Question reference: S6W-09748
- Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 13 July 2022
-
Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 July 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that all schools and school leaders are supported to understand the additional support for learning needs of children and young people from armed forces and veterans' families, in line with the recognition in the Supporting Children’s Learning: Statutory Guidance on the Education (Additional Support for Learning) Scotland Act 2004 (as amended) Code of Practice 2017 that the children of parents in the armed forces are a group that "may require additional support".
Answer
The Education (Additional Support for Learning) Act 2004 (as amended) requires education authorities to identify, provide for and to review the additional support needs of their pupils, including those from armed forces and veterans’ families. Local authorities are supported to carry out their duties under the Act by the statutory Supporting Learners’ Code of Practice, which provides guidance to education authorities and schools on their duties under the Act.
The Scottish Government and COSLA published our joint national response to the independently chaired review of implementation of additional support for learning in October 2020. The joint action plan sets out the measures we will take to implement her recommendations.
We published an updated action and progress report on 1 st November 2021. The action plan and governance arrangements for this work are available from: Additional support for learning action plan: progress report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Local authorities should consider these recommendations as part of implementation of additional support for learning policy locally.
In addition, the Scottish Government chairs the Scottish Armed Forces Education Support Group (SAFESG). This group takes a strategic approach to supporting the issues affecting children armed forces children and young people, working closely with Education Scotland, the Ministry of Defence, Tri-Service reps and third sector partners.
We also recently provided £50,000 of funding to continue the ADES National Transitions Officer (NTO). The NTO plays a key a role in supporting schools and school leaders, particularly through the Service Pupil Champions and head teacher’s networks. These networks enable the sharing of information and best practice among all local authorities, to improve the support offered to children and young people from armed forces and veterans’ families.