Implementation of The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004: report to Parliament 2013

European learning context

The European Agency for Development in Special Needs and Inclusive Education was established in 1996 by agreement between the ministers of education in its member countries. The Agency is a permanent network of ministerial representatives acting as the member countries' platform for collaboration regarding the promotion of quality and equity in education as a means to achieving social cohesion.

The Agency has 28 members from across Europe. Its focus is upon national, European and international stated priorities for education and training and ensuring coherence between specific country initiatives to promote special needs and inclusive education and the relevant EU and international level objectives. This is achieved by providing ministries of education as well as other stakeholders in member countries and at European level with evidence-based information, guidelines and tools that are reliable, valid and applicable to educational policy planning, implementation, monitoring and review.

During the 2014-2020 period the Agency will continue to work with member countries to review changes and developments in their educational policies, so as to critically examine implementation of special needs and inclusive education initiatives. The main focus of work with countries during this period will be upon exploring critical success factors within systems of inclusive education; this will include identifying progress, barriers to progress and actively monitoring and reviewing policy developments in countries in order to support the development of sustainable and effective, inclusive education systems.

Since 2007 Scotland has been fully involved in all Agency activities. In April 2009, Scotland hosted the Agency bi-annual meeting, which was attended by the Minister of Education and other key decision makers in the Scottish Government in addition to the 28 Agency member countries' ministerial representatives. Scotland has been involved recently in work to provide additional, more focused data for special needs education in the wider context of inclusive education and social cohesion issues. This also informs the ET 2020 strategic objectives and the implementation of Article 24 of the UNCRPD (2006).

The Agency conducts a range of projects - long-term thematic work running for up to 3 years, as well as shorter term, more focused projects usually running for 1 year. Agency member country representatives collectively identify all of the topics for project activities.

In addition to the projects included in the Agency's main work programme, a number of additional projects are conducted by means of additional funding from the EU or other sources. These projects complement the main projects and the additional funding enables the Agency to undertake activities that it could otherwise not afford and which reinforce the activities within the main work programme.

Representative Board member for Scotland

David Watt, Senior Education Officer for Supporting Learners in the Inclusion Team in Education Scotland.

David.Watt@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk

National Co-ordinator for Scotland

Sally Cavers, Children in Scotland.

scavers@childreninscotland.org.uk