Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 19 March 2026 [Draft]
19 Mar 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
General Question Time
Pupil Support Assistants (Additional Support for Learning)
The number of pupils who are identified as having additional support needs has risen by about 97 per cent since 2013, with about 43 per cent of pupils now recorded as having an ASN. However, support provision has not kept pace. Although the £29 million funding increase from 2025 is welcome, Audit Scotland reports that only 12 per cent of education spending is allocated to ASL and only a minority of schools have dedicated facilities. Given the gap between demand and provision, what specific action will the Government take to increase pupil support assistant staffing and ensure that funding delivers tangible improvements for pupils in every classroom?
In the same item of business
5. Jeremy Balfour (Lothian) (Ind)
Ind
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether the current levels of pupil support assistant staffing in schools to support pupils wit...
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (Jenny Gilruth)
SNP
All children and young people should get the support that they need to reach their full potential. The latest figures show that there are 17,046 full-time-eq...
Jeremy Balfour
Ind
The number of pupils who are identified as having additional support needs has risen by about 97 per cent since 2013, with about 43 per cent of pupils now re...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
Mr Balfour raises a hugely important point. He is absolutely correct to say that additional support needs in our schools have grown in recent years. That has...