From Denver, Colorado to Larkhall, South Lanarkshire: Reflections from a study visit

Sandra Mitchell, Resolve Mediation Manager, reflects on the time she spent with a group of students from the US exploring best practices in supporting children & young people with additional support needs in education. 

During a fantastic adventure in 2022 when I attended the National Symposium on Dispute Resolution in Special Education in Denver Colorado I met Amy Kilpatrick, Assistant Professor of the Elementary & Special Education dual certification programme at Hood College in Maryland. As we chatted and connected we started to discuss an exciting idea which became a reality this year. 

Our initial idea was to offer a learning exchange as we could see there were so many opportunities to analyze and compare service models between Scotland and the USA. We talked for hours about various aspects of inclusion practices, family-professional partnerships, child plans, assessments processes and how on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, our key focus and priority is getting the best outcomes for the children and families. 

Working alongside colleagues in the Children in Scotland events team and with amazing support from the South Lanarkshire Education team -  special mention to Alex McLeod, Inclusion Officer - a plan and programme began to emerge as Amy and her colleague, Professor Tricia Strickland, rallied students at varies stages in the teacher training program to join a study visit to Scotland. 

In March 2025, with a full plan and program in place we welcomed Amy, Tricia and six very excited students, some who had never travelled outside the USA, to Edinburgh for a week of cultural and learning experiences and opportunities. 

Day one was a ‘Welcome to Scotland’ at our Edinburgh offices.  This foundation day provided an overview of the education landscape in Scotland, Additional Support Needs (ASN) and Early Years provisions together with policy and best practice for schools, children and families across Scotland. Our Children in Scotland colleagues spent time with our visitors sharing their knowledge and expertise of the sector. We then had the pleasure of a very insightful presentation from newly qualified ASN primary teacher Scott Mitchell, who shared his teacher training and working experience both in the Scottish islands and a large mainstream primary school on the mainland. There were lots of questions and discussions alongside tasting Irn Bru and eating Tunnock's teacakes! 

Day two we were picked up by our minibus driver, Dougie - a great guide as well as driver! Dougie shared lots of Scottish stories as we hunted for Highland cows driving to the central belt of Scotland.  

We arrived to a very warm welcome at the South Lanark council offices in Hamilton where Claire Bissett, Inclusion Manager, led a session with input from the wider central team responsible for supporting children with ASN and child protection. This session provided an overview of how South Lanark Council’s vision and values are embedded into practice, the policy and operational framework used to support this, and the communication and relationship building with children and their families. Once more this opened lots of questions from our visitors who also shared their own experiences of placements back home in the US. 

We were treated to a lovely lunch which featured lentil soup and shortbread - another new experience for our US friends. 

We then went on to an enthusiastic welcome at our first site visit, the Early Learning Unit, a nursery in Hamilton. We had a great experience meeting the children and watching them engage in various activities; we then heard from an educational psychologist and teachers for the deaf and visual impaired, along with the nursery practitioners. We heard how wellbeing assessments are used to prompt a discussion with parents about the most suitable pathway for individual children and how these multidisciplinary assessments play a pivotal role in children’s transitions in particular. 

The children and staff had worked together on a ‘Scotland meets the USA’ project which included a brilliant hand printed Scottish flag along with a ‘taste of Scotland’ table where tattie scones had to be explained! 

The children presented each of our visitors with a little handmade tartan bag pinned with a USA and Scottish flag containing a Tunnock's caramel log – a moment that will be cherished by all. 

Tricia, Amy and the students spent Wednesday visiting various landmarks in Edinburgh including the Scottish Parliament, Mary Kings Close and Greyfriars’s Bobby. 

On Thursday Dougie picked us up again and we headed to Victoria Park School in Carluke, an establishment that supports children with significant complex needs and multiple health needs. Once more we were overwhelmed with the welcome, and the time and effort the staff had given to share their happy and inclusive environment which supports many children and their families. We were able to watch therapists working with children, meet parents and speak with staff who support a wide range of complex needs children. A calm, kind and nurturing atmosphere radiated here generated by the skilled and caring staff team. (We must also mention the double biscuits and homemade tablet, prepared by staff, which the US visitors and our bus driver enjoyed!) 

In the afternoon we went on to Hareleeshill Primary School in Larkhall, a primary school with an ASN base. This visit demonstrated how the education department and staff integrate support and learning for children with ASN by establishing ASN bases within mainstream schools. These bases benefit from higher staff levels and lower-class numbers. It was an opportunity to see how inclusive practice occurs in the school and the strategies in place to encourage integration and interaction in the school community. We spent time in various classrooms witnessing teachers working with various levels of needs and saw the adaptations they continuously create to meet each child’s needs.  

After our classroom visits Claire, Alex and the school staff led a session for students to consolidate and reflect on their learning, the visits and the roles of professionals they had met. This was a great opportunity to ask questions, challenge preconceived ideas, share insights and further explore good practice and to round up a few days that were memorable, informative and insightful in so many ways. 

The visit was a great success with the students taking home valuable learning to share with peers and ideas to implement in their school placements. This and many cans of Irn Bru, homemade tablet, shortbread and Tunnock’s galore helped all the visitors fall in love with Scotland! 

The study visit could not have happened without Alex, Claire and their colleagues from South Lanark and we all felt very privileged to meet wonderful children and dedicated staff, and experience the positive ethos in the establishments in South Lanarkshire which underpins and enriches the children’s education journey.