Parents flood Scottish council with bids for places in special schools as demand soars by more than 300%

City council figures show there were 34 placing requests for special schools and units in 2019/20, before the number more than doubled to 72 by 2022/23, and then more than doubled again to 149 in the last year.

Officials said these schools were now “relatively full”, with rising demand adding to “challenges” as Glasgow’s education budget is squeezed.

The trend is being replicated across Scotland, councillors were told, amid a huge rise in the number of youngsters with additional support needs (ASN), and particularly more complex needs in the wake of the pandemic and cost of living crisis.

The number of ASN pupils in Scotland has soared from 36,544 in 2007 to 259,036 last year, which is almost 37 per cent of the roll, rising to 50 per cent in some areas.

At the same time, the number of special schools has fallen from 190 in 2006 to 107 last year.

Under the Scottish Government’s presumption of mainstreaming policy, the majority of youngsters with ASN go to mainstream schools.

However, school leaders, teaching unions and local authorities have become increasingly concerned about insufficient resourcing to support the inclusive initiative, as well as a lack of suitable facilities in some cases.

Glasgow has the most ASL schools and units in the country, with 1,401 pupils attending them across the city, almost 2 per cent of pupils.

In addition, almost 400 primary pupils and 439 secondary students attend ASL provision within mainstream schools. A report to councillors in Glasgow highlighted a “changing profile of learners with additional support needs”, with a “much greater degree of complexity”.

Data shows 707 of the pupils have “personal care needs such as toileting, feeding, washing”, 266 have “nutritional needs that require additional input such as supported feeding or tube feeding”, while 971 had language impairment, 638 displayed “distressed behaviour”, 203 had physical disabilities, and 330 had English as an additional language.

Glasgow officials report “clear evidence” of a “direct correlation” between poverty and ASN, with almost 73 per cent of pupils attending ASL schools coming from the most deprived areas.

When mainstream schools are unable to provide the level of support required by a pupil, they can make a referral to the area inclusion group (AIG) for a potential placement in an ASL school.

Parents and carers also have the right to make a placing request for any school, including ASL facilities.

Catherine Gallagher, head of inclusion and equalities at the local authority, updated Glasgow’s education committee on Thursday last week.

“The increase in ASL placing requests has been for a variety of reasons. You can see it has shot up significantly,” she said.

“We’ve also seen an increase in referrals to the area inclusion group for placement.

“We’ve had an increase in AIG referrals and we do have a finite resource, so our schools are relatively full.

“We have increased slightly year on year, however, due to the complexity of need, perhaps thresholds have changed to some degree, and some parents seem still... particularly at that Primary 1 level, there is an anxiety and a very understandable one about children transitioning to mainstream school, and will they manage.

“But the case is often we find that they do and they manage well, and our schools are well equipped.”

The remarks echo evidence provided to MSPs on Holyrood’s education committee, as part of a recent inquiry into ASL provision.

Edinburgh City Council told the committee: “Mainstream schooling and, where relevant, special provision is under intense pressure as the thresholds between mainstream and specialist provisions is now significantly different.

“This difference is not widely understood or recognised within the legislation or with parents and is leading to a great deal of upset and anger on their part.” It has also been suggested in evidence that the issue has been further complicated by the growth of ASN units within mainstream schools, with parents often mistakenly believing their children will automatically have access to the unit if they make a placing request for that school. Earlier this year, a number of parents in Edinburgh raised concerns after being refused placing requests for enhanced support bases in the city’s schools.

Leanne McGuire, chairperson of Glasgow City Parents Group (GCPG), was not surprised by the rise in placing requests for ASL schools and units in Scotland’s largest city.

She said: “A combination of rising poverty, the pandemic, and reduced resources has found many children and young people's needs becoming more complex.

“The scarcity of specialist ASN teachers, support staff, and resources, compounded by spending cuts, has left numerous parents and carers feeling dissatisfied with the support their children receive in mainstream schooling.

“It's understandable that they would seek a specialist environment where they feel their children's needs are more likely to be addressed.

“In recent years, distressing accounts have emerged of children and young people whose educational needs were overlooked, resulting in significant detriment to their wellbeing. This understandably heightens parental concern, especially as their children transition to primary or high school.

“If parents don't have confidence that the school their child is due to attend can support them to thrive, then of course they are going to ask for their child to be placed somewhere they can.

“This is why it's so important for schools to instill confidence in their parents and carers that they can get it right for their children.”

Ms McGuire said GCPG does not oppose mainstream inclusion, but that it requires appropriate staffing and resourcing to succeed.

“With ongoing cuts to education, there's a legitimate concern that achieving this balance will become increasingly challenging,” she said.

Ms McGuire added: “It's frustrating that access to quality education sometimes hinges on navigating bureaucratic obstacles rather than genuine need.

“Education investment should be prioritised to meet the diverse needs of all children, ensuring they have the opportunity to thrive.”