Additional support needs can arise from any factor which causes a barrier to learning.
Additional support may be needed for a pupil who is: being bullied, has behavioural difficulties, has long-term learning difficulties or disabilities e.g. dyslexia, dyspraxia, has physical disabilities and/or health conditions e.g. diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, is a young parent or carer, has a sensory or mobility impairment, including impaired sight or hearing, is at risk, has recently been bereaved, is a refugee or asylum seeker, speaks English as an additional language, has a mental health condition e.g. anxiety or depression, has a parent with substance abuse issues, has a parent in prison, comes from a Traveller or gypsy/Romany community, is exceptionally able or has particular talents, is on the autistic spectrum. . .
Children who are being looked-after by the local authority or kinship carers are automatically deemed as needing additional support for learning.
Legislation
A key legal development in terms of ASN in Scotland was the creation of the ‘presumption of mainstreaming’. This refers to the requirement that local authorities provide school age children with education in mainstream schools, a requirement which is contained within Section 15 of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc Act 2000.
Other important policy surround ASN includes: the Curriculum for Excellence, Getting it Right for Every Child (an aspect of the Children and Young People Act 2014) and the SHANARRI wellbeing indicators, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Equality Act 201 and the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004.
“Instead of providing something different or additional for children who experience difficulties in their learning, inclusive pedagogy seeks to extend what is ordinarily available to everybody”
Audiobooks
Immersive Reader/Read Aloud
Access to ICT
Visuals
Concrete materials to support learning
Varied activities and opportunities to respond
Classroom environment and resources
Cooperative learning
PDF reader
Using Microsoft Teams
Differentiated resources
ASNA in class for everyone
Word banks
Displays
Reader, Scribe, Extra time, Separate Accommodation, Transcription (with or without spell check), ICT (with or without spell check), adapted papers, digital papers, prompts…
- PT SFL and SFL staff gather evidence of the need
- Class teacher provides evidence of the support needed for assessment
- Evidence quality assured
- Entered into SQA system
- Enquire Scotland
- Open University modules (Inclusive Education, Dyslexia, Autism)
- CIRCLE resources https://education.gov.scot/media/raqp5dzk/circle-secondary-resource-int.pdf
- SQA AA website
- Dyslexia Scotland – Toolkit
- Autism Toolkit
- CALL Scotland
