Special educational needs and competing policy frameworks in England and Scotland

This paper explores a range of policy frameworks in play in the field of special educational needs and their relationship with procedural fairness and substantive justice. Drawing on analysis of post-1993 English and Scottish policy documents, dominant motifs in special educational needs policy are identified. It is argued that in both England and Scotland, there is a shift away from a policy framework based on professional control. Legal and bureaucratic policy frameworks are of growing importance in both countries, but change has been more rapid in England. Finally, the implications of comparative research for special educational needs policy and wider education policy are discussed.     

Additional support needs reforms and social justice in Scotland

New additional support‐needs legislation in Scotland sought to recognise the way in which poverty, as well as individual impairment, contribute to the creation of children's difficulties in learning. As well as identifying a wider range of needs, the legislation sought to provide parents, irrespective of social background, with more powerful means of challenging local authority decisions on resource allocation, with the aim of delivering a fairer system. This paper uses Scottish Government statistics and family case studies drawn from an ESRC‐funded project (RES‐062‐23‐0803) to examine the links between social deprivation, the identification of additional support needs and parents' ability to use the new dispute resolution mechanisms. There is a strong association between the identification of additional support needs and social deprivation and this is particularly marked in relation to non‐normative difficulties, such as social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, compared with normative difficulties such as blindness and deafness. Statutory educational plans, which provide greater rights to additional resources and formal dispute resolution mechanisms, are disproportionately distributed to parents in more advantaged neighbourhoods. Parents from middle‐class backgrounds appear to be able to use their social and cultural capital more effectively to challenge local authority decisions. The paper concludes that some funding for additional support needs should be allocated on the basis of social deprivation, but there continues to be a need for the assessment and resourcing of individual needs, since poverty has material consequences for individual children, whose difficulties may be overlooked if an entirely systemic approach is adopted. There is a need for greater investment in advocacy service to enable parents from poorer backgrounds to exercise their rights.     

Education,health and care plans: What do we know so far?

The Children and Families Act, 2014 and the new Special Educational Needs and Disability SEND Code of Practice (DfE and DoH, 2014) has led to reforms in how children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities are supported in England. Now, five years on, research has begun to emerge exploring the implementation of the new statutory assessment process, the Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans and the outcomes of the process in England. This article seeks to review current research about the introduction of EHC needs assessment process and plans. It highlights three key themes: experiences of the process, reflections on the EHC plans and the outcomes of the process. Whilst parental involvement has improved, and there is some evidence of multiagency work, the views of children and young people continue to be marginalised, and EHC Plans are highly variable in quality, indicating that person-centred approaches are not yet fully implemented. This indicates a need for further research on how to effectively involve CYP with SEND in statutory processes and support.     

Additional support needs policy in Scotland: challenging or reinforcing social inequality?

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on Scottish policy on additional support needs and its material outcomes. The central question addressed is the extent to which the Scottish additional support needs system undermines or reinforces existing social and economic inequalities. Administrative data highlight the inflation of the additional support needs category, particularly in relation to non-normative sub-categories such as social, emotional and behavioural difficulties which are strongly associated with social deprivation. Strategies in navigating the additional support needs system by families from different social class backgrounds are illustrated through short vignettes. The paper concludes with a discussion of the way in which sociological theory may help us to understand recent developments in Scottish additional support needs policy and practice. It is argued that the expansion of the umbrella category of additional support needs has been accompanied by an intensification of its association with social class, particularly in relation to categories which carry high levels of social stigma.     

The treasure house of a nation? Literary heritage,curriculum and devolution in Scotland and England in the twenty-first century

In January 2012, Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond announced a radical measure that would see every Scottish school student study a Scottish text from a prescribed list. In 2010, Michael Gove announced that ‘Our literature is the best in the world’ and that every pupil should study particular authors. The ‘cultural heritage’ model of English is increasingly dismissed by teachers and students However, it is this ‘cultural heritage’ model which is preserved in the discourse of politicians. This paper explores the role that literary heritage texts play in the discourse of education policy in the context of devolution in twenty-first century Britain and considers the drivers and differences which can be seen in England and Scotland.     

Participation,Inclusiveness, Academic Drift and Parity of Esteem: A comparison of post-compulsory education and training in England,Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

This paper examines the post-compulsory education and training (PCET) systems of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, using cohort survey data for the early 1990s. It compares these systems with respect to four issues of current policy concern: participation, inclusiveness, academic drift and parity of esteem. It asks how a system's performance on these four criteria varied according to the degree of 'unification' of PCET, that is, the extent to which academic and vocational tracks were linked or combined within a unified system. In the early 1990s Scotland was the most unified system (with the weakest divisions between tracks) and Northern Ireland the least unified (with the strongest divisions between tracks). The paper finds no clear link between unification and participation in PCET. The two systems with the highest levels of participation were Northern Ireland and Scotland, respectively the least unified and the most unified systems. However the Scottish system was slightly less inclusive than the other three systems, as indicated by a slightly stronger association between participation and prior attainment and/or social class. Academic drift - measured by participation in academic rather than vocational tracks - was more pronounced in Scotland than elsewhere. There was no clear association between unification and parity of esteem, as indicated by the relative educational backgrounds of entrants to vocational and academic tracks: entry to academic rather than vocational courses was more skewed towards high attainers in both Scotland and Northern Ireland than in England and Wales. Participation in the academic track was also relatively skewed towards males in England compared with elsewhere. The paper concludes that there is unlikely to be a simple causal connection between unification and participation, inclusion, academic drift or parity. However it suggests that a strong work-based sector is more important for participation and inclusiveness, while a strong full-time vocational sector is more important for parity and for avoiding academic drift.     

Education and nationalism: the discourse of education policy in Scotland

The paper draws on critical discourse analysis to examine and discuss some of the key developments in the governing of education in Scotland since the election of the Scottish National Party (SNP) government in May 2007. It analyses these developments, drawing on a study of key policy texts and suggests that discourse analysis has much to contribute to the understanding of the governing strategy of the minority SNP administration as reflected in its education policy. We suggest that there is a self-conscious strategy of ‘crafting the narrative’ of government that seeks to discursively re-position ‘smarter Scotland’ alongside small, social democratic states within the wider context of transnational pressures for conformity with global policy agendas. Thus the paper connects to current debates on the relationship between an emergent global education policy ‘field’ and the capacity of ‘local’ contexts to develop and sustain particular, embedded assumptions and practices.     

Education Statistics for the United Kingdom

Introduction: Statistics for the education systems in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are collected and processed separately in accordance with the particular needs of the responsible Departments. Each Education Department—the Department of Education and Science, the Welsh Office Education Department, the Scottish Education Department and the Department of Education Northern Ireland—publishes a selection of statistics concerning education within the separate countries. More detailed statistics on universities can be found in the University Grants Committee's own publications.     

Modern foreign language education for learners with additional support needs in Scotland

The face of Modern Foreign Language education (MFL) in Scotland is changing. A major policy shift in Scottish education in 2012 set out the aspiration that all students up to the end of third level education in Scottish schools would have the opportunity to learn not one but two languages, in addition to their mother tongue. Over the last 20 years, there has been, concurrently, an undertaking by the Scottish government, in a series of policy documents, committing to provision that will ensure that students with additional support needs (ASN) receive equality of access to a broad and balanced education. This paper draws upon policy documents and published research in the area to review the extent to which the vision of language learning of all has been made available to students with ASN and the documented benefits associated with MFL education for those with ASN. Drawing upon case studies of inclusive MFL pedagogies, it identifies successful strategies that can be deployed by teachers. It then considers some of the mechanisms by which the current gaps in provision have arisen and proposes possible remedial steps, drawing on both an analysis of policy and case studies of effective practice.     

Who gets to play? Investigating equity in musical instrument instruction in Scottish primary schools

There is a widely held view that learning to play a musical instrument is a valuable experience for all children in terms of their personal growth and development. Although there is no statutory obligation for instrumental music provision in Scottish primary schools, there are well-established Instrumental Music Services in Local Education Authorities that have been developed to provide this facility for pupils. This article presents the findings of a study that was aimed at investigating the extent to which the opportunity to undertake instrumental instruction in Scottish primary schools is equitable. The study employed a mixed-methods approach. Data were gathered from 21 Scottish primary schools, a total pupil population of 5122 pupils of whom 323 pupils were receiving instrumental instruction. The analysis involved an investigation of the academic profile of this group, the representation of children with additional support needs (ASN) and the nature of their ASN. A qualitative analysis of policy and guideline documents and interviews with Heads of Instrumental Services, headteachers and instrumental instructors served to explain and illuminate the quantitative data. The findings showed that particular groups of children with ASN were significantly under-represented and offer explanations of the processes by which this occurs.     

The Survival of the Democratic Intellect: Academic Values in Scotland and England

Using the results of a sample survey of academics in higher education institutions in Scotland and England, the paper assesses attitudes to the civic role of higher education. It places these in the context of debates about core academic values, about the public accountability of higher education institutions, and about the devolution of political power in the United Kingdom. It finds that there is widespread attachment to a civic role for higher education, alongside strong attachment to traditional academic values. These values are not significantly influenced by individual academics’ gender, age or social class of origin, and differences by academic discipline are not as strong as might be expected. Academics in Scotland tend to hold a somewhat more civic view than academics in England. This national difference seems to be a product of distinctive national systems, since academics of English origin in Scotland share in the majority Scottish views.     

The biggest extension of rights in Europe? Needs,rights and children with additional support needs in Scotland

ABSTRACT

The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 boosted the rights of parents of children with additional support needs (ASN) by improving access to information, instituting a Code of Practice and establishing new redress mechanisms such as the ASN Tribunal and independent mediation. More than a decade later, Scottish legislation enacted in 2016 and implemented in 2018 attempted to increase children’s rights, broadly placing them on a par with those of parents and young people. This paper draws on data from an ESRC project entitled Autonomy, Rights and Children with Special Needs: A New Paradigm? (ES/P002641/1). Analysis of Scottish Government policy and legislation, key informant interviews and official statistics are used to examine the extent to which the new rights are likely to be realised in practice, given the complexity of the legislation and competition between discourses of needs, broadly synonymous with the wellbeing agenda and rights. The paper concludes with a discussion of the lessons which may be learnt from the Scottish experience, which will be of interest to an international audience.     

Creating effective teaching and learning environments: Building a positive behavioural support (PBS) model for UK special schools

The importance of reducing restraint and restrictive interventions in special schools has been recognised across the four nations of the UK. Government guidance for England and Wales, and recommendations produced by Restraint Reduction Scotland, both reference Positive behavioural support (PBS) as an evidence-based approach that can be used to proactively support pupils with, or at risk of, behaviours that challenge. The Department of Education of Northern Ireland recommends the development of behaviour support plans to support children with special education needs and disabilities. Special schools, however, also have a responsibility to set high expectations for every pupil, to provide access to the respective national curricula and to meet individual needs. School-wide positive behavioural support (SW-PBS), originated in the USA in the 1990s in response to a body of evidence that showed improved social and academic outcomes when behavioural interventions were implemented across whole school settings. It is increasingly being adopted in the UK. Drawing upon examples from schools in England and Wales with which the authors are familiar, this paper outlines the rationale for a special schools' model of SW-PBS and illustrates the ways in which this can be adjusted to meet the specific needs of each setting.

Key Points

• Reducing restraint and restrictive interventions in schools is a high priority across all four nations of the UK.
• Special schools also have a responsibility to provide children with special education needs and disabilities positive learning environments that maximise learning opportunities and meet individual needs.
• School-wide positive behaviour support (SW-PBS) provides a useful framework to help special schools meet these expectations.

     

Expansion and social selection in education in England and Scotland

This paper examines trends in social class inequalities in young people’s educational attainment and HE entry between the mid‐1980s and the end of the 1990s in England and Scotland. Using time‐series data derived from the Scottish School Leavers Surveys and the England (and Wales) Youth Cohort Study, changes in both absolute and relative social class differences within and across the two countries were analysed through the use of a series of ordered logits. The results show that Scotland has higher educational attainment rates but also higher social class inequalities than England. Moreover, while in England social class inequalities at upper‐secondary and tertiary level have declined over time, in Scotland no evidence of such trend has been found. The conclusions highlight that possible explanations for these patterns reside in the different features of the two education systems and in the remarkable educational success of the Scottish middle class.     

The professionalization of instructional leadership in the United States: competing values and current tensions

This paper considers two examples of recent policies affecting teachers' work, Performance Threshold Assessment in England and Chartered Teacher status in Scotland. Through tracing their origins and motivations, a comparative analysis is offered, which seeks to explore the extent of the influence of national contexts on developments in the restructuring process. Both policies purport to meet the professional needs of teachers who are a few years into their careers, yet the Scottish example is strongly oriented towards professional development, while the English example is oriented towards performativity and teacher assessment.     

Sustainable development education in Scottish schools: the Sleeping Beauty syndrome

This paper reviews and discusses the development of Sustainable Development Education (SDE) policy within the context of the Scottish formal school system. The focus is on the progress, and lack thereof, of implementation of SDE in schools in the light of some of the key curriculum documents and associated political decisions and advisory reports. The period of the review dates from 1993, which saw the publication of a report that was regarded as the seminal document for the development of environmental education in Scotland, to 2007 and the Scottish Executive's proposals for SDE in the light of curriculum reform for schools for the 21st century. The paper employs, loosely, the metaphor of the Sleeping Beauty to tell the story of SDE in Scotland in three parts: the story's three phases of emergence, obscurity and re‐emergence might serve as a useful metaphor, here.     

Pathways and Partnerships: Widening access to higher education

In response to a Scottish Office call for a briefing paper on widening access to higher education the authors conducted a 'snapshot' study of the field including not only desk-based research but a questionnaire survey and interviews with approximately 70 practitioners in the field of access across the UK. The survey asked the opinions of practitioners on the areas of their greatest concern in the field of widening access to include marginal socioeconomic groups. This article gives an account of the concerns expressed in this survey and finds that the primary concerns fall under six headings: pre-entry guidance, qualifications frameworks and transfers, structural barriers and flexibility, attitudinal barriers, student finance and institutional finance. Solutions were also sought in relation to policy and practice in Scotland and included suggestions for more emphasis on partnerships, better communication between institutions and the community, and a shared system of financial support for institutions and for students alike.     

The Coproduction illusion: considering the relative success rates and efficiency rates of securing an Education,Health and Care plan when requested by families or education professionals

This comparative study examines success and efficiency rates for Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessments in England when requested by families or education professionals. England is the only nation in the UK with EHC needs assessments. These are requested from the Local Authority (LA) if the school’s ordinarily-available provision is insufficient for individuals to make expected progress. Policy states that needs assessments should include parents, pupils and professionals in all decision making (coproduction). After a needs assessment, the LA may issue an EHC plan. This study considers whether the outcome of a needs assessment (issuing an EHC plan) is independent of the source of the request. Statistical analysis compared outcomes of needs assessments requested by families and education professionals. Analysis of publicly-available datasets and policy provided further context. Findings included: (i) a need for further research to explore inconsistencies in outcomes of needs assessments across England; (ii) LAs efficient at issuing EHC plans were consistently efficient for requests from education professionals and families; (iii) a potential discrepancy between families’ perceived level of involvement and the reality: a ‘coproduction illusion’. It is proposed that policy and guidance in England requires revision to ensure consistent use of language, roles, and responsibilities.     

A Study of the modern Scottish Higher Education Based on the Case of University of St.Andrews

<正>1.Introduction The Scottish higher educational system is one of the oldest in the world,and it is now still changing.The status of higher education now in the Scotland is the product of the generations of the thoughtful reflection,experimentation and evaluation.Therefore,it is not so much different in quality and reputation compared with England,Welsh and Northern Ireland.Scotland’s universities are at the forefront of teaching and research play a     

‘Participatory parity’, young people and policy in Scotland

The last three decades have witnessed significant changes in the social and economic context of young people’s lives. There is increasing evidence that for young people growing up in the UK, this is fuelling a disparity between those with resources and those without. What this means in terms of social justice, however, is difficult to discern. In Scotland, promoting greater social justice so that all its citizens are included has been held up as a key vision of successive Scottish administrations since devolution began in 1999. Scotland therefore makes an interesting case for the examination of policy discourses in relation to young people. In order to do this, the paper draws on a theoretical framework of justice developed by Nancy Fraser which is oriented on the norm of participatory parity. Combining this framework with an approach informed by critical discourse analysis, the current policy context in Scotland is examined in order to discern if it contributes to all young people achieving participatory parity and subsequently social justice.