(UK) Scotland: 40% of students have special needs; autistic, nonverbal 4yo has no special school place

Aug 28, 2025, BBC News: 'My daughter should be in a special school but there is no space'

https://www.aol.com/daughter-special-school-no-space-214551213.html 

Four-year-old Niamh was due to start primary school two weeks ago but instead she is at home with her mum, waiting to find out if there is a suitable place.

The four-year-old, who is autistic and non-verbal, is one of hundreds of children with additional support needs struggling to access a place in a special school.

Her mum Samantha was told by her health visitor and paediatrician that a mainstream school would not be appropriate for her daughter but her application for specialist provision was initially rejected by Glasgow City Council.

In more recent communications, the council has conceded that Niamh may need specialist provision but told the family there are no places available.

It has suggested Niamh could stay in nursery and defer school for a year.

Niamh's mum says she sent the council letters from the paediatrician and others in November last year.

She says that despite "extensive evidence" her application to attend a special additional support needs (ASN) school was rejected.

Samantha says her daughter would not cope in mainstream schooling.

"She would be overwhelmed, overstimulated," she says.

"She would not cope at all. 100%, she wouldn't cope."

"She's got developmental delay, learning disabilities, she's in nappies and she's got high care needs." . . .

A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: "We know that the ASN tribunal appeals can cause anxiety for parents and their children as the legal process progresses.

"We are sorry that the family feel that the options for Niamh to defer a year, continue to attend nursery until the decision, or the mainstream primary with support are not deemed suitable.

"In the meantime, education officers will continue to work with the family to find a temporary solution."

Andrew Fyffe, from Govan Law Centre, runs the statutory national service which supports parents to appeal against local authority decisions on special schools.

He said the number of appeals lodged had risen from 130 in 2022/23 to 186 in 2024/25, while the number of inquiries to the national helpline had increased from 603 to 1,117 over the same period.

"The numbers have definitely increased. Local authorities are under significant pressure to accommodate children with ASN," he said.

"What we are seeing is that autism especially is the greatest unmet need in the education system at the moment.

"We have seen a huge increase in the number of families reporting a diagnosis of autism or autistic traits."

Earlier this month School Leaders Scotland, which represents the secondary sector, published data based on freedom of information responses from 22 of Scotland's 32 councils.

Those councils received 1,351 applications for places in specialist schools from pupils transitioning from primary into secondary in 2024/25. However, just 452 were fulfilled - equivalent to 33%.

The previous year councils received fewer applications - 1,157 - but more were granted, with 528 (46%) being successful. . . .

More than 284,000 children in Scotland are recorded as receiving additional support for learning (ASL) – some 40% of all school pupils. . . .

There has been an almost eightfold increase in pupils recorded as receiving ASL since legislation was introduced in 2004.

That legislation introduced a presumption in favour of all children being in mainstream schools unless there was a very specific reason for them to go to specialist provision.

But some academics argue that the presumption in favour of mainstream has gone too far.

Others point out that 20 years ago the level of support for children with additional needs in mainstream schools was far higher.

Families and campaigners argue that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of children with complex needs who have been unable to get a place in specialist provision.

They say that many of them, like Niamh, are at home. . . .

Earlier this year Audit Scotland criticised the Scottish government for failing to properly plan for the rise in additional support needs.

Its report says the reasons for the huge growth in numbers are "complex" and include changes to data recording and an increasing awareness of children's needs.

But it says it is not possible to determine the scale, complexity and nature of additional support needs across Scotland due to inconsistencies and gaps in the data.

The Scottish government said local authorities were responsible for determining the most appropriate educational provision for pupils.

"We are investing a further £29m [$39M] this year to support the ASN workforce, in addition to record spend of over £1bn [$1.4B] by local authorities on ASN in 2023-24," said a spokesperson.