FOI/202500466074 · FOI · unclear
Pupils with additional support needs and additional support for learning: FOI release
Information requested
You asked for:
1. The number of additional support need staff employed in mainstream Scottish primary school
2. The number of Scottish primary schools that cater for pupils who require additional support.
3. The number of pupils with additional support needs attending a mainstream primary school.
Response
1. The number of additional support need staff employed in mainstream Scottish primary schools.
Education authorities are responsible for identifying and meeting the additional support needs of their pupils. They have responsibility for securing appropriate resources, including teaching and support staff, to meet children and young people’s long or short-term needs. All teachers are responsible for supporting pupils with additional support needs, not just those teachers whose role is specifically related to additional support for learning. Whilst local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of their staff, Scottish Ministers continue to do everything they can to help maximise the number of jobs available for teachers, including permanent posts.
The number of primary school teachers by main subject at local authority level is published in Table 7.9 of the teacher census supplementary statistics (see https://www.gov.scot/publications/teacher-census supplementary-statistics/ ).
Statistics on school support staff are published on the Scottish Government website here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-support-staff-statistics/
2. The number of Scottish primary schools that cater for pupils who require additional support.
All children and young people should receive the support that they need to reach their full potential. Local authorities oversee the delivery of education in Scotland, and they have a statutory duty to identify, provide for, and to review the support that they provide for pupils with additional support needs in their local community. Most children and young people’s needs are met through a universal level of support and 95% of children and young people with ASN were educated in mainstream classes in 2024. However, it is recognised that children and young people should learn in the environment which best suits their needs. The legislation on the presumption of mainstreaming has clear exceptions to enable children and young people to learn in a special school or in a specialist unit. Guidance for local authorities is provided by a statutory supporting learners’ code of practice and guidance on mainstreaming.
Information on the number of pupils with additional support needs in each primary school in Scotland is published in the school level summary statistics, available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-level-summary-statistics/
This data shows that most primary schools had at least one pupil with additional support needs.
3. The number of pupils with additional support needs attending a mainstream primary school.
The number of pupils with additional support needs attending mainstream primary schools at local authority level is shown in table 6.10 of the pupil census supplementary statistics, available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/pupil-census-supplementary-statistics/
Primary pupils with Additional Support Needs, by local authority, 2024 Local Authority Count Percentage (of all primary pupils) Aberdeen City 5,473 37 Aberdeenshire 8,909 44 Angus 2,079 26 Argyll and Bute 1,731 34 City of Edinburgh 11,732 40 Clackmannanshire 1,217 34 Dumfries and Galloway 4,112 43 Dundee City 3,311 33 East Ayrshire 2,068 24 East Dunbartonshire 1,820 20 East Lothian 2,749 33 East Renfrewshire 2,074 23 Falkirk 3,650 32 Fife 6,893 26 Glasgow City 18,640 46 Highland 5,563 35 Inverclyde 1,670 33 Midlothian 2,882 35 Moray 2,203 33 Na h-Eileanan Siar 599 36 North Ayrshire 3,117 35 North Lanarkshire 8,334 33 Orkney Islands 498 34 Perth and Kinross 3,157 32 Renfrewshire 3,816 29 Scottish Borders 2,664 36 Shetland Islands 680 40 South Ayrshire 2,845 39 South Lanarkshire 7,330 29 Stirling 2,132 34 West Dunbartonshire 2,393 38 West Lothian 4,693 31 Grant-aided 65 14 Scotland 131,099 35
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact Please quote the FOI reference Central Correspondence Unit Email: contactus@gov.scot Phone: 0300 244 4000 The Scottish Government St Andrew's House Regent Road Edinburgh EH1 3DG
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