Parents quit careers to ‘pick up the pieces of failing ASN support’

In 2023, 37% of all pupils had at least one ASN condition – nearly double the 20% figure from a decade ago.

And in 2007, just 36,544 pupils had a known additional support need, equal to just 5% of the school population. But in 2023 the figure had skyrocketed to 259,036 (37% – a staggering 609% increase.

While ASN numbers are soaring, the number of specialist teachers in mainstream education has fallen.

There were 1,422 specialists in secondary schools in 2008, dropping to a record low of 1,211 in 2016 before rising to 1,415 in 2023.

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The decline is much steeper at primary level, where there are now just 414 specialist teachers in mainstream settings, compared to 858 in 2008, a drop of more than 50%.

Erin McCart, of ASN Reform Scotland, told The Herald the lack of support was leaving parents and carers with “no choice” but to take their children out of school

Parents, she said, felt like they were being passed from “pillar to post” in trying to get a diagnosis, or specialist support for their child. It is now becoming “increasingly common” for parents to quit their jobs as a result.

One parent, who did not want to be named, told The Herald they made the difficult decision to home school their child after the fight for support became “overwhelming”.

She told us: “The reality is, despite what the Scottish Government claims, you don’t get the support you need even after that diagnosis.

“It became so overwhelming that I had no choice but to home school my child. Our mental health is deteriorating.

“It feels like this is exactly what Jenny Gilruth is counting on. She knows that when the system fails, parents will step up to fill in the gaps.

“But we’re exhausted from carrying the weight of caring, taking on the role of teacher and dealing with the financial burden of leaving my job to manage it all.”

Ms McCart told The Herald: “The reality is the system doesn’t work effectively for us. 

“A lot of parents are having to leave their jobs, careers or reducing their hours. It’s a double loss. It excludes them from work and it’s sends many parents into financial difficulties.

“The repercussions for children’s mental health is massive and on the parents’ mental health because who wants to put their child into a school environment that isn’t working for their child.”

Scotland’s education system has a presumption of mainstream education, with councils responsible for the provision.

But funding from the Scottish Government is vital, with ministers committing around £15 million each year to fund additional pupil support staff.

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In the 2025-26 budget, £29m was announced for an “ASN plan”, with plans to include training for more ASN teachers. However, concrete details of this plan have yet to be made public.

Ms McCart added: “Parents and carers will do what they have to do to protect their child,” she added. “But for some people, it is incredibly difficult for them to walk away from a career that they’ve worked really hard to get. And for others, it’s a really hard financial decision to make.

“Unfortunately, if you’re in a situation where your child has become a school refuser, their care needs are so high that schools can’t meet them because they don’t have the money, training or resources to meet their child’s needs.

“Parents have to step in and this is a major part of the story that hasn’t really been told – the invisible effects on parents and carers of this are massive.

“Most of those parents, they don’t really have time to dwell on the loss of their career or anything like that. They just have to focus on the needs of their child.”

“Parents and carers are picking up the pieces and they do that because this is their children,” she said.

“We have reached a point now where the system is in meltdown and parents and carers have had enough.

“Scottish Government and councils are going to see more push back from the parents because they can’t take any more. Their children can’t take any more.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “No parent should be forced to leave a job to care for their child.

“That’s why the Scottish Government has provided record funding of over £900 million in the past year alone to local authorities, to help our councils support ASN children and their families.

“We know there is also greater need post pandemic – which is why local authorities are now being offered an additional £29 million to help support additional support needs in their local area, as part of the Government’s budget for next year.

“We hope they will agree to this extra support – because we know it is so needed by ASN pupils and by their families.”

Click here for information on the support and advice available if your child has additional support needs.