Overview

Numbers of disabled children and Young People in Scotland

• 28,190 children aged 5-17 and 3,372 aged under 5 in Scotland were in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) in 2009.
• In 2009, there were 44,176 pupils who were either based in a special school or had Additional Support Needs in primary or secondary schools in Scotland. Of those with Additional Support Needs, the main reasons for support was social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (13.7 pupils per 1,000) and learning disabilities (13.6 pupils per 1,000).
• There were 11,334 pupils assessed or declared as disabled in Scotland's schools but due to the different ways in which data is gathered across all local authorities the information should "not be considered as complete".
• Data gathered by local authorities and collated by health boards which records children with Additional Support Needs - the Support Needs System - noted that as at August 2010 there were 14,405 children being asessed in the System. There are, however, variations in ways in which health boards gather such data.

Disabled children who are looked after, on child protection registers or in secure accommodation

• Approximately 11% of children in 2010 who were classified as "looked after" had a disability.
• 5% of children on child protection registers at 31st March 2010 were reported as having some form of disability. However, 20% of all children on child protection registers were reported with an "unknown" disability status.
• 81% of young people in secure care accommodation at 31st March 2009 had at least one known disability.
• Only 17% of disabled young people who had been "looked after" found themselves in positive destinations, such as college or in training or in employment in 2009.

Self-directed support

• Self Directed Support (Direct Payments) to under 17s have increased from 458 in 2008 to 515 in 2010. The value for Self Directed Support (Direct Payments) to this age group has also gradually increased during that time period.

Schools

• Generally, the number of school exclusions is falling and this is true for children with Additional Support Needs as it is for all children. Yet proportionately, the rate of exclusion among the former group is much higher than for all children, in school settings. The highest group of children with Additional Support Needs who have been excluded have social, emotional or behavioural difficulties.
• Our map of special schools in Scotland demonstrates that nearly 100 are located within a 50 mile radius of Glasgow. In addition, all the seven grant-aided schools are located in the central belt. There are also a number of special units attached to mainstream schools located throughout Scotland.
• The Scottish Government's School Estate Statistics reports the condition of 175 special schools or units which were open on 1 April 2010 and highlights that the condition of such schools is improving. Thirty-four special schools were rated as "good" in 2010 in comparison with 19 in 2008.
• The gross revenue expenditure in special schools was £509 million in the academic year 2008/09.
• There were 1,913 teachers in 163 special schools in Scotland in 20010/11 (1,985 in 2009/10) with a pupil teacher ratio of 3.6 (3.4 in 2009/10).
• In 2009, the average age of a teacher in a special school was 46.9 compared to an average age of 42.4 for a primary school teacher and 43.3 for a secondary school teacher.
• Analysis of school leaver characteristics and location help to identify the groups of young people who are at risk of not entering a positive destination when they leave school. Being from a deprived area, registered for free school meals, looked after and having support needs are all associated with lower proportions of leavers entering positive destinations.  

How services are designed and planned

Each local authority area within this online resource details the Children's Services Plans, Accessibility Strategies, Carers' Strategies and Single Outcome Agreements which were accessible via local authority websites.

Our review has highlighted:

• most local authorities have some kind of Children's Service Plan in place
• very few local authorities had up-to-date Accessibility Strategies in place and/or it was difficult to find them on Council websites
• Carers' Strategies are, by and large, current and relevant and contain sections on parents/carers of disabled children
• Single Outcome Agreements are all in place but very few contain specific local outcomes or indicators relating to disabled children
• there are no HEAT (Health Efficiency Access Treatment) targets relating directly to disabled children

The following table details Children's Services Plans which were accessible by local authority websites:

Information about disabled children and how many are receiving different services

• In 2010, there were 7,830 children under five with Additional Support Needs.
• In 2009, there were 44,176 pupils who were either based in a special school or had Additional Support Needs in primary or secondary schools. Of those with Additional Support Needs, the reason for support was social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (13.7 pupils per 1000) and learning disabilities (13.6 pupils per 1000).
• There were 11,334 pupils assessed or declared as disabled in Scotland's schools but due to the different ways in which data is gathered across local authorities the information "should not be considered as complete".
• Data gathered by local authorities and collated by health boards which records children with Additional Support Needs - the Support Needs System - noted that there were 14,529 children with Additional Support Needs in Scotland in 2009. There are, however, variations in ways in which health boards gather such data.
• Approximately 11% of children in 2010 who were classified as "looked after" had a disability.
• 5% of children on child protection registers at 31st March 2010 were reported as having some form of disability. However, 20% of all children on child protection registers were reported with an "unknown" disability status.
• 81% of young people in secure care accommodation at 31st March 2010 had at least one known disability. Of those young people, 26% were known to have medically diagnosed social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, 78% were known to have other social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and 10% were known to have a mental health problem, 75% of young people in dedicated close support units had at least one known disability. 
• Self Directed Support (Direct Payments) to under 17s have increased from 458 in 2008 to 515 in 2010. The value for Self Directed Support (Direct Payments) to this age group has also gradually increased during that time period.

Sources:

• Pre-school and Childcare Statistics, Statistics Publication Notices, Education and Training Series 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, Scottish Government
• Pupils in Scotland 2007, 2008 and 2009, Statistical Bulletins Education Series, Scottish Government  
• Children Looked After Statistics, 2008-2009 errata April 2010, Statistics Publication Notice, Health and Care Series, Scottish Government
• Children's Social Work Statistics 2009-2010, Statistics Publication Notice, Health and Care Series, Scottish Goverment.
• Self-directed Support (Direct Payments) Scotland, A National Statistics Publication for Scotland, Scottish Government 2008, 2009, 2010

Number of children looked after by disability status

Notes: Cells containing * represent numbers that are suppressed to maintain confidentiality of individual children.

Source: Children Looked After Statistics, 2008–09 errata April 2010 and 2009-20 Additional Tables (last modified 3 March 2011), Statistics Publication Notice, Health and Care Series, Scottish Government

Number of young people eligible for aftercare services on 31st July 2010, by disability status and economic activity

Notes: Figures are provisional and may be revised in 2010-11.

Source: Children Looked After Statistics 2009-10 - Additional Tables, Published February 2010 and modified 3 March 2011, Statistics Publication Notice Health and Care Series, Scottish Government Figures are provisional and may be revised in 2009–10.

Information about the services provided for disabled children

• Our map of special schools in Scotland highlights that nearly 100 are located within a 50 mile radius of Glasgow. In addition, all of the seven grant aided schools are located in the central belt.
• The Scottish Government's School Estate Statistics details the condition of 175 special schools or units which were open on 1 April 2010 and reports that the condition of such schools is improving.
• The gross internal area of special schools averaged at 1,100 square metres per school.
• The gross revenue expenditure on special education, covering both special and mainstream schools was £509 million in the academic year 2008/09. Capital expenditure on special education was £17 million (£19 million in 2007/08).

Information about staffing, and qualifications, and funding of services

• There were 1,913 teachers in 163 special schools in Scotland in 2010 (1,985 in 2009) with a pupil teacher ratio of 3.6 (3.4 in 2009).
• 80% of teachers in special schools in Scotland in 2010 were female.
• In 2010, the average age of a teacher in a special school was 47 compared to an average age of 42 for a primary school teacher and 43 for a secondary school teacher.

Training and Qualifications

The review highlighted a range of qualifications available to teachers but statistics relating to the take-up of such qualifications is unknown. The table details qualifications available at Scotland's universities - whilst this is not exhaustive it does highlight that there are qualifications aimed at training teachers who will be working with disabled children and young people.

Scotland's further education colleges also offer a range of vocational qualifications for those wishing to work with children including those with Additional Support Needs. Again, the table is by no means exhaustive but gives a good indication of the spread of vocational courses throughout the country.

In 2009, there were 8,800 social work employees working with children but we are unable to identify how many of them work directly with children and young people with disabilities. A number of Scotland's universities offer degree courses in social work as detailed in the table above. The review has not, however, established how many students actually graduate with a degree in social work/services.

Scotland's further education colleges also offer vocational qualifications for those wishing to work in social care/services although it is uncertain how many of these offer elements which are specifically targeted at training those working directly with disabled children and young people.