Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant has accused SNP Ministers of “abandoning” ASN pupils in Orkney as figures she has obtained reveal huge pressure on schools.

On October 10 The Orkney News published a Press Release from the Scottish Government’s Minister for Education Jenny Gilruth after her visit to Orkney. In it she praised the work of Orkney Schools for children and young people with Additional Support Needs.

We were inundated with comments from parents of children and young people with additional support needs. We sent these comments to Jenny Gilruth along with a series of questions.

1. How were parents selected to attend this meeting and how are they being kept informed of outcomes from it ?
2. What assurances did the Education Secretary get from OIC representatives about the needs of ASN pupils being met ?
3. Was the issue raised of children who have been transported out of Orkney for Education south ? If so what is the Education Secretary’s view on this?
4. You can see from the comments made by parents that some schools in Orkney have been getting it right for ASN pupils. Could the Education Secretary provide a response to those comments?
5. It is our understanding that the comments made by the parents on the article in The Orkney News, is an accurate representation of  how they see provision in Orkney for their children. What steps is the Education Secretary taking that the concerns raised by these parents will be addressed?
6. Please could the Education Secretary add comments which she feels are appropriate to this issue.

A spokesperson for the Minister commented:

“Ministers are clear that all children and young people should receive the support they need to thrive in their education. The Education Secretary regularly meets with families, teachers and school staff, and council representatives to discuss matters relating to additional support needs (ASN) provision and has met with families in Orkney to hear their concerns.

“The presumption of mainstreaming was introduced in Scotland in 2000 and there is a broad consensus that the Scottish approach to inclusive education is the correct way forward. However, we recognise that children and young people should learn in the environment which best suits their needs, and there are clear exceptions in place to enable children and young people to learn in a special school or in a specialist unit where this would best meet their support needs.

“Local authorities oversee the delivery of education and have a statutory duty to provide for and to review the support they provide pupils with additional support needs (ASN).

“Further work to support ASN provision was discussed at a cross-party roundtable with local government in September and this will inform the Additional Support for Learning Review, which is being scoped.”

We sent the same set of questions to Orkney Islands Council for answers and any other additional comments they would like to make. They were also sent the comments made by the parents.

Orkney Islands Council has acknowledged receipt of our email but have not answered any questions or sent us a comment.

Labour in Scotland has said that rising demand for ASN support in Orkney has left teachers with unmanageable workloads and put pupils at risk of “falling through the cracks”.

Rhoda Grant states that in the area covered by OIC that there are now 1,246 ASN pupils and 27 ASN teachers – meaning every teacher is on average responsible for 46 pupils – a “damning indictment” of the SNP’s failure to deliver for ASN pupils in Orkney.

A record 43 per cent of Scottish pupils now have some form of additional support need – nearly 300,000.

However, the number of ASN teachers in Scotland fell to its lowest point on record last year.

Rhoda Grant, said:

“While the need for support in Scotland has soared, the number of specialist teachers has collapsed – and those with the most severe needs are at risk of falling through the cracks.

“As Education Secretary and as First Minister, John Swinney has failed pupils in Orkney.

“The SNP cannot fix the problem it created – but Scottish Labour is ready to build an education system that works for every pupil.”

Comments sent to us by the parents of Children and Young People with Additional Support Needs in Orkney.

“I’ve tried to not say anything on this but if everyone keeps quiet nothing will change.

All schools should have been taken into account.

I’ve sung the praises of our primary school, Burray Primary School. They have gone over and above and I couldn’t ask for a better school. The staff, provisions provided and the set up to provide for our son and any children in the future who then have the same needs.

Something every school should be able to do and something every parent should be able to expect of a school.

Our sons needs means he can’t attend mainstream class without 1:1 support. So what? OIC have a responsibility to put whatever is required in place to ensure he can attend school, in his catchment area, with his siblings and familiar people and have his full time education rights fulfilled.

I didn’t want to put my son to Glaitness and I put my foot down to keep him at Burray – with the full support of the school. In my opinion, he has every right to be at the same school as his siblings and where I could see he would be well cared for if the school were given the help to put things in place.

The school have gone over and above and I have a very happy, safe and well cared for child with complex needs in the school and everyone is happy. All schools should provide the same, and should be given the support to do so. Our battle came with the OIC budgets and timings. In the last week of term before summer we didn’t know if our son was going to get support and be able to attend school at all. We found out 2 days before the end of the term, having a knock on effect then on us and the school. We had no idea if our son would be in school after summer holidays, even the week before the holidays started. Keeping in mind he would have required the extra support if he had attended Glaitness, so the money shouldn’t have been an issue.

This meant he couldn’t be included in transitioning with his twin brother and was secluded because of his additional needs at the hands of OIC.

Children with additional needs , in my opinion, should be able to attend mainstream school like every other child.

The environment should adapt to them, not create a problem where they should have to go elsewhere. I can’t speak for other schools but our family would have really suffered had it not been for the support of our school, and that’s not just in terms of education. They supported us when social services let us down, when we had to fight for everything for our son. My husband had to leave his job because of the absolute chaos of support there is here and the ‘service’ that’s supposed to provide it and because we had the very real possibility of having no full time education for our boy.

The school have been by our side and helped us get what we need for our son. I cannot praise them enough and I think schools like this should be given recognition too.

I have a daughter with Tourette syndrome in KGS and I couldn’t even tell you who her guidance teacher is. No child plan reviews. Luckily she is coping well mostly but there’s no comparison.

This article, is exactly what the problem is. No facts and full of misleading information meaning parents like us will have to keep fighting and screaming to get what we need fro our bairns.”

“I’m not sure what meeting she was at but it certainly wasn’t the same one I was,5 parents saying about the struggles their children have getting into school,getting support and communication amongst other things. And why was only KGS and Glaitness mentioned,there’s lots of other schools. PR exercise possibly?”

“I didn’t attend this meeting as I didn’t know it was on BUT from what I’ve heard no parent at the meeting was happy..

My children attend a different school in Orkney, it took me two years fighting constantly for my daughter to get the required help she needed, I was constantly told “there’s no funding” “nothing we can do” and I was completely ignored when I emailed the education department myself.”

“there was weeks notice as we were invited in advance by NHS Orkney. I’m guessing because I’d submitted a complaint to the head of health and social care and my concerns about education were raised in it. I’m not sure.”

“I also emailed the education dept and was given rubbish about end of the financial year blah blah blah but was very lucky that I had a very pushy supportive head teacher at the school who is a force to be reckoned with. It’s such a shame it has to be a fight and you have to (or I did) act like a lunatic to get what you want. If a child in a wheelchair needed to attend a school they would make adaptions and it is no different.

When you see money being wasted on things or the front of their building having expensive stone work done but our children are being ignored, it’s really a testament in itself as to what we are dealing with.

The kids are the future and educational milestones and funding and meeting Maths and English levels needs an overhaul. It’s all outdated and poorly managed. Also ‘yes we can arrange this assessment to possibly help – please attend these 20 meetings and fill out this wad of paperwork’ should be thrown out too! I could go on and on”

“I only found out through inclusive Orkney email but the meeting was the biggest waste of time anyway,they heard what they wanted to and reported it as such”

“I only heard through Inclusive Orkney too my son sometimes uses a wheelchair and his needs still could not be met”

“I think most people heard that way which is a shame but then I don’t expect it was easy for the locals hosting to know who to reach out to. If they had reached out to schools it might of helped though. Schools could have put people’s names forward”

“Parents at this meeting were not happy and there has been no mention of this at all!”

“I’ve written something out to three times now to post but actually what’s the point! So all I will say is it’s a shame oic didn’t take her to the other schools that are being let down. It’s a shame they didn’t point out the lack of provisions for severely autistic individuals who then have to be sent south to residential provisions. This has actually made me cross to the point il be writing a email to jenny gilruth myself with the truth of what is trying to be hidden!”

“il be honest this just peed me off! My son is now halfway down England because of lack of provision and then they have the fecking nerve to boast about their very minimal provisions. Another child who is now 11 has been waiting to see the apparently brilliant educational psychologist (that’s sarcasm btw) since he was 6.”

“Has not been my experience of KGS, not enough support with dyslexia, set up to fail even if you are extremely bright!

Sanday school is fantastic for additional support needs, then nothing at KGS.

Very disappointing.”

“my sons 4th year maths teacher didn’t even know my son was dyslexic,he was diagnosed in primary school.”

“Shame KGS couldnt help with my son with his complex ASD needs eh 🙄 they kicked him out instead”

“I’ve always heard good things about Glaitness when it comes to support for children with additional needs as for kgs and papdale which doesn’t seem to have been mentioned they’re appalling”

“Which parents did they speak too?

I am assuming the ones that haven’t been let down by the school.”

“I attended the parents meeting and we were very critical of the lack of services but there is no mention of this!”

“I was one of the parents at that meeting, and I have to say this article gives a very misleading impression. There were some very upset parents there, myself included. Serious concerns were raised with Ms Gilruth about failings in how pupils with additional support needs are being treated — including cases where support has broken down completely, leaving children out of school for weeks.

It was not a positive meeting overall, and there was certainly not a lot of praise. Many of us spoke about the distress and trauma our children are experiencing because basic duties of care and inclusion are not being met. I wish the article had reflected that reality.

Families of children with complex needs in Orkney are desperate to be heard and supported — not brushed aside in what reads like a press release.”

“I wasn’t at the meeting as I only became aware of it the day before and couldn’t get away from work. This is not an accurate reflection of the ASN provision (or lack of) in Orkney and it is disgusting to see such blatant disregard for how the lack of support across all Orkney schools, has negatively impacted the lives of children with support needs. Not only the children’s lives, but the families who try to help them with limited tools and support. Families, myself included, are pushed to breaking point and all we are trying to do, is get an education for our children.”

Fiona Grahame.