Edinburgh parents fear possible cuts to additional support needs services
Council said there was no change to the provision of such services planned, and dedicated spaces for additional needs learners were still being provided.
Parents of children with additional needs are concerned that Edinburgh schools are failing to deliver the support they require.
Many applications for tailored support for children going into high school in the next school year have been turned down, or information has not yet been made available, parents have claimed.
Children with autism, Down’s syndrome, or complex support needs, may not have access to Enhanced Support Bases, and may have to follow mainstream classes, they have argued.
One of the parents, Graham McKay, whose son is autistic and whose application to the dedicated learning space has been denied, explained how Connor, 11, would struggle in a mainstream classroom. He said: “He would be disruptive to the class because he wouldn’t be understanding the lessons. He’d have a meltdown and probably be picked on.”
He added that the base would give him quiet space and additional support needs for learning that wouldn’t be met in the mainstream classroom.
An additional support needs consultant, Ailsa Clarke, who was previously a teacher and whose child has complex needs, explained how the lack of access to these spaces may have an impact on pupils’ learning.
“These children are going to be spiralling into absolute uncertainty. Many of them struggle already in primary school and have support there – the transition into high school is a major transition, going from one teacher to potentially seven teachers,” she said.
She added: “The sensory environment is overwhelming for them: school bells, crowded corridors, lots of noise, canteens. What is essential to their successful learning is a sensory environment that suits their needs and allows them to relax enough to learn.”
However, Edinburgh council has refuted such claims, stating that there was no planned reduction of these services, and that the council was in fact actively increasing resources for them.
Labour Councillor, Joan Griffiths, who is also the education convener, said: “To be clear, Enhanced Support Base placements have not been suspended. In common with the rest of the country, additional support needs are rising across Edinburgh. We keep these levels of need and models of provision under review.”
Meanwhile, Cllr Griffiths added that the Scottish government’s national requirement of “presumption of mainstream” was respected, while always “striving to educate children with additional needs with the resources that are most appropriate”.
The teaching union, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), understood “some changes to provision were in the offing”, but expressed concern about the lack of consultation.
EIS’s Edinburgh secretary, Alison Murphy, said: “Given the history of cuts to provision, it is hardly surprising if people are reluctant to take reassurances at face value,” adding: “There is a mass of evidence about the rise in additional needs, and teachers need more specialist support.”