New Policy Briefing: School Placements

25 February 2026, Edinburgh: Children in Scotland announces new policy briefing on additional support needs in school placements, highlighting significant inconsistencies and inequalities in how children and young people are supported to access services.  

In 2019, the Scottish Government commissioned an independent review of the implementation of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, recognising growing concerns about the availability and effectiveness of support for pupils with additional support needs. The resulting report, ‘Support for Learning: All our children and all their potential,’ made a series of recommendations to improve the delivery of additional support for learning across Scotland.  

This new briefing draws on participation work with children and young people with additional support needs, offering a unique national insight into how those recommendations are being experienced in practice.  

The briefing outlines the two main routes through which alternative school placements are sought. In many cases, referrals are made by school staff or professionals through local authority placement panels. However, evidence from engagement with children and families shows that how these panels operate varies significantly between local authorities.  

Families can also make a formal placing request under the 2004 Act. The briefing finds that this process is often complex, with limited statutory guidance, leading to confusion between referral routes and inconsistent decision-making.  

David Yule, Participation and Policy Officer at Children in Scotland, said: 

The complexity of the placing request process and the need to research, gather information and advocate for a request can amplify existing education inequalities. Based on the evidence available to us this means that some pupils with additional support needs may not be accessing their right to an education that supports them to reach their fullest potential. 

“This briefing presents the views, voices and experiences of children and young people experiencing issues with support provision and their school environment. It also includes evidence from families navigating the placing request process in order to connect their children with the appropriate support in a setting that works for them. 

“Insights from the briefing tell us that school placement processes are operating under considerable pressure. This appears to be negatively impacting the ability of local authorities to effectively manage placements and contributes to lengthy delays in communicating decisions to families.

Children in Scotland supports the effective implementation of the mainstreaming approach and recommends delivering a renewed Additional Support for Learning Action Plan which aims to realise the Inclusion Ambassadors Vision Statement. This sets out what the pupils with additional support needs we work with expect from their education:

School should help me be the best I can be. School is a place where children and young people learn, socialise and become prepared for life beyond school.   

“Success is different for everyone. But it is important that all the adults that children and young people come into contact within school get to know them as individuals. They should ask, listen and act on what the young people say about the support that works best for them.

Inclusion Ambassadors Vision Statement  

David said: 

In addition to supporting the renewal of the ASL Action Plan, we back several other key practical actions from the Scottish Government and wider stakeholders. This includes meaningful engagement with providers and professionals during consultation on the updated ASL Code of Practice, to ensure clearer and more effective guidance. We also support a more holistic approach to intervention that addresses the long-term inequalities affecting access to rights, information and redress. Finally, we welcome alignment with the new Education Scotland inspections framework, helping to ensure consistency, accountability and improved outcomes across the system.