Pupils with additional support needs and additional support for learning: FOI release

Information requested

You asked for:

1. The number of additional support need staff employed in mainstream Scottish primary school

2. The number of Scottish primary schools that cater for pupils who require additional support.

3. The number of pupils with additional support needs attending a mainstream primary school.

Response

1. The number of additional support need staff employed in mainstream Scottish primary schools.

Education authorities are responsible for identifying and meeting the additional support needs of their pupils. They have responsibility for securing appropriate resources, including teaching and support staff, to meet children and young people’s long or short-term needs. All teachers are responsible for supporting pupils with additional support needs, not just those teachers whose role is specifically related to additional support for learning. Whilst local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of their staff, Scottish Ministers continue to do everything they can to help maximise the number of jobs available for teachers, including permanent posts.

The number of primary school teachers by main subject at local authority level is published in Table 7.9 of the teacher census supplementary statistics (see https://www.gov.scot/publications/teacher-census supplementary-statistics/ ).

Statistics on school support staff are published on the Scottish Government website here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-support-staff-statistics/

2. The number of Scottish primary schools that cater for pupils who require additional support.

All children and young people should receive the support that they need to reach their full potential. Local authorities oversee the delivery of education in Scotland, and they have a statutory duty to identify, provide for, and to review the support that they provide for pupils with additional support needs in their local community. Most children and young people’s needs are met through a universal level of support and 95% of children and young people with ASN were educated in mainstream classes in 2024. However, it is recognised that children and young people should learn in the environment which best suits their needs. The legislation on the presumption of mainstreaming has clear exceptions to enable children and young people to learn in a special school or in a specialist unit. Guidance for local authorities is provided by a statutory supporting learners’ code of practice and guidance on mainstreaming.

Information on the number of pupils with additional support needs in each primary school in Scotland is published in the school level summary statistics, available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-level-summary-statistics/

This data shows that most primary schools had at least one pupil with additional support needs.

3. The number of pupils with additional support needs attending a mainstream primary school.

The number of pupils with additional support needs attending mainstream primary schools at local authority level is shown in table 6.10 of the pupil census supplementary statistics, available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/pupil-census-supplementary-statistics/

Primary pupils with Additional Support Needs, by local authority, 2024
Local Authority	Count	Percentage (of all primary pupils)
Aberdeen City	5,473	37
Aberdeenshire	8,909	44
Angus	2,079	26
Argyll and Bute	1,731	34
City of Edinburgh	11,732	40
Clackmannanshire	1,217	34
Dumfries and Galloway	4,112	43
Dundee City	3,311	33
East Ayrshire	2,068	24
East Dunbartonshire	1,820	20
East Lothian	2,749	33
East Renfrewshire	2,074	23
Falkirk	3,650	32
Fife	6,893	26
Glasgow City	18,640	46
Highland	5,563	35
Inverclyde	1,670	33
Midlothian	2,882	35
Moray	2,203	33
Na h-Eileanan Siar	599	36
North Ayrshire	3,117	35
North Lanarkshire	8,334	33
Orkney Islands	498	34
Perth and Kinross	3,157	32
Renfrewshire	3,816	29
Scottish Borders	2,664	36
Shetland Islands	680	40
South Ayrshire	2,845	39
South Lanarkshire	7,330	29
Stirling	2,132	34
West Dunbartonshire	2,393	38
West Lothian	4,693	31
Grant-aided	65	14
Scotland	131,099	35

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