A decline in support staff in Scotland’s schools is being masked by a “comical” change to how their numbers are recorded, it has been claimed.
The reduced number of categories for recording additional support needs (ASN) staff risks “generalising” what resources are needed, critics have said.
Data on non-teaching staff has in past years been published by the Scottish government, a few months after data on teacher numbers was published.
The latest data published earlier this year, however, included fewer categories of support staff and introduced a new category of “pupil support assistant”, bringing together two categories which had previously been reported separately: additional support needs auxiliary, or care assistants, and classroom assistants.
The issue has been pursued by the Scottish Greens’ education spokesman Ross Greer, who previously requested information on the number of “additional support needs auxiliary or care assistants” and “classroom assistants” under freedom of information legislation.
Mr Greer said there was “a fundamental issue of transparency, which the government are unable to provide a credible answer on”.
He added: “We know that far, far too many of the one in four young people with additional needs in Scotland are being badly let down and a lack of appropriate staff support is often the cause.
“These changes will mask that continued decline in the number of ASN assistants by merging them into a comically generalised category of ‘pupil support assistants’.”
Mr Greer said: “There is a world of difference between the general learning and admin support provided by a classroom assistant and the specialist support which should be provided by ASN staff.
“We can’t tackle the problem and get the right resources into our schools with this smokescreen obscuring the very real staffing crisis affecting young people with additional support needs.”
The issue was explored yesterday at the Scottish Parliament’s Education and Skills committee, where Laura Meikle, Head of the Support and Wellbeing Unit at the Scottish government’s Learning Directorate, said reducing the number of categories of support staff had been a decision taken in consultation with educational bodies.
Ms Meikle said: “The statistics are a very important part of the evidence base that we use to implement policy, but it’s not the only one.”
She said the term pupil support assistant was “more appropriate” than the previous terminology, adding that she was “comfortable” with the change because it was backed by a wide range of stakeholders.
Labour MSP Johann Lamont said: “So you’re seriously saying that stakeholders, who are already saying that their children’s description of their experience in school, of not having a full day in school, not being properly supported, the additional support needs that they’re entitled to is being pooled with other young people - are you seriously saying that they said to you: ‘It’s okay to generalise this’?”
Ms Meikle responded: “What I’m saying is that my discussions with educational authorities and [local authorities body] Cosla, as part of those wider discussions with all of those stakeholders, led us to be able to agree to the joining of those two categories together.”
In responding to Mr Greer’s original request for information, the Scottish government said: “There is now greater standardisation of terms and definitions between schools and local authorities.
“There has also been a review of support staff categories in consultation with local authority education representatives and Scottish government officials with responsibility for support and wellbeing in schools.”
The government said the new terminology “better reflects policy and provision in schools”.
The Education and Skills Committee this week pored over a parliamentary report which showed that, between 2010 and 2016, there was a 153 per cent increase in children requiring additional support; the report also highlighted staffing levels as a problem frequently cited by parents.
