Created on: 27 Feb 2025
The EIS has welcomed the publication of a new report by Audit Scotland which highlights the scale of the Additional Support for Learning (ASL) challenge in schools across Scotland.
The Report states that the Scottish Government and Scottish local authorities must fundamentally rethink how they plan, fund and staff additional support for learning as part of core school education in Scotland.
Commenting, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “The EIS welcomes the publication of this report on ASL by Audit Scotland, and believes that it makes a valuable contribution to the compelling evidence, highlighting the need for increased resourcing to support young people with additional needs in our schools.
"The findings of the report dovetail with findings from past EIS research, which confirmed that ensuring an appropriate level of provision for young people with Additional Support Needs is one of the greatest concerns amongst Scotland’s teachers and, also, one of the greatest challenges facing Scotland’s schools."
Ms Bradley added, “As the Audit Scotland report correctly confirms, the current level of investment in ASL by the Scottish Government and local authorities is wholly inadequate to cope with the current, and growing, level and complexity of additional support needs in our schools. With four out of every ten pupils in our schools having an identified additional support need, the level of demand for ASL support has increased eight-fold over the past two decades.
"This huge increase in need has not been met with a similar increase in the resources provided to support ASL provision, with the result that far too many young people are simply not receiving the level of support that they both require and have the right to expect, despite the best efforts of teachers and support staff in our schools."
Ms Bradley continued, “In addition to the impact on young people, this rising demand is placing an ever-increasing workload burden on class teachers, who are expected to meet the wide range of needs of young people in their classes, but without the necessary level of resources and additional support to do so.
"Despite the growing level of need, the number of specialist teaching and support staff available across the country has declined significantly in recent years, largely as a result of a lack of investment. And class sizes in Scotland are amongst the largest in OECD countries.
"The Scottish Government and local authorities must grasp this particular nettle, and commit the necessary resources to fully implement the promise of inclusive education made to all children, young people and their families over twenty years ago"
Ms Bradley concluded, “The current EIS campaign Stand Up for Quality Education has enhancing ASL provision as one of its central themes, and we will continue to press both the Scottish Government and Scottish local authorities on this issue.
"If there is truly to be a meaningful commitment to get it right for every child and to eradicate the poverty-related achievement and attainment gap, then greatly enhancing the level of ASL support and provision in our schools is absolutely essential."