Glossary

Achievement

The result of what the learner has successfully learned from their educational and extra-curricular experiences

Accessibility strategy

Accessibility Strategies are required to consider improvements, over time, to school information, curriculum and physical access. Guidance is available for responsible bodies on their duties to develop and maintain accessibility strategies.

Allied health professionals

AHPs are a diverse group of professionals supporting people of all ages focusing on personal outcomes. They provide preventative interventions in such areas as supported self-management, diagnostic, therapeutic, rehabilitation and enablement services to support people to live healthy, active and independent lives.

Armed forces

Navy, Army, Airforce, Full time, Reserves and Veterans - Children whose parents are serving, or have served, in the military can have unique needs and there may be times when they require additional support in order to be successful in their learning.

Attainment

The measurable progress which children and young people make as they advance through and beyond school, and the development of the range of skills, knowledge and attributes needed to succeed in learning, life and work.

Attainment gap

significant and persistent disparity in academic performance or educational attainment between different groups of learners, such as white students and minorities, for example, or learners from higher-income and lower-income households.

Attention deficit disorder

a term used for people who have excessive difficulties with concentration without the presence of other ADHD symptoms such as excessive impulsiveness or hyperactivity

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

A group of behavioural symptoms that include inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness.

Autism spectrum disorders

Autism is characterised by people typically finding challenges with aspects of understanding social communication, social interaction and social imagination / flexible thinking. People with autism also tend to share common traits such as sensory processing difficulties, special interests, and some may have repetitive and stereotyped behaviours. Many can have significant difficulties with sleeping, eating, toileting and personal hygiene. Autism Spectrum Disorder can occur in association with any level of general intellectual/ learning ability, ranging from subtle problems of understanding or processing of information, impaired social function to severe disabilities. Autism is a lifelong condition and its impact is likely to change throughout a person’s lifetime. While they often share common features, every pupil with autism is unique.

Auxiliary aids and services

Auxiliary aids and services refer to anything that provides additional support or assistance to a disabled pupil, such as a piece of equipment or support from a member of staff.

Biphobia

Intense hatred, fear or aversion towards bisexuals or bisexuality, which may include negative stereotyping or denial of the existence of bisexuals

Capacity

Maturity and understanding to: carry out an action (such as request an assessment); understand any information or advice the school or authority might give them about their additional support needs or their rights; understand the information in their plan (such as a co-ordinated support plan); give their view (for example, during mediation); make a decision (such as to let their information be shared with other agencies when they leave school). When checking if the child has capacity to make a decision, the school or local authority will consider whether the child is able to discuss their decision, remember what their decision was, and understand what it might mean for them.

Child centred approach

Giving priority to the interests and needs of children. Putting the rights and wellbeing of children and young people at the heart of the services that support them and ensuring the child or young person is at the centre of decision-making and the support available to them.

Collaborative

All involved are working together in partnership.

Communication symbols

Symbol systems can also be used to help people with complex communication needs, including those who are deafblind, to understand what is being communicated to them; to anticipate an event or activity; to express themselves and to make choices.

Community learning and development

A field of professional work linked to a more widely shared set of values and approaches. It draws on a long history of Community Education, Community Development and Youth Work.

Complex additional support

A child or young person who has been diagnosed with an illness, disability or sensory impairment and needs a lot of additional support on a daily basis, these complex needs may arise from birth, or after an illness or injury.

Curriculum for Excellence

The Scottish curriculum comprises a broad general education up to the end of S3 followed by a senior phase. There is an increased emphasis is placed on inter-disciplinary learning, skills development and encouraging personal achievement.

Disability

Impact on the individual’s daily life is significant/severe – 2010 Equality Act

Discrimination

Direct discrimination means treating someone less favourably than someone else because of a protected characteristic. In the case of age, treating someone less favourably than someone else may be justified. Direct discrimination by perception means treating one person less favourably than someone else, because you incorrectly think they have a protected characteristic. Indirect discrimination means putting in place, a rule or policy or way of doing things that has a worse impact on someone with a protected characteristic than someone without one, when this cannot be objectively justified.

Dynamic process

Dyslexia

Scottish working definition 2009

Duty

Where the law requires a professional, education authority or appropriate agency to do something.

ELC

Early learning centre

Entitlements

The right to have it or do it

Ethnicity

A social group that shares a common and distinctive culture, religion, language, or the like

Experiential learning

Is a method of educating through first-hand experience. Skills, knowledge, and experience are acquired outside of the traditional academic classroom setting, and may include internships, studies abroad, field trips, field research, and service-learning projects.

General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS)

GTCS carries out a wide range of statutory functions and initiatives to register, promote, support and develop the professional learning of teachers in Scotland

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)

An umbrella term for several diagnoses that are all related to prenatal exposure to alcohol (i.e. while a baby is still in the womb)

First language

Someone's first language is the language that they learned first and speak best; used especially when someone speaks more than one language.

Framework for Professional Standards for teachers

The General Teaching Council for Scotland maintains a suite of Professional Standards which are underpinned by the themes of values, sustainability and leadership. Professional values are at the core of the Standards.

Holistic

A holistic view is one which addresses the whole child or young person and his/her circumstances, strengths and areas of need. It is a collaborative process which can take place over a period of time, drawing on a range of observational and assessment method which involves the child/young person, schools staff, partners and the family. Rather than focusing on specific isolated aspects an holistic approach considers the whole range of needs that influence a child‘s healthy development and well-being

Gypsy/traveller

Gypsy/Travellers' refers to distinct groups – such as Roma, Romany Gypsies, Scottish and Irish Travellers – who consider the travelling lifestyle part of their ethnic identity

Harassment

Behaviour towards a person that causes mental or emotional suffering, which includes repeated unwanted contacts without a reasonable purpose, insults, threats, touching, or offensive language:

Homophobia

Dislike of or prejudice against homosexual people

Learning difficulties

Also referred to as Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs) affect the way information is learned and processed. They are neurological (rather than psychological), usually hereditary and occur independently of intelligence – thus means having a learning difficulty is not a reflection on an individual’s cognitive ability. Learning difficulties can be a hidden disability (Equality Duty Act 2010) if there is a significant impact on the individuals day to day life. Learning difficulties include: • Dyslexia • Dyspraxia or Development Co-ordination Disorder • Dyscalculia • Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Learning disability

A learning disability affects the way a person understands information and how they communicate. Around 1.5m people in the UK have one. This means they can have difficulty: understanding new or complex information; learning new skills; coping independently. A learning disability can be mild, moderate or severe. Some people with a mild learning disability can talk easily and look after themselves, but take a bit longer than usual to learn new skills. A learning disability is not the same as a learning difficulty or mental illness

Legal responsibilities

Obligations which must be carried out

Motor or sensory impairments

‘Sensory impairment’ or ‘sensory loss’ are umbrella terms used to describe loss of the distance senses i.e. sight and hearing.

Needs led

Support is provided based on the level of need the child or young person has. A formal identification/diagnosis of need is not required to receive support in the Scottish education system

Observations

Watching and interpreting a learner’s behaviour and how they interact with learning in the school and home environment

Peripatetic

A specialist teacher/practitioner who usually works in more than one school and travels between them e.g. pupil support or music teacher teachers.

Practitioners

The word practitioner normally indicates a person who has studied, and gained recognised qualifications. An educational practitioner is someone who is working in the education sector and has recognised qualifications e.g GTCS teacher, community link worker, early year’s practitioner, accredited Nurture staff and some support assistants.

Prejudice-based bullying

Occurs where a person is picked on because of who they are or who they are perceived to be. This is rooted in the prejudice and beliefs of the person who is doing the bullying or harassing.

Reasonable adjustments

The duty is ‘to take such steps as it is reasonable to have to take to avoid the substantial disadvantage’ to a disabled person caused by a provision, criterion or practice applied by or on behalf of a school or by the absence of an auxiliary aid or service. In the Equality Act 2010 as a whole there are three elements to the reasonable adjustments duty that relate to: • Provisions, criteria and practices • Auxiliary aids and services • Physical features.

Safeguarded

To safeguard something or someone means to protect them from being harmed, lost, or badly treated.

School community

All people involved in the school – staff, children and young people, volunteers, partners, local community police and third sectors organisations

Sexual orientation

A person’s sexual orientation is whether they are sexually attracted to people of the same sex, people of the opposite sex, or both.

Social justice

The General Teaching Council for Scotland standard for Social Justice applicable for all GTCs registered practitioners is: • Embracing locally and globally the educational and social values of sustainability, equality and justice and recognising the rights and responsibilities of future as well as current generations. • Committing to the principles of democracy and social justice through fair, transparent, inclusive and sustainable policies and practices in relation to: age, disability, gender and gender identity, race, ethnicity, religion and belief and sexual orientation. • Valuing as well as respecting social, cultural and ecological diversity and promoting the principles and practices of local and global citizenship for all learners. • Demonstrating a commitment to engaging learners in real world issues to enhance learning experiences and outcomes, and to encourage learning our way to a better future. • Respecting the rights of all learners as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and their entitlement to be included in decisions regarding their learning experiences and have all aspects of their well-being developed and supported.

Socio-economic

The differences between groups of people caused mainly by their financial situation. Socioeconomic status (SES) is an economic and sociological combined total measure of a person's work experience and of an individual's or family's economic and social position in relation to others, based on income, education, and occupation.

Specialist provision

A primary or secondary school is to be identified as having an integrated special unit/class if the sole or main purpose of any such class or other such unit forming part of the school is to provide education specially suited to the additional support needs of children or young persons selected for attendance at the class or unit by reason of those needs. (The class/unit may be located in the school or in a separate location, but will not have a separate SEED code).

Specific language difficulty

Some children and young people find it difficult to listen, understand and communicate with others and may need support to develop the surprising number of skills involved.

Staged levels of intervention

A process within the Scottish education system which helps identify, assess, plan, record and review the learning needs of children and young people. It aims to meet a child’s needs at the earliest opportunity and with the least intrusive level of intervention. The process involves the child, parents and carers, school staff and, at some levels, other professionals. All work in partnership to get it right for every child.

Statutory duties

The laws that a company, a government organisation, or the members of a particular profession must obey

Third sector

Third sector organisations’ is a term used to describe the range of organisations that are neither public sector nor private sector. It includes voluntary and community organisations (both registered charities and other organisations such as associations, self-help groups and community groups), social enterprises, mutuals and co-operatives.

Transphobia

Dislike of or prejudice against transsexual or transgender people

Universal design for learning

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a research-based framework that helps teachers plan learning to meet the diverse and variable needs of all learners.

Victimisation

Treating someone badly because they have done a ‘protected act’ (or because it is believed that a person has done or is going to do a protected act). A ‘protected act’ is: • Making a claim or complaint of discrimination (under the Equality Act). • Helping someone else to make a claim by giving evidence or information. • Making an allegation that you or someone else has breached the Act. • Doing anything else in connection with the Act.

Wellbeing

The areas of a child’s life or circumstances that, when optimised will give them the best start in life, and make them ready to succeed. They are Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible and Included. Mental wellbeing refers to the health of the mind, the way we think, perceive, reflect on and make sense of the world. Emotional wellbeing refers to recognising, understanding and effectively managing our feelings and emotions. Social wellbeing refers to being and feeling secure in relationships with family, friends and community, having a sense of belonging and recognising and understanding our contribution in society. Physical wellbeing refers to the knowledge, skills and attitudes that we need to understand how physical factors affect our health.

Young carers

The Carers (Scotland) Act defines carers as those who provide or intend to provide care for another individual (the "cared-for person"). A young carer is aged under 18 years or aged 18 and a pupil at school. This includes helping to look after a parent, grandparent, brother or sister, or another relative, or a friend or neighbour, who is unwell, or is disabled. This also includes helping to look after someone who has a mental health problem, or who is having difficulty as a result of their use of illegal or prescription drugs or alcohol.