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MOVING FORWARD!
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR LEARNING

Part I: What are the key issues?

Changing agenda

7. In recent years developments at international, national and local level have all contributed to major changes in legislation, policy and practice with regard to special educational needs.

8. The 1989 United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child and other UN declarations on human rights have influenced the recent changes in Scottish and UK law relating to education and disability. The Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Act 2000 reflects UN convention principles that all children have a right to education and to have their views taken into account when decisions are reached on their education. The Act also reflects international statements on inclusion, in that it requires that, wherever possible, children will be educated in mainstream schools. UK disability anti-discrimination legislation has been extended to school education. The Scottish Parliament's Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils' Educational Records) (Scotland) Act 2002 requires local authorities to improve accessibility to school facilities and the curriculum for pupils with disabilities.

9. The situation has moved on a long way from the 1970s when some children were deemed "ineducable" and were denied school education. The Education (Scotland) Act 1980 introduced legislation on the Record of Needs which aimed to ensure that children with pronounced, specific or complex special educational needs, requiring continuing review, could receive appropriate school education. The legislative model represented by the Record of Needs is one which is increasingly at odds with current policies on the development of inclusive education within an inclusive society. It is also out of step with the legislative changes outlined above.

10. The need for change was highlighted also in the Scottish Parliament Education, Culture and Sport Commitee's (ECS) 2001 inquiry report into special educational needs. The ECS report recommended that more emphasis should be given to inclusive schooling and removing the environmental, structural and attitudinal barriers to the participation of children in mainstream education.

Additional Support Needs

11. In 2001 we issued a consultation document - Assessing our children's educational needs - The Way Forward? This invited comments on what changes were needed to improve and update the current assessment and recording framework. Subsequently the Executive consulted widely on proposals for change, including a proposal to alter the legislative terminology. We now propose a new legislative framework based around the concept of additional support needs. This proposal has been generally welcomed by professionals and parents alike. It is seen as being more open, positive and flexible and more inclusive, since all children need support to learn. The new framework will represent a more inclusive approach with a move away from the current negative connotations of SEN, which has too much of an emphasis on weaknesses and problems.

12. There are many circumstances where children may require additional support to learn at one point or another during their school career. We are not able to list them all. However, the principles underpinning the new framework will encompass all children who face barriers to accessing and progressing in learning, for whatever reason.

Proposed changes

13. Proposed changes will encompass the following key features:

• replacement of the current assessment and recording system (Record of Needs) with a strengthened, but streamlined, intervention process;
• a new flexible Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP) for children who face long-term complex or multiple barriers to learning and who require frequent access to a diversity of services from outwith education;
• a new requirement for local authorities to have mediation services in place for early resolution of disputes;
• extended rights of appeal for parents of children with a CSP to allow them to challenge the level of provision proposed; and
• the establishment of an independent Tribunal to hear appeals.

National debate

14. The introduction of a new framework to meet children's additional support needs is complementary to developments in Scotland's educational and wider integrated services agenda. Last year we undertook a National Debate on Education with pupils, parents, teachers, employers and others with an interest in the future of school-age education. More than 20,000 people participated directly in the Debate with over 800 events taking place. The debate revealed wide support for comprehensive education and the highly professional and committed teachers who make the system work. At the same time, it also showed that there is a need for more flexibility and choice in the curriculum so that schools can best meet the needs of individual pupils. Many of those who took part thought that education is about a lot more than exam results. They thought that life skills, attitudes and a broad understanding of the world we live in are also very important outcomes for school leavers.

15. Many responses supported the principle of inclusion in mainstream where this was properly planned and resourced, and when classroom staff were able to access appropriate development and training opportunities. Some parents of children who required additional support said that they often had to fight for the support their child needed. This document and the draft Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill sets outs the strategic framework that aims to address these issues. The vision and principles underlying the framework are a key part of our plans for the education of Scotland's children following on from the National Debate.

Joining up services

16. The learning outcomes for children who need additional support often depend on effective integrated working among professionals from different agencies. For example, teachers and speech and language therapists may need to work together to ensure the effective teaching and learning of children with language and communication difficulties.

17. The Scottish Executive report - For Scotland's Children - highlighted the importance of an integrated approach to service delivery. A Cabinet Sub-Committee on Children's Services, chaired by the First Minister, is driving forward this agenda. The Changing Children's Services Fund has provided local authorities, the NHS, the voluntary sector and other interested parties with resources to re-orient their services in a more integrated way. Guidance on more integrated planning for children's services has been issued. Other initiatives include developing more integrated approaches to assessment, enabling those from different professions to share information and jointly decide upon action, and studies of workforce issues.

18. Issues of supply and demand and workforce planning have been reviewed recently with regard to educational psychology services and several of the health therapy services which work closely with schools and pre-school centres. The report on the Review of Provision of Educational Psychology Services in Scotland highlighted the positive contribution that psychologists bring to the inclusion process. It suggested further options for working more effectively with education authorities and other agencies, to provide holistic services to children and young people in the settings of home, school and community. A National Implementation Group has been established to take forward recommendations to help improve working practices, quality assurance and service delivery.

19. A joint education and health review group, supported by Queen Margaret University College, has examined supply and demand, management and organisation, and funding issues in respect of children's speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy services. We will consider what action needs to be taken in the light of the findings of the review group.

Resources

20. Support for local authority expenditure on school education, including provision for additional support, is funded through the general local government settlement. Over the spending review period 2001-04, all authorities received substantial increases in general revenue grant support. Our spending plans have confirmed further substantial increases in general revenue grant support to local authorities for education over the next three years to 2005-06.

21. In addition to general revenue support, local authorities have been provided with specific funding of 40.3 million over the three years to April 2003 to support the inclusion in mainstream schools of children who need additional support. This Inclusion Programme funding can also be used by local authorities to ensure equitable provision of school hours for children in special schools. Inclusion Programme funding is continuing as part of the Executive's National Priorities Action Fund and, in 2003-04, will be 20 million, rising to 25 million in 2004-05. A key task for local authorities is to develop a resource allocation model which, at authority level, rewards inclusiveness and so encourages the development of inclusive schools. It is for every local authority to consider local needs and circumstances, including the socio-economic characteristics of local pupil populations, in determining resource allocation to their schools.

22. We have worked closely with education authorities to identify five key priorities for school education in Scotland. These cover the areas of achievement and attainment, framework for learning, inclusion and equality, values and citizenship, and learning for life. Each of the five national priorities has implications for pupils who may require some form of additional support for learning. Schools and local authorities are required to produce Local Improvement Plans for meeting the national priorities. The following section describes how the new additional support for learning framework fits with the priorities and other Executive policies.

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