HEADTEACHERS have warned that schools are not being given enough support to meet the needs of increasing numbers of pupils needing additional support.
The claim came as figures revealed the number of children with additional support needs (ASN) has more than doubled since 2010, while there are fewer staff with the skills to teach them.
In a submission to the Scottish Parliament’s Education Committee, which is meeting today, the Association of Headteachers and Deputes in Scotland said members were under increasing pressure to accept children with ever-greater needs in mainstream classes, while resources were being reduced.
The association added: “We regularly hear comments from members about the lack of availability of appropriately trained staff,” and backed research carried out by the charity Enable, which The Herald highlighted in December, questioning whether main-streaming of pupils was working.
Figures from the Local Government Information Unit revealed there were153,192 pupils with additional support needs in 2015, compared with 58,587 in 2010. Meanwhile, there were nearly 500 fewer specialist ASN teachers.
In response to a request for views, dozens of teachers, parents and organisations contacted the committee.
Concerns about the training on offer to teachers were voiced by the Educational Institute of Scotland, Unison and children’s charities, while Highland and Moray councils both warned soaring numbers of ASN pupils were putting a strain on schools
In a focus group, trainee teachers from Glasgow University told the committee none of them had been in a school where ASN pupils were sufficiently supported, while teachers from Dalkeith High and St David’s High School in Dalkeith said staff felt they were failing pupils
Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary Liz Smith said: “The growth in the number of pupils being identified with additional support needs has been accompanied by a fall in the number of teachers with the relevant specialist skills.
“Because of this fall in additional support teachers, many pupils are being badly let down.”
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