Created on: 05 Nov 2024 | Last modified: 06 Nov 2024
There is a widespread recognition amongst education stakeholders that the gap between ASN policy and practice in our schools is now ‘intolerable’; trade unions and organisations representing teachers, practitioners, support workers and parents have issued a joint statement, outlining our shared concern at the insufficient levels of funding to deliver ASN provision to the almost 40% of pupils who require it.
The joint statement concludes with:
“We call on the Scottish Government and all education authorities to put in place the requisite additional staffing and resources to fully implement the relevant legal duties and commitments in practice for all pupils with additional support needs, and in so doing, improve the quality of education provision and wellbeing for those children and young people, and improve the working conditions, health, safety and wellbeing of the teachers and support staff who work with them.”
We had a joint meeting of the co-signatories of the statement recently, and we are looking at ways to further highlight the ASN issue and the need for additional resources.
Earlier in the year, we provided detailed written evidence to the Education, Children and Young People Committee of the Scottish Parliament on their Inquiry into Additional Support for Learning, highlighting the imperative for a long-term resourcing strategy, including action to reduce class sizes, and to significantly enhance the availability of specialist ASL support and expertise within schools, to meet the promise made to children, young people and their families in ASL legislation some twenty years ago.
The Convener of the EIS Education Committee also provided oral evidence to the Committee and members of our ASN Network and Education Committee met with MSPs in an informal evidence session to provide first-hand testimonies of their experiences of supporting learners with ASN in a range of school settings.
The Education, Children and Young People Committee produced its Report into the Inquiry on 15 May, concluding that the current situation was ‘intolerable’. It was then debated in the Scottish Parliament on 25 September.
The recommendations in the Inquiry report are being considered as part of the work of the ASL Project Board, which has been tasked to implement key aspects of the Morgan Review on ASL.
The EIS is represented on this group and continues to use this forum to press for change. We will use the findings of the recent parliamentary report to amplify our calls.
The EIS has also arranged a parliamentary event on December 10th with a wide range of stakeholders in order to engage with all parliamentarians – including government MSPs – on ASN.
We continue to collect evidence and data at both national and local levels in relation to ASN and the level of need. The Summary Statistics of Schools in Scotland data will be published in December and we will review the information carefully. We also continue to engage regularly with the media on this issue.