Additional support needs

• Children and young people who need extra or different help than other children or young people their age, to help them access and make progress in their learning are considered to have ‘additional support needs’. They may only need support for a short time, or they may need support the whole time they are in education. Their needs may also change over time.

A child or young person does not need to have a diagnosed condition to have additional support needs. If your child is struggling at school or nursery and needing extra help for any reason, they have a right to receive the help they need.

A child or young person may have additional support needs for a range of reasons. These may include:

• Find aspects of learning difficult
• Learning environment or approaches need adapted
• Have a specific learning difficulty
• Experience difficulties with aspects of language and/or communication
• Experience emotional distress
• Relationships with others are a challenge
• An identified disability which affects them physically and/or cognitively
• A significant caring role for a family member
• Currently, or previously, care experienced (Looked After by the Local Authority)
• Long-term illness.

• All children and young people will regularly be involved in learning conversations to review their progress and agree their next steps. These conversations will be with staff who know the child or young person well. Parents and carers will also be involved in discussions where there are concerns and/or specific support required
• Children and young people with additional support needs can access a range of universal supports and strategies to best meet their individual needs from their local early years or school setting, which may include an additional level of input from specific staff to support them
• In some instances, it may be agreed that additional support from more specialist services will be appropriate. The education service has targeted support services that offer a range of supports for children and young people, and the staff who work with them, these include Outreach Teachers
• It may also be considered appropriate to seek additional support from other services (e.g. NHS teams, Social Work Service, 3rd Sector services) depending on the needs of the child or young person and their family
• A small number of children and young people with more complex additional support needs may require a higher level of support provided by a local specialist provision or a special school.

• If you are concerned about your child’s learning or development, please contact their early years centre or school
• Assessment information should always inform the support that is needed. In East Dunbartonshire we follow a process to identify the level of support each individual child or young person needs. Children and young people should always be central to assessment and planning processes
• Including Every Learner Policy Guidance describes how we meet each child’s needs
• Assessment is an ongoing process that aims to ensure the right help is available at the right time, to help children and young people reach their fullest potential. It includes gathering a range of information to understand their strengths, skills and personality, learning styles and individual circumstances.
  Assessment can involve reviewing a child or young person’s work, observing them in a range of learning situations, seeking their views, consulting their parents or carers and with staff that know them well
• A range of professionals may support the assessment including specialist school staff, specialist support services, and colleagues from other services.

• If your child has additional support needs, you can make a placing request to any of our schools. You do not need to live in the area
• A young person with additional support needs has the right to make a placing request for them self
• If we refuse your child's placing request, you can appeal to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal. However, if you live outside East Dunbartonshire your appeal is heard by a placing request appeal panel (Get Gavin’s wording for this?)

If you want independent advice about additional support for your child, there are national organisations who offer this.

Enquire

• Enquire is the Scottish advice service for additional support for learning. This service provides advice and information about additional support for learning for families and professionals
• Visit the Enquire website for parents, carers and professionals
• Visit the Enquire website for children and young people.

My Rights, My Say

• This service provides advice, advocacy support, legal representation and offers an independent service to seek children's views about their support
• Visit the My Rights, My Say website

Mediation

• The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 includes a requirement for education authorities to have in place arrangements for mediation, involving independent mediators, to aim to resolve disputes between parents and carers and the authority and/or school, regarding a child or young person who has additional support needs
• Mediation support services are available to families with children who have additional learning needs
• East Dunbartonshire’s independent mediation service is Resolve. (Link)

Let's Talk

• This national advocacy service is funded by the Scottish Government. It is for parents of children with additional support needs who need support in relation to a dispute or potential dispute with an education authority.
  
  Let’s Talk website

The right to appeal

• Information on the right to appeal decisions of education authorities regarding the provision of educational support under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 can be found at Additional Support Needs | First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Health and Education Chamber)
• Young People between the ages of 12 and 15 years who have capacity to make a reference can also make 2 types of reference
• A reference in relation to a co-ordinated support plan (CSP)
• A reference appealing against the education authority’s. assessment of the child’s capacity or wellbeing.