There was a fundamental reform of special educational needs policy in Scotland with the ratification of the 2004 Education (Additional Support for Learning) (ASL) (Scotland) Act. This paper explores official statistics from 2008-2023 by examining variations in additional support needs (ASN) and funding across the 32 Local Authorities (LAs). The…

Access arrangements are the way in which awarding bodies for public examinations in England, such as the General Certificate of Secondary Education, make reasonable adjustments for students with special educational needs and disabilities. SENCos have expressed concerns about the onerous nature of managing requirements for access arrangements, both…

Although there is much research regarding the inclusion of pupils with additional support needs (ASN) in mainstream secondary education, there is little research specifically exploring the perspectives of staff who support and teach this population. This small-scale exploratory study in a Scottish secondary school investigated staff perspectives,…

The face of Modern Foreign Language education (MFL) in Scotland is changing. A major policy shift in Scottish education in 2012 set out the aspiration that all students up to the end of third level education in Scottish schools would have the opportunity to learn not one but two languages, in addition to their mother tongue. Over the last 20…

The COVID-19 lockdown has substantially disrupted the established facets of teacher engagement with their students, and, given the significance of this multidimensional interaction, it brings into question what we know as teachers' identity. The lockdown has offered a dilemmatic context where the processes of teaching and learning and being(s) a…

Since the schools in the United Kingdom (UK) closed to most pupils in March 2020 to try to stop the spread of COVID-19, the internet has delivered a flood of materials for 'home-schooling'. Finding the most appropriate resources has been overwhelming for teachers and parents alike. The majority of pupils in the UK (71.3-85.1%, depending on region)…

A longitudinal study was conducted to understand post-school transition practice for young people with additional support needs (ASN) before and after the implementation of key legislation, the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, amended in 2009. Primary data were collected from one local authority in Scotland. Twelve…

Given the key drivers around citizenship education, children's rights, voice, and participation, it is essential that all children are supported to engage in the society in which they live. This article explores how McCall's Community of Philosophical Inquiry might offer that support to children who are potentially marginalised due to their…

This paper details the development, implementation and evaluation of the South Lanarkshire Framework for Supporting Children with Severe and Profound Learning Needs ("The Framework"). The document assists Scottish schools in taking forward the Curriculum for Excellence for this group of learners and in building capacity amongst staff.…

The poverty-related attainment gap is an internationally recognised problem. There is growing recognition that it cannot either be understood or addressed without taking cognisance of children's mental health and wellbeing. The focus of this conceptual article is to examine the impact of social inequality and poverty on the mental health and…

This article draws on findings from the first cross-national study of school exclusions in the four jurisdictions of the UK. It sketches factors associated with the past research with reductions in exclusions. It then reports interview data gathered in England in 2018 from five specialist officers working in two Local Authorities and a senior…

This study examined the effectiveness of Community of Philosophical Inquiry (CoPI) as an inclusive pedagogical approach by which to support the communicative interaction and opportunities for collaborative dialogue for children with social, emotional and behavioural needs in two mainstream classes. There is currently no empirical work that…

This study explores the nature of parental attitudinal beliefs towards educational inclusion and the factors that determine these beliefs. Participants were drawn from the Growing Up in Scotland Survey (N = 2200). Results indicate that majority of parents held positive generalised belief towards including children with additional support needs…

The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 boosted the rights of parents of children with additional support needs (ASN) by improving access to information, instituting a Code of Practice and establishing new redress mechanisms such as the ASN Tribunal and independent mediation. More than a decade later, Scottish…

Since the re-establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, successive administrations have reaffirmed their commitment to social justice. However, despite high-level equality policies, social-class inequality is a major feature of Scottish society, affecting all social policy domains, including education. In this article, we provide a brief…