Essential cookies keep you signed in. May we also set optional analytics cookies (Google Analytics 4, US-based)?
Rejecting is just as easy, and nothing else changes. Cookie details
In Scotland, the system is called Additional Support Needs (ASN). It is deliberately broader than England’s SEND: a child has additional support needs if they need more, or different, support to benefit from education for any reason — which can include disability or a learning difficulty, but also circumstances such as being a young carer, bereavement, or having English as an additional language.
ASN is governed by the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 and sits within the wider Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) approach, which places the child’s wellbeing at the centre of any support.
Councils (the education authority) have a duty to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of the children they are responsible for. Because the definition is broad, support ranges from in-class help to highly specialist provision.
Most children with ASN are supported through a non-statutory plan such as a Child’s Plan or an Individualised Educational Programme (IEP). The Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP) is the only statutory plan — reserved for children whose needs are complex or multiple and require co-ordinated support from the council plus at least one other agency (for example health).
CSPs must be reviewed regularly and before key transitions. Parents and young people can use mediation, independent adjudication, or appeal to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal. Parents can also make a placing request for any school.
Legal framework: Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. Statutory duties sit with the council. Disputes are heard by the Additional Support Needs Tribunal (housed within the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland).
Special schools generally admit through a Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP), named by the council.
ASN is broader. England’s SEND focuses on learning difficulties and disabilities; Scotland’s ASN covers any child who needs additional support to benefit from education, including reasons unrelated to disability. As a result a much larger share of pupils are recorded as having ASN.
No. The Co-ordinated Support Plan is the statutory plan only for children with complex or multiple needs requiring co-ordinated support from more than one agency. Most children with ASN have a non-statutory Child’s Plan or IEP instead.
Getting It Right For Every Child is Scotland’s national approach to supporting children’s wellbeing. ASN support is delivered within GIRFEC, usually through a single Child’s Plan that draws services together around the child.
This guide is written to explain Scotland's ASN framework in plain English and is AI-drafted from the official sources above. It is general information, not legal advice — always check the current position with your school and the council.