There may be many different people involved in your child`s care and support. Learn more about their roles and responsibilities. Just because your child is progressing more slowly than expected, or because teachers offer other forms of support, help, or classroom activities, doesn`t mean your child necessarily has special educational needs. All children and youth need support to learn. Through high-quality learning and teaching, staff in early learning and child care facilities and schools are able to meet a variety of needs without additional support. Some children and youth need support in addition to the support children or youth of the same age receive to ensure they receive education, whether it is early learning, school or life skills after school. There are many reasons why children and youth need support to help them learn. Additional support needs can be both long-term and short-term, or simply refer to the help a child or youth needs to get through a difficult time. Additional support needs may arise from: 2. The Act`s reference to school education combines both the 1980 Act and standards in Scottish schools, etc. The 2000 Act (the “2000 Act”). The 1980 Act provides that school education means “progressive education adapted to the needs of pupils, taking into account the age, abilities and abilities of those pupils, and includes early learning and care, as well as the teaching of Gaelic in Gaelic-speaking areas”.

It should be noted that this definition does not require students to attend school in order to receive an education. For example, students could receive a school education in hospital or at home if they cannot attend school for health reasons. The 1980 Act also imposes a general obligation on education authorities to ensure adequate and effective schooling in their territory. Under the Education (Additional Learning Support) Act 2004 (Scotland), parents, eligible children (aged 12-16) and young people (over 16) can apply to the Authority to determine whether they or their child need additional support or a CSP. They may also require the authority to commission an assessment or audit, which may include an educational, psychological or medical assessment or examination. This request must be addressed to the child`s or young person`s school. Additional support needs are identified through a process called a phased response. If you think your child needs additional support, ask your child`s director about the phased intervention process and get more information about the supports available. The process may include assessment by an educational psychologist, classroom teacher, support for learning teachers, or other organizations, such as health professionals such as speech-language pathologists. 15. In addition to certain children under 3 years of age, the law requires an education authority to provide additional assistance to certain pre-school disabled children in its area, usually children under 3 years of age. This obligation applies if these children have been brought to the attention of the education authority that they have or appear to have additional support needs because of a disability within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010 and the education authority determines that they have such needs.

In their case, additional assistance tailored to their situation is provided. Support can be provided, for example, through educational support services in the form of teachers who visit children at home every two weeks and advise parents on appropriate activities they can undertake to promote their child`s development and learning. Additional support may be provided outside of training, such as an occupational therapist in social work services or a speech-language pathologist in health services. As a result of the 2009 legislative amendments, the broader definition of additional support also applies to these children. (1A) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), a child or young person may require additional assistance if he or she is in the care of a local authority (as defined in section 17 (6) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (c.36)). It does not only apply to children or young people with long-term learning difficulties or disabilities. Children and young people need additional support for many reasons in order to get the most out of their education. Some of these reasons may lead a child or teen to need extra support throughout their studies. Others may only need additional support for a short period of time.

Some of the languages surrounding additional support for learning can be confusing. Our glossary will help you understand some of the technical terms you may hear when talking to your child`s school about their support needs. Anna has a bilingual education and is fluent in her mother tongue. She attends a regular primary school, where she also receives additional language support from an EAL guest teacher once a week. The teacher works directly with Anna in the classroom and offers advice and support to her classroom teacher and other teachers and staff who support Anna. 21. Issues related to disability or health needs may require additional support, for example if a child or young person is a child with a disability. Additional support is needed to meet the needs of a child or youth who has a motor or sensory impairment, special language difficulties, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, autism spectrum disorder or learning disabilities. Children with low birth weight may need additional support.

Mental health and well-being issues such as anxiety, eating disorders and depression can disrupt learning and result in the need for additional support, such as child and youth mental health services (CAMHS) or local counselling services to ensure the benefits of schooling. You should ask your child`s teacher, the person at the school who is responsible for supporting children with special educational needs, or the principal. All primary and secondary schools provide support to children and youth who need additional support. We also maintain a range of support services such as educational psychology, sensory support, English as an Additional Language and autism awareness. The majority of students will meet their needs in a regular school and, where appropriate, will have access to specialized advice and support. A very small number of children may need to access more specialized care or accommodation in our specialized facilities for a period of time. A child has special educational needs if they have a learning problem or disability that makes learning more difficult for them than most children their age. You may have problems with schoolwork, communication, or behavior. Parents can get help and advice from professionals, teachers and voluntary organizations. 1.-(1) A child or young person requires additional support within the meaning of this Act if, for any reason, the child or young person is or will not be able to benefit from the child`s or young person`s education without additional support. 12.

The definition of additional support in the Act is broad and comprehensive and it is not possible to provide an exhaustive list of all possible forms of additional support. The additional support is divided into three main overlapping headings: learning and teaching approaches, staff support and provision of resources. Below are examples of forms of additional support that are common in our schools, and many more can be given.[24] It is essential for all these forms of support that they have been identified as additional arrangements for children and young people to attend school, taking into account their specific needs and circumstances. The following examples refer to specific situations, but need to be understood more broadly. They can be used to suggest how the law can be applied in analogous situations. However, the examples are illustrative, non-exhaustive and do not constitute a binding or exhaustive interpretation of the legislation. 6. The reason children in care are believed to have additional support needs, unless it can be demonstrated that they do not require additional support to receive schooling, is that there is ample evidence that children and youth in care may experience significant challenges in more than one aspect of well-being. This can affect their academic success [20].