Approximately 1,000 extra pupil support assistants will be recruited this year to work with children with additional support needs thanks to £15 million of additional funding announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP yesterday.
The funding allows local authorities to expand on the 13,636 pupil support assistants already working in Scotland’s classrooms.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney MSP said:
“Every child should have the support they need to reach their full learning potential. Through listening to the experiences of children and young people with additional support needs, their families and those who support them, we recognise we need to do more to enhance their experience at school.
“Working in partnership with local authorities we will invest an extra £15 million in the coming year to increase frontline staff to support learners with additional support needs.
“This will make a significant impact in our classrooms and will help to ensure our young people and their families get the right help at the right time.”
Kenneth Gibson MSP added:
“The SNP Government continues to invest in education. Our longstanding Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) policy has borne many fruits already.
“This year’s Programme for Government features further work to raise attainment in schools with more support for young people who have additional support needs and the extension of the Scottish Attainment Challenge.
“We will also see the full expansion of early learning and childcare to 30 hours per week (1140 hours a year) for all 3 and 4 year olds, and for 2 year olds from disadvantaged backgrounds.”
“The SNP Government will now work with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA) to determine how the £15 million funding will be allocated and I look forward to seeing North Ayrshire reap the benefits of this.”
In 2018 there were 693,251 pupils in Scotland's local authority primary, secondary and special schools and grant-aided schools. Of those, 199,065 were identified as having an additional support need, around 28.7 % of all school pupils (a 2.1% point increase on last year).
School Support Staff National Statistics 2018-19 can be found at: www2.gov.scot/…/School-Education/SupportStaff/supportstaff18 .
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