WIREDGOV

A rapid review of Additional Support for Learning (ASL) has set out recommendations to ensure young people’s evolving needs continue to be met across Scotland.

Professional Education Advisor Janie McManus’ expert review of ASL said that clearer expectations, stronger pathways to support across education, health and social care, and early interventions should underpin the next steps in delivering Additional Support Needs (ASN) provision in schools.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth welcomed publication of the review outcomes and accepted the recommendations in a speech to practitioners – the first in a series of national events on ASL convened by the Scottish Government.

In her address, Ms Gilruth also confirmed that an app to streamline administrative tasks and free up teachers’ time to focus on pupil needs would be rolled out more widely later this year, backed by £700,000 government funding, subject to the success of ongoing pilots in six council areas.

Ms Gilruth said:

“I am grateful to MSPs from across Parliament for their constructive engagement on the additional support needs review. I am also thankful to Janie McManus for leading this short, sharp review into ASN, with clear recommendations for the next Scottish Government to address.

“The pandemic was an undoubtedly challenging time for schools, but none more so than for our additional support needs pupils. It is with the needs of those young people in mind, that we have come together to work collegiately to drive the improvement we all want to see in Scotland’s inclusive schools.

“Across the country our teachers and school staff display extraordinary commitment working with pupils with ASN to provide a nurturing, supportive environment. Through our investment in the CivTech programme, we are seeing how technology can be harnessed to cut the time spent on paperwork and free up valuable time for teaching and learning, helping ensure teachers and school staff have the time to focus on what matters most – their pupils.”

COSLA Children and Young People Spokesperson Cllr Tony Buchanan said:

“We welcome the final progress report on the Additional Support for Learning Action Plan. Six years after Angela Morgan’s review, progress has been made, though more remains to do. We now better understand the needs of children and young people, supported by new tools and stronger partnerships. Local and Scottish Government must continue working together with a shared vision that enables local and individualised approaches. We note Janie McManus’s report and will consider it jointly with Scottish Government.”

Background

The Trellis Education app was developed with teachers through the CivTech Challenge, and is designed to keep them fully in control of decisions while cutting down time spent on the necessary paperwork associated with supporting pupils with ASN. It is being piloted across six council areas, and initial feedback on its use in real-life settings has been positive. CivTech is the Scottish Government’s innovation programme, pairing public and private sectors to develop technology solutions for public services.

Former Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland Janie McManus’ review of ASL has set out six recommendations, which provide foundations to build on the work delivered through the joint ASN Action Plan with councils following Angela Morgan’s 2020 review of ASL.

The recommended areas of focus from Ms McManus’ review, accepted by the Education Secretary are:

• Recommendation 1: National Planning and Staged Intervention: Establish a shared national model for staged intervention and planning, including common expectations, thresholds and supporting tools. This will help reduce avoidable variation, support earlier intervention, and give families a clearer understanding of what they can expect. 
• Recommendation 2: Workforce Alignment: Align workforce planning so it reflects the scale and complexity of need. This should include a coherent approach to professional learning across the whole workforce, embedded from initial teacher education or induction through to ongoing development so staff have the knowledge, confidence, and tools to support children and young people effectively. 
• Recommendation 3: Early Intervention Capacity: Strengthen system capacity to deliver preventative support, including timely access to specialist services across education, health, and social care, so that support begins early, not once needs escalate. 
• Recommendation 4: National Visibility of Need, Progress, and Impact: Improve national and local approaches to understanding children and young people’s needs, progress and experiences, including clearer insight into the quality and impact of support in schools, to support more informed decision-making and improved outcomes. 
• Recommendation 5: Delivery Model: Establish a clearer national delivery model for additional support for learning, aligned to current levels of need, including consistent expectations for staged intervention, multi-agency coordination, and early support. This should include consideration of whether existing legislation and guidance remain fully fit for purpose. 
• Recommendation 6: Curriculum design, delivery, and assessment: Ensure that additional support for learning is embedded as a core consideration within curriculum design, delivery, and assessment, so that approaches to learning consistently reflect the full range of learners in mainstream classrooms and support equitable access to learning and assessment. 

The Joint ASL Action Plan was the Scottish Government and COSLA’s response to Angela Morgan’s Review of ASL in 2020. The final ASL Action Plan report has been published, and shows almost all of the 76 actions set out in the joint ASL Action Plan have been completed, with work underway on four outstanding, longer-term actions.