Feb 25, 2020, The Herald: Attainment for Scotland's school leavers has worsened https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18259864.attainment-scotlands-school-leavers-worsened/ The NUMBER of pupils leaving schools in Scotland with at least one national qualification has declined, new figures have revealed. The statistics, released by the Scottish Government, also shows that pupils with additional support needs leaving school with at least one qualification has also dropped at Level 4, 5 and Highers from 2017/18 to 2018/19. The data shows that school leavers obtaining one or more national qualification at Level 4 dropped by 0.3 per cent, there was a 0.8 per cent fall at Level 5 and a 1.7 percent drop at Highers. Those leaving education with at least one Advanced Higher qualification also dropped by 1.1 per cent in the space of a year. Additional Support Needs (ASN) pupils obtaining one qualification at Level 4 and 5 dropped by 0.3 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively – while those securing one pass at Highers level dropped by 0.2 per cent…. Lynn Bell, CEO of LOVE Learning, speaking on behalf of the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition, said: “We are deeply concerned about falling attainment levels for those with additional support needs such as autism, dyslexia and mental health problems. … “It is deeply disappointing to see this fall in attainment level for those with ASN and that the attainment gap is opening between those with ASN and no ASN in some categories.” She added: “Along with the National Deaf Children’s Society, the National Autistic Society Scotland, and Royal Blind we recently made a call for increased resourcing in the Scottish Government budget to support those with ASN. “While the numbers of those with ASN has risen by more than 82 per cent since 2012, amounting to just under a third of the pupil population, it is alarming that spend per pupil with ASN has fallen by more than 26 per cent over this same period. “Too many pupils with additional support needs are missing out on the specialist support they require because of budget cuts at a time of increasing need. This is clearly challenging in an environment of austerity, however, the cost to society in the long term if adequate resourcing is not provided will far outweigh any potential savings made today.” Union bosses have also warned that cuts to ASN support is putting extra pressure on teachers. …

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