What additional support needs (ASN) are
All children and young people need support to learn at an early learning and childcare centre (nursery) or school, but some may require extra or specialised support than what is usually provided. This is known as having an additional support need (ASN).
Some examples of why a child or young person may need additional support with their education include:
- a disability or health issue
- family or care circumstances
- accessing the learning environment
- wellbeing needs.
Children and young people can have an additional support need at any time.
A child’s support need may only last for a short time. In some cases, their needs might be more complex and require additional support throughout school.
Additional support needs are also known as additional support for learning (ASL).
You can find out more about additional support for learning at:
- Enquire website – Enquire is the Scottish advice service for additional support for learning
- Reach website - Reach offers advice about rights to education and support for children in Scotland.
Types of needs ASN
Your child may have an additional support need if they are struggling with their learning or have barriers to learning such as:
Health needs
- having a disability
- being in hospital recovering from an illness
- mental health needs
- having asthma or an allergy
- having speech difficulties or a hearing impairment.
Care and protection issues
- a young person being care experienced
- being a young carer.
Learning support needs
- having dyslexia
- learning at a faster or slower pace than classmates
- having fallen behind in classwork because they were off school.
Wellbeing needs
- having difficulties managing their emotions
- being socially isolated
- emotional distress
- addiction issues.
Family circumstances
- experiencing divorce, separation, or loss in family
- dealing with the death of someone close
- having a member of your family or someone close them who is ill
- being a school-aged parent
- speaking English as an additional language.
This list only contains some examples of barriers to learning. You should speak to your child's school if you feel they need additional support for any reason not listed.
How ASN are identified
Schools and nurseries regularly check how your child is progressing through everyday observations and classroom tasks. This ongoing tracking helps staff understand how your child is getting on and what support they may need.
Additional support needs are identified through a process called Staged Intervention. This is a framework that helps schools and partner agencies provide support that is appropriate, timely, and as least intrusive as possible.
If you think your child has additional support needs, ask your child’s head of establishment about the Staged Intervention process and for more information on what support may be available.
Sometimes, staff may seek advice or assessments from other professionals such as speech and language therapists, occupational therapists or educational psychologists. This support is provided through a staged approach, which helps ensure that the right support is offered at the right time.
A teacher, or a health care provider, might also identify a child who may need an assessment for additional support.
Your child does not need a diagnosis to be entitled to extra help with their learning.
If your child is struggling at school or nursery for any reason, that establishment will try and find out the reason for this and put the appropriate support in place.
What support we provide
Children and young people with an identified additional support need are supported in our schools and early learning and childcare (nursery) settings.
How the nursery or school supports your child will depend on the barriers they are facing to learning.
Support can include:
- advice for parents on ways to support learning at home
- changes to a child's timetable or education programme in school
- changes within the classroom environment, curriculum, or learning with groups of children with a specific focus
- arrangements for a child at lunch or during breaks
- adaptations to buildings or equipment to help with physical or sensory disabilities
- referral to a speech and language therapist, a physiotherapist, or other health professional
- training for staff members by relevant professionals.
Support plans
For longer-term or particular support, your child may require a support plan.
A support plan will formally record the help that is needed and who will provide it. This means your child's school can provide an individual and targeted level of support.
There are 3 types of plans:
- a child’s plan
- a multi-agency child’s plan
- Coordinated Support Plans (CSP) - an action plan for children and young people who need significant additional support with their education from a number of agencies.
The decision on which plan is best for your child will depend on:
- if the additional support need may be short or long-term
- the effect it has on your child's learning
- any other agencies the school will need to work with to support your child's learning, such as the council or NHS.
When a support plan is being developed, we’ll invite you and your child to a meeting at the school or nursery so you can give your views on the support required.
Your child can also bring along a supporter to help them express their views, such as a friend or an adult they are comfortable speaking for them.
The plan will detail what support will be provided. You and your child will be involved in decisions made about the support.
Support will be regularly reviewed to make sure it’s working and that your child’s needs are still the same.
Reviewing a support plan
Reviews of your child’s support plan will depend on their needs.
When reviewing a plan, we’ll invite you to a meeting where we’ll look at your child’s progress and ask you and your child:
- how the support is helping
- is it meeting the identified needs
- is it no longer needed
- does it need to change.
At the meeting, we’ll agree to provide the same level of support, make changes, or end the plan if support is no longer needed.
Starting, moving and leaving nursery and school (transition support)
A transition is when your child moves into a new stage of their education.
There are 4 major transitions:
- starting nursery
- starting primary school
- starting secondary school
- leaving school.
Children and young people with ASN may need more support when they transition from one stage to another. In general, this is likely to require an enhanced level of transition support. There may be planning meetings where staff from the current establishment and the new establishment meet with you and your child to plan the move.
If you have an agreed support plan this will move with your child to the new school.
Our nurseries and schools have robust planning to support each child or young person.
You can speak to your child's education establishment to discuss any concerns you may have when they are about to start at a new school, or when their time at school ends.
Find your child’s education establishment contact details:
How to request additional support for your child
If you have concerns about your child’s learning or development, the best place to start is by talking to their early learning and childcare centre (nursery) or school.
Staff may already have noticed the same things and may be providing support. If not, they will discuss with you what options are available to help assess your child’s needs.
You also have the right to ask us to:
- assess whether your child has additional support needs
- carry out a specific type of assessment, such as an educational, psychological or health assessment.
It’s important to know that while you can request an assessment, you cannot insist on a particular test or method, or request that a specific professional carries it out.
We’ll decide the best way to assess your child’s needs based on professional judgement.
You can find out more about identifying and assessing needs with the Supporting Children's Learning - Code of Practice: statutory guidance (Scottish Government website).
How to resolve disagreements about ASN support
Speak to your child’s establishment
If you disagree with how your child is being supported for their ASN, you should speak to your teacher or head teacher.
If your child has a support plan, you can refer to the plan to check whether the agreed actions are taking place, or if they need to be changed to meet new or additional needs.
Mediation
If you feel the support has not improved after speaking to the education establishment, you can try to use an independent mediation service.
A mediator listens to both points of view and helps to bring both of you to an agreement.
You do not have to use mediation, but it may help increase understanding as you both listen to each other and agree a way forward.
ASN Tribunal
You always have the right for your case to be sent to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal (Health and Education Chamber website).
Code of practice
We follow the national Code of Practice as directed by the Scottish Government (Scottish Government website).
You have a right to request assessments are made for your child's medical or psychological needs. If any needs are established, we’ll review any learning barriers and detail the appropriate measures to be taken.
We must meet the deadlines for completing and informing you of the results of any assessments, including any additional support you child may need.