive structured support to apply insights to their practice, share findings and learn from colleagues across peer networks. I am pleased that a number of teachers have already been seconded to each hub. Those teachers will act as a point of contact for schools and colleagues, and they will support participation in networks and events.
That work builds on the national support from Education Scotland, which we have funded to deliver a national ASN teacher professional learning programme over the past 18 months. That initiative includes deploying ASN associates to support adaptive teaching in classrooms.
Furthermore, starting this month, the General Teaching Council for Scotland will consult on planned changes to initial teacher education accreditation. Alongside that, the GTCS is working with the Scottish Council of Deans of Education to deliver a national evaluation of ITE programmes in Scotland. That work has the potential to evaluate the impact of ITE, including by providing a more robust assessment of ASN content in ITE, which was a key ask of the Parliament’s Education, Children and Young People Committee.
Notwithstanding the focused review, it is important that we learn from previous action on additional support needs. The ASL action plan, which arose from the Morgan review of 2020, is now entering its final phase. The plan has resulted in a number of deliverables. First, we have refreshed the code of practice for supporting children’s learning in order to provide clearer guidance on the implementation of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. The draft document will be published for consultation next month, giving stakeholders a final opportunity to engage and contribute their views. The code seeks to address practicalities and common areas of ambiguity that teachers and families have raised. It explains how the law should work in practice, including in relation to identification, planning, co-ordinated support plans and dispute resolution, and it is central to consistent delivery.
Secondly, the first iteration of the ASL national measurement framework was launched last month. The framework will enable reporting on measures that better reflect the achievements and experiences of children and young people with additional support needs. By embedding ASL data in that platform, we will ensure an equal focus on making progress in reducing the poverty-related and ASN-related attainment gaps.
Thirdly, work has been developed and led by Enquire, Scotland’s national advice service for ASL, to improve communication. A dedicated web page has been launched on the Enquire website, which now serves as a central hub for all ASL resources. It hosts a suite of downloadable materials, including general information cards for parents, carers and professionals, as well as a series of frequently asked questions that address common issues about ASL rights and processes.
I can confirm that a final update on the ASL action plan and progress report will be published before the end of this session of Parliament. The update will capture and demonstrate the real progress that has been made across a wide range of commitments. We all recognise the growing demand for additional support in recent years, so the report will reflect areas in which on-going work must remain a priority and that will be important to acknowledge as part of our focused ASN review.
There was a clear ask from Willie Rennie—who, I note, is not in the chamber—for the Government to hold a national ASN debate. I am pleased to share with the Parliament that that event is scheduled for 12 March. We will also create a digital space, including an interactive platform, where materials can be uploaded and accessed by participants at the event and the wider system. That will ensure that the event is not a one-off experience but, rather, a catalyst for continuous improvement, supporting teachers and councils to share updates and build on the good practice that we know is working best.
Our values remain true. As a Government and, indeed, as a Parliament, we are committed to inclusion, equity and ambition for every child. Since 2020, we have made progress. Investment is at record levels, professional learning for teachers has been strengthened, data collation is improving, and understanding and culture are changing for the better. Given that we are taking stock and carrying out a short, sharp review now, the next Government of Scotland will be in a strong position to shape the next phase of ASL policy. That will ensure that we continue to build an education system in which support is timely, consistent and effective, in which staff have the tools and confidence to meet diverse needs and in which children and young people with additional support needs thrive—every day, in every classroom, in every community.
The cabinet secretary will now take questions on the issues that were raised in her statement. I intend to allow about 20 minutes for questions, after which we will move to the next item of business. It would be helpful if members who wish to ask a question pressed their request-to-speak buttons now.
I advise the cabinet secretary and the chamber that Willie Rennie has been engaged online from the outset of the proceedings this afternoon and has pressed his button to indicate that he wishes to ask a question.
I look forward to Willie Rennie being beamed in at some point.
I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of her statement, because the Scottish Conservatives lodged a motion to call for a national review. I welcome the cross-party working and the manner in which the cabinet secretary is taking forward that work.
It is completely unacceptable that parents and teachers are being denied the specialist support that they urgently need. Scottish National Party ministers have not delivered on the promised specialist staff numbers across the country at the very time that we see a decline in dedicated ASN schools. Families are being failed and teachers are being left to cope without the resources that are required to keep children safe and supported in the learning environment. I hope that this is genuinely an opportunity for a new national approach that is focused on outcomes.
During the cross-party conversations that we have had, the cabinet secretary has acknowledged that there is no definition of mainstreaming. That often results in a situation that fails everyone in the classroom, and parents and teachers have said that they want a new approach. What work will be undertaken in that area—for example, to develop ASN hubs and give all local authorities a definition of mainstreaming?
I thank Mr Briggs for his question and for his welcome of the cross-party working on the issue. I very much hope that he and his colleagues will take forward my offer to engage with Ms McManus on the substantive work that she is leading in relation to the short, sharp and focused review, which was a key ask from Opposition members when we met last year.
Mr Briggs spoke about the denial of specialist support. Staffing rates are hugely important in that regard. That is why, in this year’s budget and in next year’s draft budget, we have protected funding to increase teacher numbers—we were able to deliver on that last year for the first time since 2022—as well as providing protection for ASN spend, which I recognise is important. That has contributed to us having the second-highest level on record of pupil support assistants in our schools.
The definition of mainstreaming is something that the ASL work on definitions and categories can consider, but I invite Mr Briggs to discuss the matter with Ms McManus in more detail. It is true to say that we have a broad range of categories in ASN at the current time. In discussions with officials earlier, we considered some of the statistics around the social, emotional and behavioural needs category, which is the largest category.
It is important that we look at the definitions in the round. They will all be considered through the data improvement work that I set out in December, but I invite Mr Briggs to pursue those matters further with Ms McManus, as I share his interest.
I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of the statement and for the correspondence relating to joining the group.
A year ago, Audit Scotland bluntly put the challenge in context when it said that the Scottish Government had
“failed to plan effectively for its inclusive approach to additional support for learning.”
That is why, collectively, Parliament called for this further review, but I have to say that I think that many of us would have expected the review to come sooner.
Given that there is so little time left in this parliamentary session, will the cabinet secretary say when, before the dissolution of Parliament, she expects the short, sharp review, as she describes it, to report? How will she ensure that we can have a debate in the parliamentary chamber ahead of dissolution on the issues contained therein?
I appreciate that Mr O’Kane was not the Labour Party’s spokesperson on additional support needs when the Audit Scotland report was published, but I am glad that he has welcomed the announcement today of the review and the national event, which was a key ask of the Opposition.
Mr O’Kane is right to flag the Audit Scotland report, which I welcomed when it was published last year. I met Audit Scotland following its publication, and I noted that the interesting part of the report for me concerned the lack of data being held centrally in the Scottish Government about the national spend.
I am able to tell Parliament that, in 2023-24, we spent more than £1 billion on additional support needs. However, Audit Scotland was clear that we need further granularity on how that funding, which is being protected at national level, gets into our classrooms. The data work that I announced in December is hugely important in that regard.
Mr O’Kane spoke about the timescale in relation to the reporting of the short, sharp review. My expectation is that the review, which is being led by Janie McManus, will report before the end of this parliamentary session. I again invite Mr O’Kane to the meeting with Ms McManus. I will take on board his points in relation to debates and parliamentary feedback, but I hope that the fact that the report will be published before the end of this parliamentary session gives him some comfort. In our meeting last year, the Opposition was keen for that to be delivered, and that is the commitment that I give again today.
I welcome the Scottish Government’s investment in additional support for learning and teacher numbers, which was announced this week in the 2026-27 Scottish budget. Does the cabinet secretary agree that it is essential that that funding makes its way into classrooms, where it can make the biggest difference?
I thank Jackie Dunbar for her question, which relates quite neatly to the points that Mr O’Kane made previously about the funding that we protect in central Government for additional support needs. I spoke of more than £1 billion of funding in 2023-24, which is the latest data that we have to hand, although I expect that there will be a further update—I hope before the end of this parliamentary session—in relation to the overall spend from local authorities. We also protected funding for teacher numbers in ASN in the budget this year and in the draft budget for next year.
Having the right staffing levels is hugely important in meeting the needs of all pupils, not least in relation to how we meet the needs of those with additional support needs. It is hugely important that that funding makes its way into our classrooms, and I hope that the ASL data work that I intimated and gave an update to Parliament on in December will help to further clarify and support our understanding of that spend.
I welcome the cabinet secretary’s statement. It is so important that each individual child gets the relevant support that they need to succeed, and we will know that only if the data is collected and collated correctly. In every answer so far, the cabinet secretary has mentioned the new national programme to improve ASL data, but I am concerned that issues in child and adolescent mental health services and a lack of a coherent mental health diagnosis framework mean that we are not fully aware of all the children who need additional support.
How will the cabinet secretary ensure that the data collection and the proposals that come from the review include all relevant children? Will she agree to review the pathways for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism?
I did not quite catch the end of Ms McCall’s question on ADHD and autism, but I will catch up with her following this question-and-answer session to make sure that I have given her an answer on that point.
Ms McCall makes a hugely important point about CAMHS and the interaction that we have between health and education. I am mindful that some such matters sit with health ministers, but we need a much more consistent and strategic approach to supporting children and young people in our schools. We have to reflect that, post-pandemic, the cohort of pupils in our schools has fundamentally changed and, as a Government, we need to update and respond to that change. Part of that work is the short, sharp review that the Opposition has asked for, which we are delivering, but it is also about data identification and using that data to better support children and young people.
I will come back to Ms McCall on the final part of her question, but I hope that that gives her reassurance, because I share her concern about having a strategic approach.
Ensuring that teachers feel confident and competent to provide appropriate learning support is key. How has professional learning been enhanced, and what role is Education Scotland playing in that regard?
It is hugely important that the teaching profession is supported in responding to the increase in recent years of the number of pupils with an identified additional support need. As I mentioned in my statement, the Government has provided additional funding to Education Scotland to help develop, lead and facilitate a national certificate in ASN teacher professional learning.
The funding has also been used to appoint 10 ASN Education Scotland associates, who are focusing on differentiation and adaptive teaching. Those associates will work directly with teachers in our schools, in every local authority area, to help improve knowledge, understanding and practice, with implementation of effective learning and teacher pedagogy for all learners, which is hugely important. Teachers will also be supported more broadly by the work that I announced in relation to the centre for teaching excellence.
Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child gives children and young people the right to have their voices heard in decisions that affect them. The cabinet secretary agrees that ASN data collection is varied. How will teachers, parents and children feed into the report, given that one of its crucial tasks is to look at the experience of delivery in schools?
As I set out, with regard to data, the review will look at existing categories in the recording of ASN. It will also look at the clear and concise national guidance, which we need to look at adapting, and it will explore the feasibility of having a national staged intervention model.
I agree with Mr Whitfield that all of that work requires consultation and engagement. Janie McManus will be leading that work, and I invite Mr Whitfield to engage with the opportunity to meet her. My expectation is that engagement will be led, for example, through the Scottish Assembly of Parents and Carers, which the Government funds, and, of course, through engagement with children and young people, which was a key part of the Morgan review.
Will the cabinet secretary say a little bit more about how the Scottish Government promotes inclusion in the work that we do on additional support for learning in our schools? How does that compare with the approach that is being taken elsewhere in the UK?
We have a very progressive and inclusive approach to education in Scotland, which is supported by a strong legislative framework. To ensure that that inclusive approach is made a reality in our schools, we must be flexible and adaptable, and we must listen to the education system. Part of today’s update has been about reflecting the need in the education system for the delivery of changed approaches in the future.
Mainstreaming remains a central pillar of our inclusive approach, and I think that it still has collective cross-party support, but, to my understanding, fundamentally, it is about how that is resourced on the ground and how it is delivered.
The approach that we have in Scotland differs from that in other parts of the UK. For example, in England, the legislation is largely confined to supporting only children with disabilities; in Scotland, we have a rights-based approach that takes a much broader view. The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 provides that any child or young person with a support need can have that need considered and met. I go back to the points in my statement: it is about how children and young people and their families experience that, so resourcing and funding are key.
I think that it is worth congratulating teachers and young people on the improvements in literacy and numeracy that the cabinet secretary mentioned in her statement, which I am sure we all welcome.
The cabinet secretary acknowledges the consensus that exists on the need to have a further review, but we all want that review to be about solutions rather than just a restatement of the problem. Will the cabinet secretary commit that the review will consider one solution, which is removal of the overly restrictive statutory criteria for co-ordinated support plans? By removing those from legislation, we could help to ensure that more young people can access the support that they need.
I join Mr Harvie in congratulating our pupils on their achievements, particularly those pupils with an identified additional support need. The progress and improved attainment that we see are to be welcomed.
Mr Harvie also spoke about solutions. I do not want to prejudge the outcome of the review that is being led by Janie McManus, our professional adviser, but I encourage him and colleagues in his party to engage with Ms McManus on a solution-orientated focus, which I very much expect to see.
We need to be mindful that we have had a number of reviews in the ASN space. A key ask from the Opposition at the round table last year was that we use the learning from those reviews to inform what comes next, so that learning will not be lost.
Mr Harvie makes a key ask in relation to co-ordinated support plans, which his colleague Ross Greer has been pursuing with me for the best part of the past three years. I share his interest in that regard. Although there is a statutory footing associated with those plans, there are other ways in which individual needs can be met in schools. It is important to say that we have seen an increase in the number of individual support plans.
I hope that Mr Harvie takes some comfort from the fact that the consultation on the co-ordinated support plans will launch in February. We will publish the updated results over the summer, which will take on board the points that he has made today.
I call Willie Rennie, who is joining us remotely.
Thanks to modern technology, I am beaming in from Cupar—to everybody’s satisfaction, I hope.
I welcome this positive plan, which contains a welcome set of measures. I met the cabinet secretary’s officials this week to discuss the national ASN event, which I think will be a good step in sharing best practice. I hope to meet Janie McManus to discuss the review.
Dealing with pressure in the classroom is a major part of addressing the challenges that we face. The Educational Institute of Scotland ballot on strike action closed just this week. Will the cabinet secretary update us on what further steps she has taken to avert the damaging strike action that might come in as soon as a few weeks’ time?
I thank Mr Rennie for his question and for beaming in from Cupar. In relation to his points on the ASN event, I have to give him credit. At the round table with the Opposition, it was Mr Rennie’s key ask that we have a national event to share good practice and to use that good practice to elevate the fantastic work that headteachers and teachers are doing to support children with additional support needs, which work I am sure we have all witnessed in our own communities and constituencies. I previously gave examples from my own experience.
Much of that work is being funded through the pupil equity fund, but much of it is being funded through the extra funding that the Government put in place in last year’s budget, which will be continued in this year’s budget—subject to its being passed—to support more staff in our schools, because we know that that is what makes a difference.
It is not for me to prejudge the outcome of the EIS’s ballot, so I will await the results. The Government has set out a clear aspiration for how we might deliver reduced class contact for teachers. I set that out in November. It is now for us to hear the results from the EIS ballot. I am sure that I will speak to the union in due course.
I welcome the fact that the Scottish Government is taking steps to address the challenges in recording ASL data in Scotland. Will the cabinet secretary tell us more about the data summit that was held on 12 November, and will she outline how the information that was gathered is helping to drive forward improvements at national and local levels?
The data summit was instructive to all attendees’ understandings of the strengths that we have in the system, the type of information that we gather and who gathers that information. It also showed the great differences that we have across the education system in Scotland in relation to how that data is recorded and reported, as well as helping to identify current limitations and gaps.
A review of the categories of need will support us in having a much more comprehensive and consistent approach to national guidance, which will help to support the collection of more accurate data that can guide and support improvement across the system. We know that having a robust data set and additional support needs will help to provide for evidence-based decision making, which will help to support targeted interventions. Ultimately, that will drive improvements at national and local levels.
How does the cabinet secretary respond to teachers who tell me that it is increasingly impossible to get it right for every child?
Mr Ross’s question is quite broad, so I imagine that he is not speaking only about additional support needs. There are other challenges in our schools post-pandemic. The situation in our schools is increasingly challenging post-pandemic, but there are also financial challenges in them. Schools are filling a gap where other services previously existed.
The advent of the Scottish attainment challenge was part of the Government’s response, but we need to reflect on the fact that a decade-plus of austerity has not been good for Scotland’s education system and the children and families whom our teachers support every day. We will look at how we can better strengthen our support for ASN. However, there are broader challenges that sit without the ASN category. It is important that we have a budget settlement that delivers on that, which is why I was so pleased that, in this year’s draft budget, we were able to protect the additional funding for teacher numbers and ASN.
Parents are carers and have the right to be involved in discussions about the additional support for learning options that are available to their children. Will the cabinet secretary speak further on Scottish Government engagement with families and advise what services are in place for them to access advice and support?
There are a range of different ways in which we help to provide support to parents and carers. That is the point that Martin Whitfield mentioned. It is essential that our families have that support. I spend a lot of my time as cabinet secretary engaging with parents and carers and listening to their views. Improving relationships and communication is a key aim of the ASL action plan and we will continue to prioritise it.
We have increased by £524,000 annual funding to services that provide support and advice to parents and carers. In addition, the parental organisation Connect receives Scottish Government funding of just over £60,000 to host the Scottish assembly of parents and carers, of which more than 350 parents and carers who represent all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities are members. They play a critical role in helping to inform policy and in providing advice and challenge to the Government as we drive forward our reform of Scotland’s education system.
When it comes to the collection of data, I recommend that the residential outdoor education sector be involved in the discussions. I spoke to the sector bodies this morning. They acknowledged the help that the Scottish Government has provided, but there is a need to ensure that there is much more data from that sector and that it is involved in the discussions, because it could be immensely helpful.
I thank Ms Smith for her interest in the matter. Following the successful passing of her bill on outdoor education, I very much support the points that she makes and will ask my officials to take them away.
That concludes the ministerial statement on the additional support for learning review. There will be a short pause before we move on to the next item of business.