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LEADING charities warned yesterday that Scotland will be left with a “lost generation” of children with additional support needs if funding cuts to vital services continue.
According to the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), more than a fifth of school pupils have additional needs such as dyslexia or autism, and many of them come from lower-income households and areas of deprivation.
However, the number of learning support teachers fell from 3,363 to 2,936 (13 per cent) between 2010 and 2015, while the number of auxiliaries and behaviour support staff went down from 19,332 to 17,498 (9 per cent) over the same period.
With 12,000 fewer teachers since 2010 and dwindling resources, Scotland’s schools desperately need investment to support diverse learners rather than empty promises from politicians, writes ANDREA BRADLEY
NICOLA SARAH HAWKINS explains how an under-regulated introduction of AI into education is already exacerbating inequalities