To ask the Scottish Government how it supports schools to ensure that pupils with additional support needs can access learning environments that meet their needs without being excluded from activities or isolated from their peers. (S6O-04468)

All children and young people should receive the support that they need to reach their full potential. Local authorities have a statutory duty to identify and provide such support and to review the support that they provide for pupils with additional support needs in the local community.

Complementing that, curriculum for excellence provides a broad framework within which educators are empowered to provide learning and teaching experiences that best suit the needs of individual learners. That includes taking into account choice and personalisation for the learner in curriculum design and delivery.

I have several constituents who have taken their children out of school because the additional support provision isolated them from their peers. What steps does the Government take to engage with local authorities to ensure that parents in that situation have access to resources to support home education?

We engage regularly with local authorities, particularly via the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. The member will be aware of the establishment of the new education assurance board, which will meet in the next two weeks to talk about improving relationships and the delivery of services in education.

We have an inclusive education approach in Scotland. That was something that the national discussion, in which COSLA and local government were key partners, highlighted as a strength in our provision.

There is a wide range of educational provision in Scotland that meets the needs of children and young people with additional support needs. Our councils are responsible for determining the most appropriate provision to suit the needs of those learners.

The Government rightly supports the presumption of mainstreaming. When we get education right for pupils with ASN, we get it right for the vast majority of pupils. When did the Government last specifically evaluate the additional cost of mainstreaming? Given the increase in the number of ASN-identified pupils, does current funding match that evaluation?

That is quite a wide-ranging question. I am keen to come back to the member in relation to the increase in additional support needs in recent years. Some of that shift has been as a result of the Government broadening out definitions, which we think was a welcome move at the time. Undoubtedly, that has led to an increase. It has also been driven by more diagnosis, which is hugely important.

The member talks about resourcing. In a previous response, I talked about the record levels of spending that are going from central Government to local government—there was £1 billion in the past financial year, which was supplemented by £29 million of investment.

To go back to Mr McArthur’s point in relation to the Audit Scotland report, it is hugely important that the Government has granularity in the detail of the extra funding that we are protecting at national level and important that that is going to those who need it most at local level. Through the education assurance board, which I mentioned in my response to Evelyn Tweed, we will continue to have those discussions with COSLA.

Related to ASN delivery, I had a meeting yesterday with the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland, which warned that there has been an unprecedented rise in referrals for neurological conditions, with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder levels rising by up to 800 per cent in just two years across health boards. Conditions in the health service mean that waiting lists are now of up to eight years, which has an impact on education services and ASN. The RCP in Scotland highlights that one of the reasons for the situation is the lack of access to activities such as outdoor learning and sport—activities that give children an outlet for their anxiety and enthusiasm. When will the Scottish Government recognise the need to reverse the decline in such activities in our schools, to the betterment of pupils’ mental health and education?

The member spoke to some of the challenges in relation to neurological conditions and in particular the increases that we have seen. I mentioned in my response to Mr Whitfield the rationale behind some of those increases, which I accept.

Brian Whittle also spoke to the need for diagnosis and the waiting times that are perhaps associated with that. I again put on record that, from an educational perspective, there is no requirement for a formal diagnosis in order for a young person to obtain support. That is really important in relation to how young people receive support in school.

The member mentioned outdoor education, which is hugely important. In all my visits as cabinet secretary, I see it as a pillar of our approach to education in Scotland, particularly in relation to our younger, early years settings, where I see it routinely used. I am not necessarily sure that I accept the final premise of the member’s question about a reduction in that area.