Children in Scotland data highlights gaps in delivery of additional support for learning

27 August 2025

Today, Children in Scotland publishes insights that demonstrates multiple factors can contribute to a lower attendance rate among pupils with additional support needs in Scotland. The briefing comes after Scottish Government data shows that pupils with additional support needs had a lower overall attendance rate than pupils without.

Policy briefing: Additional support for learning – Attendance

The briefing presents key findings based on the main reasons and issues raised on our Enquire helpline in relation to attendance and considers how these affect a pupil’s ability to attend school. It also provides quotes in relation to the findings from children and young people we engage with to ensure that voices, views and experiences of pupils with additional support needs are centred.

This includes Children in Scotland’s Inclusion Ambassadors, a group of secondary school-aged pupils who each have a range of additional support needs and who work to set out what they expect from our education system in Scotland. They have discussed in depth the issues they have experienced in school that can contribute to school absence, including relationships with peers and staff, anxiety about school and a lack of support.

The most common issues raised are mental health issues, support and relationships in schools, part-time timetables, and out-of-school education provision.

“[Anxiety] can make you feel unable to step outside your house.” 

“Some teachers don’t even look at your support plan – if you say you’re going to do something you should follow through on what you say.” 

“S1 was OK for most of the year. But then all my tapping and singing was distracting and everything, so I kept getting sent out and then my mum had to come up to school. I don’t like that. It’s embarrassing.” 

“[I struggled] just being there [in school] overall, it’s so loud and busy. I can’t go back there if I miss anything. The people are not kind, the same as primary school. It’s so big and everything is far apart.” 

Members of the Inclusion Ambassadors

It is a responsibility for all duty bearers – those named under the UNCRC (Incorporation) Act (Scotland) as responsible for adhering to children’s rights as laid out in the convention – to ensure that all children and young people in Scotland can access and enjoy their right to education. Greater focus must be placed on understanding the unique support of pupils who are not attending school and ensuring that these needs can be met.

This briefing offers calls to action as a starting point for key decision-makers and duty bearers to address these issues, including:

• The Scottish Government and Additional Support for Learning Project Board should include the monitoring of attendance in its national measurement framework as part of the additional support for learning action plan delivery
• Changes to how absences are recorded by schools to improve insights
• Public awareness campaigns designed to improve understanding around the reasons for non-attendance, and how to better support this
• Provide a streamlined and comprehensive guidance document for schools addressing the key issues related to low attendance
• Greater investment and resources directed towards establishing out-of-school education provision that provides safe and supportive environments to learn.

The Scottish Government should make clear links to improving attendance as it delivers the remaining actions in the Additional Support for Learning Action Plan. Improved attendance rates among pupils with additional support needs would provide a valuable indicator for measuring the delivery of better support.

David Yule, Policy, Projects and Participation Officer at Children in Scotland, welcomes the findings of the briefing and the clear calls to action for cited stakeholders:

“These recommendations highlight key areas where real progress can be made to ensure pupils with additional support needs are better understood and considered. At Children in Scotland, we pride ourselves on our knowledge and expertise on these matters, gained through our experience of delivering national services. We hope the calls to action will be followed through by the relevant bodies and we look forward to working in partnership to support and inform this.”