Inequalities and challenges experienced by disabled people in Scotland: evidence review

Children and Young People

This chapter presents available research regarding inequalities (where comparable data is available) and challenges faced by disabled children and young people in Scotland in schools, higher education and transitions out of education for young people.

The current evidence that meets the criteria for inclusion in this review is limited. It may be useful to carry out further investigations into existing evidence about disabled children at school, and young people at university by widening the date and location criteria in future work. More up to date examination of disabled young peoples’ lived experience would be also be beneficial.

Demographics

According to the Scottish Census 2022, around 11.8%^[132] of the disabled population in Scotland is under 25 and 6.6% of the disabled population is under 18^[133].

The Summary Statistics for Schools publication reported in 2024 the total number of pupils in primary, secondary, and special schools who were assessed or declared as having a disability is 26,092 out of a total of 702,428 which is 3.7% of all pupils at school^[134]. Of these, 16,963 were male and 9,129 were female^[135].

Additionally, the administrative data from Summary Statistics for Schools provides information about the number of students who require additional support at school. The most common reasons for additional support were social, emotional and behavioural difficulty with 70,988 pupils requiring support for this, followed by Autistic Spectrum Disorder (36,773) and Dyslexia (35,245)^[136]. Statistics from the 2024 pupil census showed that 284,448 pupils had additional support needs^[137] which represented 40.5% of the pupil population^[138]. For younger children, the Early Learning and Childcare Census reported in 2024 that 2% of children registered with early learning and childcare centres in Scotland were disabled and 19% had additional support needs^[139]. However, it is important to note that additional/educational support needs should not always be understood as proxy indicators for disability in school children because they can include needs that lie outside definitions of disability, such as English as a second language and “difficulties at home”^[140].

A CELCIS 2024^[141] report highlights that there are some difficulties in collecting data on disabled children. The article suggests that disability is more difficult to define for children as it is can be challenging to distinguish between a disability, a developmental delay or the impact of trauma.

Experiences of Children and Young People in Education

Previous research has indicated that while policy mandates inclusion in schools, this does not always happen in practice, and this may warrant further investigation^[142]. The EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) highlighted that despite overall exclusion from school declining across Scotland, having additional support needs or being assessed or declared as having a disability continues to be associated with an increased likelihood of exclusion from school^[143].

Wilson et al. interviewed 10 teachers to investigate what impact teachers’ attitudes have on the inclusion of children with ADHD in schools. ADHD is not explicitly measured in the standard school education statistics; however, it is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disabilities among children^[144]. Participants in this study suggested that teachers had to prioritise their time and support provision for students with ADHD. Participants also suggested ADHD was perceived as less important than other disabilities, with some participants highlighting the need to focus on children with Autism. Other participants questioned the validity of the diagnosis of ADHD and suggested that it was a consequence of the child’s home life, therefore outwith the control of the school or the teacher, which may in turn impact the access the child has to educational support. There also appeared to be a theme of limited training amongst the participants. Those with a lack of knowledge of the disorder led to more negative attitudes which made it more difficult for teachers to support children with ADHD and to find inclusive strategies for teaching children with ADHD.

A study by Cox and Marshall^[145] examined educational attainment for children with disabilities in Scotland. This study used longitudinal data from the 1991, 2001 and 2011 Scottish Census and found that the only category of disability that was significantly related to early school leavers was mental health problems which suggests that there is a lack of support for children with mental ill health to help them stay on to senior years. Children with disabilities who were registered to sit advanced exams were no less likely to achieve three good passes than those without disabilities. However, it should be noted that children with learning difficulties and developmental disorders were also significantly less likely to be registered to sit advanced examinations. Registration for advanced examination in this report is used as a proxy indicator for expected advanced achievement, and this paper suggests that this finding demonstrates less expectation of advanced academic achievement.

The EHRC does note that there has been a rise in the proportion of disabled 16-19-year-olds moving to positive destinations after compulsory secondary education with an increase from 86.3% in 2018 to 88.7% in 2022^[146]. One study tested an Independent Living Fund allowance to aid with transitions out of school, many participants used this for things like driving lessons and to participate in activities concluding that it was a successful approach to helping young disabled people with their transition out of school^[147]. However, other research suggests a lack of support for disabled young people transitioning out of school which reinforces barriers to inclusion and adds to inequalities of outcomes^[148].

Scotland’s Census 2022 provides a record of full-time students, including all persons aged 4 and above who may be in school, higher, or further education by disability^[149]. Among full-time students, 12.9% of those aged 16 to 24 had a health problem or disability that limited their day-to-day activities a lot or a little^[150]. However, there was very little up to date empirical research about the experiences of disabled university and college students in Scotland identified in scoping for this review. The British Council carried out a review of disability inclusion for students in higher education in the UK and found that there has been growth in the number of higher education students in the UK with 5.4% of students disclosing a disability in the academic year 2003-2004 compared with 15.9% in 2021-22^[151]. This report finds that across UK evidence sources, disabled students are less satisfied with their experiences of higher education than students who are not disabled and suggests that improvements in institutional infrastructure and inclusivity and support programmes would help to improve disabled students accessing higher education in the UK^[152].

Riddell et al carried out a study in 2021 which compared disabled children’s rights in England and Scotland. They found that there were many similarities between the two nations in terms of efforts to promote the rights of children with disabilities in schools but also found some key areas of inequalities^[153]. Teachers in the study reported that they found it challenging to include and interpret the views of children with complex needs such as reduced communication abilities. The views of parents and children with additional needs from areas of deprivation were reported to be disregarded in comparison to middle class parents. This study reports that more needs to be done in both Scotland and England to more fully and meaningfully engage with decisions specifically around conflict resolution and choice of school. It also highlights that Schools in Scotland do not consistently use support plans for children with additional support needs and therefore their support, and opportunity to contribute their views about the kind of support they want, is reduced therefore undermining the rights of disabled children.

This section of the Evidence Review has demonstrated that disabled children experience challenges and unequal outcomes in education. More could be researched to understand young disabled peoples lived experience in Scottish schools and universities. Additionally, more could be understood about their experiences of transitions from other policy areas, such as children’s health services to adult health services.