Commenting on a report by Holyrood’s Education, Children & Young People Committee into education provision for children with Additional Support Needs (ASN), Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, said:
 
“The reality is that the policy of presumption of mainstream and integration masquerading as inclusion is not working and is letting children down and setting their teachers up to fail.
 
“Numbers of ASN specialist staff in health and education and approaches to funding for children with additional needs vary considerably across the country, meaning that children with ASN are not uniformly receiving the care and help they deserve.
 
“Teachers are doing all they can to make sure these pupils receive the highest quality education, but they are struggling to meet the increasingly complex needs of pupils in the absence of a system which is in any way fit for purpose.”
 
Mike Corbett, NASUWT Scotland National Official, said:
 
“I welcomed the opportunity to give oral evidence to the Committee and I am unsurprised that it has recognised that current provision for children with ASN is completely failing to meet basic tests of adequacy.
 
“At the heart of this is the presumption of mainstream policy, which we have been warning for many years is completely flawed due to the absence of the necessary funding to secure the staffing and resources which are needed if every ASN child is to adequately have their needs met in mainstream education.
 
“It is beyond time for the Scottish Government to look again at the presumption of mainstream policy. It needs to be replaced with a system of provision which is genuinely capable of meeting the needs of every pupil with ASN, including through the reopening of special centres for children with severe and complex needs.”