David's story

My son didn't start school until he was six.  He had a short period in a mainstream nursery where he was expelled for biting then moved to a family centre for 1 to 1 support then back to the nursery for 18 months.  Primary school was great.  The head teacher worked extremely hard with us to get things done for David who has autism, ADHD and hearing and mobility problems.

The transition to secondary school was difficult.  We checked out the local schools and wanted him to go to one five minutes away by bus which has a really good specialist unit.  The professionals thought he would be better placed in a different school, an hour and a half bus journey away and largely mainstreamed with other pupils.  We tried to get a Co-ordinated Support Plan in place.  His therapies had recently stopped because they said they could no longer help David.  And because all other support was coming from education workers, we were refused a CSP.  I'm sure it would have made a difference to the school placement.

Secondary school has been really hard.  David has been excluded because they could not cope with him.  He has been physically assaulted coming home with bruises but nothing has been done about it.  He has access to classroom assistants but it is limited because they are a shared resource.  He now suffers nightmares and stomach problems and has missed a lot of school as a result. We have asked about getting David moved to the school we originally wanted but have been told there is no place for him.  And it is better to leave him where he is for the moment!  Better for whom though?

Parent of David, a teenager with multiple support needs

for Scotland's Disabled Children's view of the Additional Support Needs (ASN) framework:

By examining current data on educational outcomes, it is clear that the ASN framework as implemented to date, is not having the impact the Scottish Government and Parliament intended:

• less than half of children with additional support needs attain five or more passes at Standard Grade level 3 or higher, compared to 90% of children without additional support needs
• only 2.5% of children with additional support needs attain five or more passes at Standard Grade leve 6 or higher, compared to over a fifth of children without additional support needs
• nearly a third of young people without a disability go on to university - less than a fifth of young people with a disability do

These statistics not only show poor educational outcomes but also result in much more limited life chances and opportunities for most of Scotland's disabled children and young people.  That's why the ASN framework has to be improved and implemented much more effectively by local authorities.