Search by topic
The picture of success
Tim Power speaks to Enquire about how and what you need to know about additional support for learning.
It's inevitable that by now most teachers will be aware of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 and that they'll have seen guidance on implementing it.
What teaching staff may be less aware of is Enquire, the national advice and information service for additional support for learning. Managed by Children in Scotland, its aim is to provide independent advice and information about additional support for learning for both families and schools.
Enquire Manager Sally Cavers explained that, while the 2004 Act lays out the legal framework for providing additional support, many people are not familiar with its implications.
This is evident in the 1,200 calls the service receives each year on issues concerning all aspects of additional support for learning. Currently about 80 per cent are from parents and carers.
The team staffing the Enquire helpline are not lawyers, they come from a range of backgrounds including teaching, but all are trained to provide advice on what the Act and its guidance states and how people can take their enquires, or grievances forward.
Sally said: "We advise on what options are available to people and what should happen next according to the national framework. As we run a helpline, we do hear about worries and concerns rather than when things are going well. We listen and provide information and advice; we don't comment on the level or type of support an individual child receives."
Enquire is keen that the information and advice it provides is suitable for different audiences, including education authorities and teaching staff.
Sally said: "Our aim is to promote positive outcomes and we field a number of enquires from teachers. It's a complex law with regulations and an accompanying Code of Practice, so we understand teachers don't always have time to keep up with changes in the Act.
"We can offer suggestions on the best way to proceed in situations, according to what the law and guidance says, and also based on what we've been told over 10 years of running the helpline.
"As well as verbal advice from our helpline, we also provide a wide range of free publications and information on our website - crucial for time-strapped teachers, in simple, plain language.
One important role Enquire can play is to encourage callers to work together with each other towards the best outcome for children.
Sally added: "The Act itself recognises the importance of early intervention and it meshes well with other initiatives such as the Early Years Framework, Getting it Right for Every Child and CfE, where the focus is on individuals and their learning environment. We view our role in a similar context, in that helping parents and teachers at an early stage can often avoid basic misunderstandings and confusion further down the line.
"For example, we get quite a lot of questions about what constitutes 'adequate and efficient' additional support that education authorities have a duty to provide.
"Parents often ask about one-to-one support for their child when additional support needs have been identified. While there will always be children who require this, it wouldn't be appropriate or practical for every pupil with additional support needs to have this type of support in class. Enquire can't say whether this support is appropriate for a particular child, but we can explain that this is only one of many ways children can receive support in school."
When things do go badly and parents and schools are at loggerheads about additional support, Enquire can provide advice on alternative steps to take.
"Helpline staff will refer callers to the education authority's parent liaison officers or complaint's policies if parents aren't happy with a particular situation, or suggest contacts for independent mediation services, such as Resolve or Common Ground Mediation, or other routes of redress outlined in the ASL Act."
What's clear is that Enquire's services are greatly appreciated by those that use them, often because they can respond quickly. In fact, most callers are surprised at how quickly they get through to the helpline and how long the advisers take with them to listen and advise - often up to an hour at a time.
As one parent said: "It's really great to have somewhere that can quickly respond to queries and provide information on legal points that really helps parents."
A helping hand when it's needed
Robbie was 14 when a decision to discontinue his co-ordinated support plan (CSP) was made.
Robbie's mother contacted Enquire as she disagreed with the decision and wanted to know what she could do. She said much of the support for Robbie that was suggested in the original CSP had not been provided, so she felt that it couldn't be discontinued because it had hardly started.
She already knew about the Additional Support Needs Tribunal, but wanted to talk through what else she could do.
Staff at the Enquire helpline talked to her about who was responsible for doing what in relation to a CSP and suggested the first thing to do would be to talk to the key people who had not been at the review meeting.
After her contact with Enquire, Robbie's mother wrote to say: "Thanks for your extensive and thorough reply. It was very helpful and full of useful information. It can be hard as parents of a child with additional support needs to know all the legal issues surrounding a CSP, so organisations such as yours are essential to provide the support needed by us."