Scottish Armed Forces Education Support Group minutes: December 2024

Attendees and apologies

• Scottish Government (SG) Learning Directorate (Chair and Minutes)
• Scottish Government (SG) Safer Communities Directorate 
• Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES) National Education and Transitions Officer (NETO)
• Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES) Advisor (AA)
• MOD Armed Forces Families and Safeguarding (MOD)
• MOD Army Representative (AR)
• MOD RAF Representative (RAF)
• MOD Royal Navy Representative (RN)
• Army Families Federation (AFF)
• Naval Families Federation (NFF)
• RAF Families Federation (RAFFF)
• Forces Children Scotland (FCS)
• Education Scotland Inclusion, Wellbeing and Equalities (ES)

Apologies

• Deputy Commander of HQ 51st Infantry Brigade
• Director of The Centre for Military Research, Education and Public Engagement, Napier University

Items and actions

ASL Act - Code of Practice

A member of the Scottish Governments (SG) Support for Learners Team joined the meeting to discuss the Code of Practice which was last revised in 2017 following amendments to the Education (Scotland) Act 2016 extending certain rights to children and young people.

The Scottish Government have committed to refreshing the Code of Practice as part of the Additional Support for Learning (ASL) review following Angela Morgan’s report. 

The Code of Practice working group has been engaged with a number of policy areas and stakeholders that are likely to interact with or impact the refreshed guidance.

Because of the definition within the ASL legislation that support is available “for whatever reason”, the list of Additional Support Needs has arisen in discussions and the purpose of the list has been challenged. It was acknowledged that a strength of ASN legislation in Scotland is the sense of short and long term needs for children and young people and it was asked if the guidance could address short term needs and to help children understand what their needs and their accessibility rights are around ASN during these times.  

Discussions are taking place around sharing good practice in the refreshed Code of Practice and the possibility of case studies.

It was noted that the Code of Practice is designed to support professionals and that Enquire has resources which are designed to help parents and carers understand the legislation. Part of the next phase of work is looking at accessibility, whilst keeping the legal accuracy and communications i.e., if resources are reaching who they need to reach and if collaboration and communication can be improved.

ADES shared research undertaken by them and Edinburgh Napier University which looked at Codes of Practice across the UK nations.  There is a perception that they are difficult to understand so asked if it could be simplified with improved readability.

The incidence of additional support needs of children and young people from Armed Forces families in Scotland is comparable to, if slightly lower than the rest of the population. The Scottish Code of Practice only has one mention of Armed Forces children which contrasts with other codes of practice, for example, Northern Ireland have a more extensive reference to this cohort.  The SEND Code of Practice in England places the Armed Forces section at the bottom of a list of reasons additional support may be required, so some public services don’t read this, there was a request that this is raised higher within the Scottish Code of Practice if possible.

A critical issue found during research is mobility.  If a child or young person moves from one jurisdiction to another some families have to go to bottom of an assessment waiting list.  A number of children and young people move into Scotland for a short period of time, before moving to somewhere with a different code of practice. This creates a time pressure to address needs and learn where a child or young person is on their learning journey. Families in Scotland do not always seek a diagnosis for ASN as it is not required for support, however the child or young person may then move somewhere that a diagnosis is required.  A child or young person from an Armed Forces family may have an ASN whether or not they are member of the Armed Forces Community.

Members thanked the official for attending and providing a really informative update.

Action:

• Scottish Government officials will share the consultation on the Code of Practice refresh with the group once published.

Review of Actions from the previous meeting – 4 September 2024

The note of the last meeting was shared for comments.  Amendments were received and actioned. These will be published on the Scottish Government website in due course.

UNCRC statutory guidance was discussed at the last meeting, this has since been published on the 18 September 2024 - https://www.gov.scot/publications/statutory-guidance-part-3-uncrc-incorporation-scotland-act-2024-2/

Safeguarding

Details of the National Safeguarding Network were shared by Education Scotland with the group.

Data Collection

There is no update on the progress of collecting data on children and young people through the annual pupil census.  The 2024 pupil census date was 11 September 2024. This data is currently being quality assured.  The headline stats will be published mid-December with full supplementary stats in March 2025.  

ADES have started their annual data collection from Local Authorities and are awaiting two returns.

Additional Support for Learning Review Action Plan

The updated ASL Action Plan and Progress Report were published on 4 November 2024 and shared with the group by Scottish Government.  It sets out the progress made towards delivery of the actions between November 2022 and June 2024 and has been developed in partnership with COSLA and the ASL Project Board.

Since the ASL Action Plan was published, 40 actions have been completed.  The updated ASL Action Plan sets out the detailed progress made against each action, as considered by the ASL Project Board. The Scottish Government continue to work at pace with local government partners to deliver on the remaining actions.

Transitions

The next Transitions subgroup meeting is due to take place on 5 December 2024.

Updates from Group Members

ADES National Education and Transitions Officer - The second “Educators Sharing Good Practice” event was held at Edinburgh Napier University on 26 November 2024.  The event was well attended, informative, and received positive feedback. Lots of knowledge and information were shared by various stakeholders.

The network meetings with lead officers and head teacher’s forums are taking place this week focusing on transitions and data and how this is used within Local Authorities and schools.

MOD – The “Living in our Shoes” review is ongoing.

Naval Families Federation – The Tri-Service Families Federations are using surveys to collect evidence and have an immigration survey for non-UK service personnel, veterans and families which closes 14 December 2024.

A “Supporting All To Thrive” survey is available on their website which is research exploring the educational experiences of children from Armed Forces backgrounds who have additional learning or support needs and/or disability. The survey is open to parents and carers of children aged 4-18 with an ASN.  Respondents do not need to have to be connected to the Armed Forces or have a diagnosed need.

The rules around removing children and young people from schools in England for holidays and the fines incurred has been presenting some issues for families with a serving Armed Forces parent in Scotland, but where the families reside in England.  Most absence requests from parents have been approved.

The Naval Families Federation are keen to reach out to dispersed families and have created a “Where is your Neighbourhood” interactive online map.  https://nff.org.uk/neighbourhood/

ADES - The Armed Forces Children Additional Learning Needs Research project is making good progress.  The literature-based review has concluded. The initial survey returns from schools have produced interesting data on children with ASN in Armed Forces communities. In January 2025 they will be going out to schools to talk to staff, children and parents about experiences of being an Armed Forces child who has ASN.

MOD RAF have been working with the Education Support officer of the Dandelion Project to raise family awareness.  A session was held at Lossiemouth with RAF Kinross in attendance.

Forces Children Scotland are releasing a resource funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund trust which is a pack to support young people through deployment. They are working with children and young people to provide a child friendly version of the emotional cycle of deployment.

They are also in the process of co-producing a children’s rights charter with Armed Forces children to be launched during the Month of the Military Child.  There will be a roundtable event on 25 April 2025 in Edinburgh to launch where young people will be the chair.

The Minister for Children and Young People and the Promise met with Forces Children Scotland and a group of young people at the end of September 2024.  The Minister made a number of commitments to the young people, including writing to the MOD and considering how they could be included more intentionally in the whole family wellbeing support.   

The Army Families Federation are running a childcare survey for families to share their experiences this closes on 11 December 2024.

The RAF Families Federation are planning for the Month of the Military Child and will engage separately with group members on work taking place to highlight.

The Universities and College Admissions Service (UCAS) Data

Last year, UCAS introduced seven new questions into the university application enabling students to flag a wider range of circumstances and support needs, including students from UK Armed Forces families and UK Armed Forces Service leavers and veterans.

The findings have been published –

https://www.ucas.com/file/961026/download?token=TTGTQk9q

3.3% of applicants were from Armed Forces families. The data showed that applicants from UK Armed Forces families are more likely to also share a disability and/or have a mental health condition and on average, applicants from UK Armed Forces families travel 20 minutes further to their chosen provider.

Future Meeting Dates

The chair will share potential dates for meetings in 2025.