Definitions and glossary

Additional support needs (ASN)

The Education (Additional Support for Learning) Scotland Act 2004 (as amended) states that a child or young person has an additional support need where they need additional support in order to benefit from school education.

Centrally employed teachers

Teachers who were recorded as working across a local authority rather than within an individual school or early learning and childcare centre.

Child Plans

Single or multi agency plans based on an assessment guided by the Getting it Right for Every Child National Practice Model.

Children and Young People Act

This Act came into force in 2014.

Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP)

This statutory education plan is prepared by local authorities to identify, and ensure provision of, services for children and young people with complex or multiple additional support needs.

Early learning and childcare

Local authorities have a duty to secure a funded place (currently 1,140 hours a year) for three and four year-olds and eligible two year-olds.

All parents and carers have the legal right to defer their child’s entry to primary school if they are not yet 5 years old at the beginning of the school year. As of 1 August 2023, all children who defer starting primary school will be able to access an additional year of funded ELC.

Funded ELC places are provided by local authority services, or secured through partnership arrangements with private or third sector services.

English as an additional language (EAL)

Refers to pupils for whom English is a second or additional language.

Full-time equivalent (FTE)

The total number of hours worked divided by the number of hours in a standard full-time working week.

General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS)

The independent professional body responsible for keeping a register of teachers in public education in Scotland and advising Scottish Ministers on teacher education. All teachers in public education in Scotland must be registered with the GTCS.

Individualised Education Programme (IEP)

Individualised Education Programmes are written plans setting targets that a child with additional support needs is expected to achieve.

Local authority early learning and childcare (ELC) centres

ELC centres which are run and financed by the local authority.

Partnership agreement – (relating to ELC entitlement)

This is the agreement between local authorities and partnership ELC centres through which they deliver the ELC entitlement.

Partnership ELC centres

Partnership ELC centres are provider centres in the private, third or independent sectors which could include private or third sector nurseries, playgroups, family centres and school-based nurseries. Childminders are not currently included in the census, although they can and do also work as partner providers with local authorities.

Registration (for funded ELC)

A funded place received by a child at an ELC centre. Children are counted once for each centre they are registered with, so the same child may be counted multiple times if they attend more than one centre. Six local authorities (East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, Falkirk, Na h’Eileanan Siar, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire) remove instances where an individual child is counted more than once.