Engage for Education is a website for parents, children, young people, pupils, students, teachers and educators. If you work in a school, nursery, college, university or the voluntary sector and you are interested in early years or school education, further and higher education, or adult learning and skills, you can access this site by clicking on the link below.
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
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)
Give Me Chance Campaign Week
A dedicated Anti Stigma Campaign has been initiated by Who cares? Scotland. The campaign week will see the campaign clip developed by young people, formally launched in George Square Glasgow on the morning of September 1st at 10am. For more information please click on the link below.
Adult Basic Education
Adult Basic Education (ABE) is part of West Lothian Council’s Community Learning and Development Service. Our aim is to work with anyone over the age of 16 who can set goals to improve literacy and numeracy skills or who is experiencing hearing loss and wishes to learn to lip read.
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
Out of site out of mind?
Below you will find a link to the recently published HMIe document “Out of site , out of mind?” (May 2010), which provides an overview of provision for children and young people with behavioural needs in local authority bases and special schools, with examples of emerging good practice
This is one of a series of reports following up issues identified in the report “Better Behaviour, Better Learning”.
West Lothian Psychological Service – Annual Newsletter
Newsletter SQ May 2010
This link will take you to the West Lothian Psychological Service’s Annual Newsletter. It includes information on the following: HMIe Inspection Report, Service Improvement Plan, Children who are Looked After, Raising Attainment, Improving Health and Emotional Well Being, Research and Development, Early Intervention, Quality Assurance and Training and Development of staff.
Support for Parents
Parents have the right to have a supporter or advocate present at any discussions or meetings with the education authority. A supporter might be a friend or relative who can offer moral or emotional support or perhaps take notes to help you remember what was said.
For further information on how to access support at meetings with West Lothian Education Services contact Alison Raeburn, Principal Support Officer on 01506 777444.
“Contact a Family” can also help you to find an advocacy service in your area. For more information click on the following link and go to page 7.
Contact a Family – Additional Support for Learning (Scotland)
Parent Councils
Parent Councils – General Information
The Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 was passed to encourage and support more parents to become involved in their child’s education. The Act came into effect in August 2007.
The main aims of the Parental Involvement Act are to:
- help parents become more involved with their child’s education and learning;
- welcome parents as active participants in the life of the school;
- provide easier ways for parents to express their views and wishes.
To help achieve these aims, all parents are automatically members of the Parent Forum at their child’s school and entitled to have a say in what happens at the school.
To find out more about Parent Councils please click on the following link.
