1.3. Additional support needs

Legislation is premised on support for all learners beginning within the classroom. It is provided by the classroom teacher who holds the main responsibility for nurturing, educating and meeting the needs of all pupils in their class and, working in partnership with support staff, to plan, deliver and review curriculum programmes. Support for children and young people with dyslexia as well as those who experience literacy difficulties and other additional support needs is achieved through universal support within the staged levels of intervention. This is discussed in further detail in Section 4.

Figure 5 Factors giving rise to ASN

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This graphic highlight the four factors in the centre which can give rise to a range of additional support needs. They are the Learning environment, Family Circumstances, Disability or health need and Social and emotional factors.

Figure 5 Factors giving rise to ASN

In Scotland pupils who may require additional support under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, as amended, have a barrier to learning as a result of one or more of the four factors giving rise to additional support needs:

• Learning environment
• Family circumstances
• Disability or health need
• Social and emotional factors

‘Additional Support Needs’ is the standard terminology used in Scotland when children and young people need more – or different - support to what is normally provided in schools or pre-schools to children of the same age. Additional support is a broad and inclusive term which applies to children or young people who, for whatever reason, require additional support, long or short term, in order to help them make the most of their school education and to be included fully in their learning. The term ‘additional support needs’ covers a wide range of factors and children or young people may require additional support for a variety of reasons.

The 2020 Independent Review of additional support for learning implementation report highlighted the interconnection between the factors which give rise to additional support needs and that they are

It is highly likely that all educational staff will work with and support learners with dyslexia or literacy difficulties at some stage. With this in mind it is important for all staff to have an awareness of their professional duties and legislation with regards to inclusion and an understanding of how to support dyslexia.