THE Scottish government is facing calls to boost school funding as the number of pupils with additional support needs double to an all-time high while specialist teachers fall to a new low.

Looking at Scotland’s pupil census, the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC) found 40.5 per cent of young Scots now had an additional support need.

The numbers more than doubled between 2014 and 2024 from 140,000 to over 284,000, despite specialist teachers falling from 3,077 to 2,837.