EDUCATION unions and parents throughout Scotland have united to end the “national scandal” of cuts in support for pupils with additional support needs (ASN).

Nearly 40 per cent of Scotland’s school-age population require extra support in education, but after more than a decade of cuts in local government budgets, and councils cutting teaching posts as they face the toughest settlement from the Scottish government since devolution, concerns are growing over the impact on vulnerable students.

National Parent Forum of Scotland chairwoman Cheryl Burnett warned the situation was now at “crisis point.” 

She said: “Requests for advocacy support are coming through on a daily basis with many parents left feeling that their children are being failed by our current system.”

Unison’s Lilian Macer branded funding “woefully inadequate” and Unite Scotland’s Graham McNab warned that the cuts had “reached inexcusable levels.”

GMB Scotland‘s Keir Greenaway warned staff were being put under “intolerable stress and increasing pressure” as a result.

Teaching unions echoed those concerns, as NASUWT Scotland national official Mike Corbett warned: “Ministers cannot continue to ignore their duty to ensure every child can have their needs met.”

Scottish Secondary Teachers Association general secretary Seamus Searson demanded the Scottish government take “meaningful action to ensure that children’s education is not compromised by budget concerns.”

EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley added: “The underfunding and under-resourcing of ASN provision is a national scandal.

“The lack of resourcing and staffing is letting down the large and growing number of young people in need of additional support, a very large number of whom also live in poverty.

“The Scottish government and local authorities cannot sweep this issue under the carpet any longer.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said it is committed to improving outcomes for young people with additional support needs.