Additional Support for Learning Project Board minutes: November 2024

Attendees and apologies

• Scottish Government (SG) (Chair)
• Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
• Education Scotland (ES)
• Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES)
• Grant Aided Special Schools (GASS)
• UNISON
• Education Institute of Scotland (EIS)
• SG Early Learning and Childcare Team (SG ELC)
• National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT)
• Association of Scottish Principal Education Psychologists (ASPEP)
• SG Health and Wellbeing in Schools Unit (SG HWB)
• SG Supporting Learners’ Team (SG)
• Audit Scotland (Observer)

Apologies

• SOLACE
• Allied Health Professional Advisor
• Children in Scotland (CiS)
• Social Work Scotland
• ADES Early Years
• ENABLE

Items and actions

Welcome and introductions

The Chair welcomed members to the meeting of the Additional Support for Learning (ASL) Project Board (PB). The Chair welcomed the Craighalbert Centre as the new representative for the Grant Aided Special Schools (GASS), attending for the first time. Apologies were also noted.

The Chair provided a brief update on timelines regarding publication of the Scottish Government budget, noting the recent commitment in the UK Government budget to invest in special educational needs.

Minutes from previous meeting

The Chair noted the concerns raised during the ECYP debate in September around the time taken for minutes of ASL Project Board meetings to be published. Currently, the minute of the previous meeting is cleared for publication at the beginning of each meeting’s agenda. The Chair proposed that moving forward the minutes be cleared by correspondence, to allow the minutes to be published quicker. Members were in agreement with making this change for future meetings.

Members considered the draft minute of the meeting of 12 September. The Board accepted the minutes as an accurate record of the meeting and were content they be published. The following updates were provided on the actions agreed at the last meeting.

SG were to add additional text to the ASL Action Plan introduction to reflect the ECYP committee recommendations, this was completed and reflected in the published version on the 5th November 2024. The ASL Action Plan and progress report were to be presented to SG Ministers and COSLA Children and Young People (CYP) Board. Both SG ministers and COSLA CYP Board approved both documents for publication. Future ASL Network standing item on ASL PB agendas to be led by the Network Chair, this action is ongoing as agreement on the new ASL Network chair is sought. SAGRABIS Joint Action Plan was to be added to the November Project Board agenda, and will be discussed during this meeting.

ASL Action Plan & Progress Report publication reflections

SG introduced this item by thanking members for their contributions to the ASL Action Plan and Progress Report, which were successfully published on the 5th November.

Since the Board last met, the Education Children and Young People Committee of the Scottish Parliament held a debate following their report on ASL. Audit Scotland have progressed in their review and will be reporting on their findings in the new year. Whilst a lot of good progress has been made, this was an opportunity for the Board to reflect on progress.

The progress report identified 3 key areas for the Project Board’s focus over the next reporting period. It was proposed that the first meeting of the Project Board in the new year be used to consider areas of activity that can best help deliver progress in terms of improving outcomes quickly. Key consideration must be given to the impact the actions in the ASL action plan are having for children, young people and their families, and staff.

Members welcomed this idea. Time could also be set for the Project Board to consider how they can continue to support the sub-groups in delivering the actions they are leading on. Members also noted the importance of utilising the Network in any identified actions following the January meeting.

It was suggested that an extended meeting would be required to allow the time for meaningful discussion. SG secretariat will issue a calendar invite for this session following the meeting.

Action:

• SG Secretariat to issue extended January 2025 ASL Project Board meeting invitation.

ASL Action Plan priority areas

SG introduced this item to the Board. The Progress Report published on the 5th November set out 3 priority areas for the Project Board to focus on that capture a significant amount of the remaining actions in the ASL action plan. It was reported that the ASL Network met on the 12th November to discuss these areas, their comments will be fed into discussions during this item. The priority areas identified are:

• National Measurement Framework
• ASL Code of Practice (CoP) re-fresh
• Communications

ADES and Education Scotland introduced discussion on the National Measurement Framework, tabling a paper setting out progress so far and proposed next steps and timelines. The National Measurement Framework for inclusion and ASN has the following key purposes:

• To ensure there are high aspirations and ambitions for children and young people with identified ASNs, ensuring they achieve their maximum learning potential
• To celebrate achievement of children and young people with identified ASNs, including those with the most complex needs, and ensure visibility and parity of all achievements
• To provide data and evidence (moving to consistent data and evidence) to help inform decision making for LAs and nationally that supports self evaluation and improvement
• To provide parity of supports for all education sectors across Scotland.  Mainstream sector has tools to support ‘sharing and comparing’ approach for LAs such as National Improvement Framework (NIF) interactive evidence report and Local Government Benchmarking Framework.

The paper sets out a 3 phased approach to develop different iterations, with objectives and actions identified to enable successful outcomes of each phase. It was noted ADES and ES can align this with work on collaborative improvements to share effective practice. Further discussions, with all stakeholders, on how the future of this work will be resourced are required as this work will stay as a priority moving forward. Members were invited to contact ADES and SG if they wish to be involved in further work of the NMF. Members were encouraged to provide comments on the NMF paper before the new year.

It was reported that the ASL Network has shown an interest in the NMF, particularly around the inclusion of absence and exclusion data being captured within the NMF. The Network were also keen that any data returned must be linked back to the experiences of children and young people to demonstrate progress.

It was emphasised that the NMF will develop on an ongoing basis though the different phases of work that have been identified. Members suggested using part of the ASL Project Board January meeting as an opportunity to collaboratively firm up the NMF phases.

Actions:

• ASL PB members to contact ADES and SG if they wish to be involved in working on the NMF.
• ASL PB members to provide comments on the NMF paper before the new year.
• NMF to be added to ASL PB agenda in January.

SG introduced discussion on the ASL Code of Practice (COP) re-fresh. The CoP will be updated within parameters of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. No changes can go beyond existing legislation. Previous updates of the CoP have been linked to legislation; in contrast this update’s purpose is to improve the use of the CoP by practitioners. This will be the fourth edition of the CoP and there are significant differences between each edition – changes will be highlighted to ensure ease of use and understanding. The CoP will go out for public consultation in early 2025 and members of the Project Board will be asked to disseminate it to their networks and links, to ensure a breadth of views is incorporated. It was noted the target audience of the CoP is practitioners, and that any suggestions for ways to make the material more helpful for them would be welcomed. Enquire are working on updating their guide sheets for parent and carer awareness. The CoP will be a key discussion item at the ADES ASN network on the 22nd November, where ASN leads will have the opportunity to provide their suggestions.

A question was raised regarding the effect of UNCRC on the CoP. Clarification was provided that a separate strand of work is currently underway on UNCRC, while acknowledging that there are connections between the two pieces of work. Members will be kept updated on progress.

SG introduced a discussion on Communications. At the last Project Board meeting, members agreed that Communications should be led by the Project Board, taking over from the operational and communications sub-group. Members of the sub-group have been updated on this change. At the ASL Network meeting, members were keen to see the communications strategy, and be involved in the development of future iterations. It was noted that one of the challenges the sub-group had encountered was that there was a variation of views around the objectives of a communications strategy, and that while the sub-group had developed material for a communications strategy this had not been finalised. It was agreed that the work previously carried out in this area would be shared with the Project Board, with a view to having a discussion at a future Project Board meeting to agree the objectives of a communications strategy in the first instance.

The Project Board recently sent a joint letter to Directors and Chief Executives of Education containing information to support their consideration and delivery of some key actions in the ASL Action Plan. It was noted that the Board reflect on how the impact of that letter is measured.

It was noted that the ASL Project Board lacks communications expertise in its membership, and that this should be addressed. It was queried whether SG communications colleagues could assist in the Project Board’s communications development. SG noted that would incur costs, but that they would consider.

It was reported that the ASL Network discussed communications and were also keen to see the Project Boards communications strategy, and offered their help in developing future iterations. The Network has members with communications expertise, as well as individual teams with their own communications strategies that the ASL Project Board could take into account in future plans.

Action:

• COSLA to share work previously undertaken on a draft communications plan with the secretariat for review, and to be considered at a future PB meeting.

ASL Project Board membership

The Chair introduced this item. The Chair noted that, as the Project Board moves into the final phase of the ASL Action Plan with its final update due in March 2026, the Project Board has an opportunity to consider its current membership. Three priority areas of work for the next phase have been identified, and a meeting will take place in January 2025 to consider maximising impact over the coming months. Members were invited to consider whether the Project Board would benefit from any changes in its membership in light of these developments.

It was agreed that the Board would benefit from parental representation, which was subsequently covered under Any Other Business. Links with the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS) should also be explored and it was noted that there is already crossover in membership between the two groups but that it would be helpful to ensure a better flow of information between them.

Members also noted that for the Project Board to maximise its impact it is important that members attend regularly, and provide a substitute if they are unable to attend.  

SAGRABIS Action Plan

SG Health and Wellbeing Team (HWB) introduced this item. An overview of the SAGRABIS action plan was provided, setting out their phased approach to delivering their actions across a 3 year span. The action plan is based on a multi-year study of perception of relationships and behaviour in Scottish schools. There is a very clear cross reference between the SAGRABIS action plan and the ASL action plan, with specific actions highlighting ASN and behaviour included in each action plan. SG Supporting Learners and HWB team are linking up in this capacity and will engage with Programme Board members as that work develops.

Members thanked the HWB team for the overview. It was noted that behaviour can be an ASN, and that the Project Board could be influential in ensuring behaviour is set out in a broader context of ASL legislation.

Any other business

SG provided an update on parental engagement. It was noted that SG no longer funds NPFS, who previously had a role on this group to provide representation and views from a parent and carer perspective. Work is underway to engage with the recently established Scottish Assembly of Parents and Carers, hosted by Connect, to get a new parent and carer representative by the Project Board’s next meeting.

The ASL Network met on the 12th November and discussed the 3 priority areas set out in the recently published ASL progress report. Their feedback was incorporated into discussions today. The new chair of the ASL Network, still to be agreed, will become a member of the ASL Project Board. The Network will meet on 3 occasions in 2025: Project Board members will be updated on confirmed dates once agreed.

Date of next meeting

A poll will be sent to members to agree meeting dates for 2025 following this meeting.

 

Scottish Government