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The Scottish Government has issued a formal response to the Scottish Assembly of Parents and Carers following publication of our Additional Support for Learning (ASL) Call to Action report.

The response, from Graham Thomson, Head of Strategic Engagement in the Education Reform Division recognises the work of Assembly members in highlighting priority areas for action to improve Additional Support Needs (ASN) provision across Scotland's schools.

The Government notes the reports recommendations will be considered alongside other key national reviews, including the Audit Scotland report (February 2025) and the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland report (April 2025).

Commitments outlined in the response include: 

• Review of ASN delivery: A cross-party roundtable with local government to inform a wider review of ASN support in schools
• Professional learning: Ongoing investment for teachers and specialist staff, including autism and dyslexia inclusive practice
• Support for complex needs: Increased funding for specialist services such as CALL Scotland, the Scottish Sensory Centre, and Enquire
• Continued engagement: A commitment to meet with Assembly members to discuss the Governments response as well as a willingness to continue working with the Assembly in the year ahead.

We welcome the recognition of the Assembly members work and look forward to ongoing collaboration to improve outcomes for children and young people with additional support needs across Scotland.

Read the full response below:

'At this critical juncture for Education Reform, we are committed to meaningful engagement with parents and carers to draw on a wide range of perspectives and experiences from all parts of Scotland. The Scottish Government recognises and values the vital role that parents and carers play in their children’s lives and are particularly grateful for the support that you are giving to making the Scottish Assembly of Parents and Carers (SAPC) a success. 

The Scottish Government welcomes the results of the SAPC ASL Call to Action report which set out eight areas of action parents and carers believe should be taken by the Scottish Government, local authorities, and schools to transform Additional Support Needs (ASN) provision across Scotland. The delivery of ASN provision continues to be of considerable political and educational interest and the SAPC’s calls to action complement other recent reports, which identify areas for improvement. Ministers will consider this timely publication and its recommendations alongside existing recommendations set out by the Education Children and Young People’s Committee (ECYP) report (May 2024), Audit Scotland report (February 2025) and the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland report (April 2025).

As you may be aware, during the parliamentary debate on ASL on 14 May 2025, the Scottish Government has committed to holding a cross-party roundtable with local government to discuss a wider review of the delivery and support for Additional Support for Learning in Scotland’s schools. The scope and detail of the review will be informed by the outcome of the roundtable. We will also continue to work in partnership with COSLA colleagues through the new Education Assurance Board, which offers enhanced opportunities for collaborative working 

Our inclusive approach to education in Scotland is supported by a broad consensus that all children and young people should receive the support they need to thrive. Since the 2020 Morgan Review of ASL, we have delivered over 50 actions in the Additional Support for Learning Action Plan to improve educational experiences for children and young people with additional support needs (ASN), empowering them to become directly involved in decision making, increasing learning opportunities for educators and creating parent support groups.  We recognise that many of the themes you have highlighted in your report align with key areas of longer-term change that our response to the Morgan review seeks to address.  

Your report calls for mandatory training in additional support for learning.  The Scottish Government is committed to building on the professional learning available to our education workforce on ASN.  You may be aware that all teachers undertake ASN training during Initial Teacher Education, which is a requirement to meet the Professional Standards for registration with the General Teaching Council of Scotland.  Education Scotland has also developed the Inclusion, Wellbeing and Equalities Professional Learning Framework, which is freely available to all school staff to support their learning in the area of ASN.  

Your report calls for specialist training in the area of complex additional support needs. In additional to the above professional learning offer, which includes free to access modules on autism and dyslexia inclusive practice, the Scottish Government has also increased our investment in CALL Scotland, The Scottish Sensory Centre and the Enquire service to improve the information, advice and professional learning offer for staff supporting children and young people with complex additional support needs.  

Your report calls for increased resources for additional support for learning. The Scottish Government recognises the significant rise in the number of children with additional support needs in our schools and we know this presents challenges for our education system.  We are seeking to build on the £1 billion being spent by local authorities in 2023/24 on additional support needs by investing an additional £29m in 2025/26 in local and national programmes to support the recruitment, retention and training of the additional support for learning workforce.  This investment is a key part of our commitment with COSLA to restore teacher numbers to 2023 levels and contributes to the total investment of £186.5m we are providing to local authorities to do this. 

We will continue to work at pace to deliver our remaining commitments by the end of this Parliamentary term, including ensuring that parental voice informs the development of ASL policy. We would also like to commit to the SAPC that we will ensure we utilise their expertise and knowledge over the coming year 2025/26 therefore as a starting point we would welcome an opportunity to meet with members of the Assembly, to discuss our response if this would be helpful.

Thank you for the views you have provided and I hope this response provides recognition of the work the SAPC have undertaken and provides assurance that the work that went into the report will be considered alongside other recent ASL reports, in helping to improve the support we give to children with identified ASL needs.'