Record numbers of pupils with additional support needs in Edinburgh schools

Lothian MSP and Scottish Tory education spokesman Miles Briggs said ASN pupils now represented 39 per cent of the Capital's primary school population and 52 per cent of its secondary school population.

He spelled out the figures as the Scottish Government agreed, during a debate on the issue at Holyrood, to a national review of additional support for learning, the implementation of mainstreaming policy and the availability of ASN places.

Mr Briggs said since 2014 the number of ASN pupils had increased by 15,000 - from 9,095 to 24,127 - while in the same period only 10 new ASN teachers were recruited.

The number of pupils in special schools had also grown in the 10-year period, from 659 to 712, while two special schools had closed, leaving only 10 in Edinburgh.

Mr Briggs highlighted a "damning" report published by Audit Scotland earlier this year, which said the Scottish Government had failed to plan effectively for the potential impact of providing additional support to pupils, even though this was "an increasingly core part of what classroom teachers do".

He said: “Teachers and students alike are overwhelmed and under-supported, suffering under a lack of leadership and funding from the SNP. It is clear there needs to be a fundamental review into how ASN support is being delivered in Scotland’s schools.

“We need to see immediate action to understand if the SNP’s presumption of mainstream education is what is best for ASN pupils and for resources to be put into a national programme of training in our classrooms.

“Ministers who have presided over a general decline in Scottish education cannot continue to ignore these warnings and must now back our calls for a different approach.”

In the debate, Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said the Scottish Government had provided more than £1 billion in the past financial year for additional support needs.

And she said that including ASN pupils in mainstream schools had been recognised as a strength of Scotland’s education system.

But she accepted Mr Briggs' call for a review. And she said: "I propose that, at the earliest possible opportunity, we engage in a round table, along with local government and Cosla, to talk about what more might be done to support additional support needs in our schools."

Edinburgh education convener James Dalgleish said: “Providing resources for children with additional support needs is a priority for the council and this includes delivering the right support, resources and staffing where and when it is needed to ensure that all learners in Edinburgh thrive at school. This includes special school provision, support from school staff or from our specialist support teams, including our educational psychologists and trained ASN teachers, who support children and young people in our schools every day.

“As is the case across the country, additional support needs are rising across Edinburgh. Whilst we remain committed to providing essential support to the city’s children and young people, cuts to council budgets over many years is at odds with the vital support we want to put in place. I ask the Scottish Government to go further in providing additional resources to local authorities like Edinburgh to support the important work we are already doing in specific areas such as supporting learners with additional support needs."