Scotland’s approach to special needs education is more inclusive than the rest of the UK – but it doesn’t always work in practice

By Joan Mowat, Reader in the School of Education, University of Strathclyde
Brahm Norwich, Professor of Educational Psychology and Special Educational Needs, University of Exeter
Carmel Conn, Associate Professor in Inclusive Pedagogy, University of South Wales

Across the UK, how children are identified with special educational needs, and how they are then supported, differs according to where they live. There are broad similarities in the approaches in Wales, England and Northern Ireland. But in Scotland things are done differently.

Northern Ireland, Wales and England define children with learning needs as those who have significantly greater difficulty in learning than their peers.

Scotland takes a more distinctive approach, using the term “Additional Support Needs” (ASN). A child or young person has ASN if…

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