Category Archives: Legislation

The Doran Review is published

The final report of the Doran Review – ‘The Right Help at the Right Time in the Right Place – the Strategic Review of Learning Provision for Children and Young People with Complex Additional Support Needs’ was published in November.  (Access the full report here.)

The report recognised that improvements in learning and care have been made through the development of new legislation, policy and practice (including Curriculum for Excellence, Additional Support for Learning, Getting it Right for Every Child and the proposed Children and Young People Bill) but that barriers to further progress still exist.

The main findings of the review are:

  • the good practice in existing services should be more widely shared
  • increased strategic commissioning of specialist services for those with complex additional support needs
  • strong partnership must be maintained to deliver reform of the sector between 2012 and 2017.

Enquire (The Scottish Advice Service for Additional Support for Learning) has a useful summary of the report and the Scottish Government’s response on their website.

The Scottish Government’s response can be accessed here.

Doran Review

Scottish Government is reviewing how education will be provided for children and young people with complex support needs. Peter Doran is chairing that review, often referred to as the Doran Review.

As part of the review, consultation events will be taking place with parents. The intention is to find out the views of families and parent support groups on a number of important questions. The results of that consultation exercise will contribute to the review.

Views are being sought from parents on:

  • How satisfied you are with the processes to identify your child’s care, health and learning needs.
  • How well informed you feel about schools and services that could help their child.
  • How well nurseries or schools and other services such as Health and Social Work are meeting your child’s needs.
  • How well supported you and your child feel when he or she is preparing to leave and settling into a new school, or leaving school to go on to adult services.

The events will take place at:

22nd March 12 noon to 3pm Aberdeen, Thistle Altens Hotel

27th March 9.30am to 1pm Edinburgh Hilton  Grosvenor Hotel

29th March 9.30am to 1pm Glasgow Hilton Grosvenor Hotel

booking form can be downloaded and returned to Children in Scotland. Or you can also book online atwww.childreninscotland.org.uk/doran

Or, Email training@childreninscotland.org.uk

Or, Telephone             0131 222 2446       Fax 0131 228 8585

Or, Post Children in Scotland, Princes House, 5 Shandwick Place, Edinburgh EH2 4RG

Take Note

Take Note is a partnership between Barnardo’s Scotland and the Scottish Child Law Centre that provides lay and legal advice to families and young people who appeal to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal for Scotland (ASNTS) against decisions made by education authorities regarding the provision of education support. 

If you have grounds to make a reference to the additional support needs tribunal for Scotland (ASNTS)  Take Note can provide you with access to an advocate to ensure that your views are heard and represented in all decision making processes.

 To find out more information regarding this service click here to access the Take Note website or here to download a copy of their leaflet.

Welcome

Welcome to the West Lothian ASN Blog.   ASN stands for Additional Support Needs.

Our aim is to provide you with helpful, up to date information and news from the West Lothian Additional Support Needs (ASN) Management Team, schools and any other potential sources of interest. I hope that this will be a means of improving communication between parents / guardians and the authority. We have also included links to external websites and internal policy documents where we think that these may be useful .

Enquire – the Scottish advice service for additional support for learning

Operated by Children in Scotland, Enquire offers independent, confidential advice amd information on additional support for learning through:

a telephone helpline – 0845 123 2303

an email enquiry service – info@enquire.org.uk

an online enquiry service

two websites – www.enquire.org.uk  (for parents/carers and practitioners) and www.enquire.org.uk/yp  (for children and young people)

Enquire also provide a range of clear and easy to read guides and factsheets explaining everything from ‘additional support in the early years’ to ‘what planning should take place for moving on from school’

Take Note: National Advocacy Service for Additional Support Needs

Barnardo’s Scotland, in partnership with the Scottish Child Law Centre, have been awarded a grant to provide lay and legal advice to families and young people who appeal to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal for Scotland (ASNTS) against education authoritities decisions regarding the provision of education support.

The new service will be called “Take Note: National Advocacy Service for Additional Support Needs”. Barnardo’s and Scottish Child Law Centre will provide this service throughout Scotland and access will be via the existing Scottish Child Law Centre Helpline: 0131 667 6333.

Further information and leaflets will be posted as we  receive them.

Additional Support Needs National Advocacy Service and Sources of Information

The new Additional Support Needs Advocacy Service has been awarded to a partnership between Barnardo’s and The Scottish Child Law Centre. It will be available from 14th November 2010 to all parents and young people who have grounds to make a reference to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal.   

Parents of children having additional support needs and young persons having such needs can also seek further advice from the following sources

  • Children in Scotland: Working for Children and Their families, trading as Enquire – the Scottish national advice service for additional support.

Click this link

http://enquire.org.uk/

and

  •  The Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance Ltd.

 Click this link

http://www.siaa.org.uk/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

Supporting children's learning code of practice (Revised edition) 2010

This code replaces the original code of practice published in 2005 in order to take account of the 2009 Act. It explains the duties on education authorities and other agencies to support children’s and young people’s learning. It provides guidance on the Act’s provisions as well as on the supporting framework of secondary legislation. Please click on the link below for further information.

Supporting children’s learning code of practice (Revise edition 2010)

Additional Support for Learning Act (Update)

The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland ) Act 2009 will come into force in autumn of this year 2010. The main changes to the 2004 Act include:

  • The definition of additional support needs. All looked after children and young people are deemed to have additional support needs unless or until, they have been assessed as not having additional support needs

Additional support is any support which is additional to or different from existing educational provision.

  • The assessment of additional support needs is to be made against the provision for other children / young people of the same age in schools run by the LA.
  • The requirement to identify children under 3 years of age with additional support needs and the provision of appropriate additional support.
  • Requests from the Independent Sector
  • Mediation Services.
  • Dispute resolution
  • References to the ASN Tribunal

 

For further information, a draft Code of Practice is currently in the consultation phase and can be found at

www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/11/03140104/20

 

Explanatory notes published by Enquire, the Scottish advice service for additional support can be found at

www.enquire.org.uk/pcp/news.php