Call for more support for ASN pupils

There are calls for greater support for pupils across the Forth Valley with additional needs.

It comes after new data shows a sharp rise in the number of children who need extra help.

More than 15,000 pupils across Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire are classed as having additional needs.

Between 2015 and 2025 in Scotland, the number of pupils with mental health problems rose by 526%. Meanwhile, there has been a 252% rise in the number of children diagnosed with autism.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition said:

“Given an escalating number of children and young people with ASN, it is vital that those requiring it get the care and support that they need. This is clearly difficult in an environment of austerity and budget cuts, highlighted by reductions in, for example, the number of ASN teachers.

“While we also support the presumption of mainstreaming, that all children and young people be educated in a mainstream educational environment unless specific exceptional circumstances apply, it is clearly difficult to see how this is functioning properly for all those with ASN given a fall in specialist support and dramatic increases in the number of those identified with conditions such as mental health problems and autism.

“The current system of provision is at breaking point, and we are witnessing increasing levels of classroom disruption, a key cause of this being the increase in the number of those with ASN, who are not receiving the support they are entitled to.

“The Scottish Government and councils need to work together to provide the necessary resourcing to address the needs of those children and young people with ASN, who represent some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society.

“We would urge the public to put the political parties on the spot as we approach the Scottish Parliament election next year and understand how they are going to address Scotland’s ASN crisis.”