The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 is an

Act of the Scottish Parliament An Act of the Scottish Parliament ( gd, Achd Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) is primary legislation made by the Scottish Parliament. The power to create Acts was conferred to the Parliament by section 28 of the Scotland Act 1998 following the successfu ...

that received

Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...

in 2004. It seeks to redefine the

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

relating to the provision of

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

to children with additional needs by establishing a framework for the policies of inclusion and generally practising the "presumption of mainstreaming" in Scottish

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

. The Act is an attempt to broaden the narrow definition of Special Educational Needs (SEN) which has typically been used to define children with special needs.

Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Under the SEN model, certain children were classified as having special needs, and a formal "Record of Needs" (RoN) was opened and maintained. The opening of an RoN placed a legal obligation on the local authority to meet the needs of the child or young person as defined in the record. Additional support,

staffing ''Staffing'' is the process of finding the right worker with appropriate qualifications or experience and recruiting them to fill a job position or role. Through this process, organizations acquire, deploy, and retain a workforce of sufficient qua ...

resources Resource refers to all the materials available in our environment which are technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and wants. Resources can broadly be classified upon their a ...

and places at

special school Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

s were largely dependent on the needs and targets set out in the student's RoN.

Principles

The new Act defines a system of Additional Support Needs (ASN). The Act states that, at some point in their education, all children may require some form of additional support. The Act says: "A child may require additional support for a variety of reasons. These may include those who are being

bullied Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imbal ...

, are particularly

gifted Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average. It is a characteristic of children, variously defined, that motivates differences in school programming. It is thought to persist as a trait into adult life, wi ...

, have experienced a

bereavement Grief is the response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or some living thing that has died, to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, grief also has physical, cogniti ...

, or are not attending school regularly, as well as those who have

behavioural Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as well ...

or learning difficulties,

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

problems, or specific

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

such as

deafness Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

blindness Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

Implementation

The Act places a

duty A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; fro, deu, did, past participle of ''devoir''; la, debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may ...

on education authorities to establish procedures for identifying and meeting the additional support needs of children and young people. The identified needs must be kept under review and it will be the responsibility of all agencies to help education authorities meet their duties. The act defines such agencies as "including the local authority’s

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

services, any health board, any other local authority or other agency specified by Scottish Ministers, such as

Careers Scotland Skills Development Scotland (SDS) is the national skills agency of Scotland. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. History Created on 1 April 2008, SDS is a merger of former organisations and services which ...

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...

colleges." The new structure is intended to make accessing support easier for

parents A parent is a caregiver of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is the caretaker of a child (where "child" refers to offspring, not necessarily age). A ''biological parent'' is a person whose gamete resulted in a child, a male t ...

and

carers A caregiver or carer is a paid or unpaid member of a person's social network who helps them with activities of daily living. Since they have no specific professional training, they are often described as informal caregivers. Caregivers most commo ...

. Where parents believe that their child has additional support needs they are able to request assessments which they believe are necessary; education authorities also have this ability. In situations where there is disagreement, education authorities will be under a duty to provide

mediation Mediation is a structured, interactive process where an impartial third party neutral assists disputing parties in resolving conflict through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. All participants in mediation are ...

services and they will be required to have arrangements in place for resolving

disputes Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

. The Act is intended to provide support for children with long or short term barriers to learning, including children with severe and complex needs. Where more than one support service is involved in the provision of support for a child, a Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP) will be drawn up by the relevant agencies, (e.g., school and grief counsellor).

Sources

Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004
on Education Scotland

References

External links

* a brief guide to the 2004 Act for schools, parents and young people. Includes additional information, legislation, cases, links and downloads.
Scottish Executive: Transitional arrangements consultation paper on the Act
{{UK legislation Acts of the Scottish Parliament 2004 Education in Scotland History of education in Scotland 2004 in education Special education in the United Kingdom