Union warns plan will harm vulnerable pupils and increase teacher workload
The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) has expressed serious concern over Falkirk Council’s proposal to remove all enhanced provision for Primary Additional Support Needs (ASN) and require all primary schools to provide enhanced support.
Although the SSTA represents secondary teachers, the union believes it must speak out on decisions that will have lasting consequences for young people and the teachers who support them.
“This proposal risks failing some of the most vulnerable children in our education system,” said General Secretary, Seamus Searson. “It prioritises budget savings over the educational needs of young people and will place even greater strain on an already overburdened teaching workforce.”
The union questions how children and young people with the most complex needs will receive the educational and physical support they require under the proposed model. Concerns include resourcing, appropriate training, and adequate staffing levels.
Recent national reviews have already exposed weaknesses in ASN provision across Scotland. The 2024 Support for Learning (SfL) Review and 2025 Audit Scotland Report both offered damning assessments of the current state of ASN support. The SSTA argues that Falkirk Council’s plan represents yet another example of educational policy being shaped by budget constraints rather than the needs of children.
“Scotland needs better, not less, provision for pupils with ASN,” continued Mr Searson. “That means increased resourcing, access to specialist training, and properly staffed, well-resourced specialist provision.”
The SSTA is particularly concerned about the long-term effects on secondary education. Pupils affected by this proposal will eventually move into secondary schools, where teachers will face the challenge of supporting children whose learning needs have not been met by appropriate specialist provision.
Mainstream secondary teachers, the union emphasises, cannot, and should not, be expected to replace the expertise of trained ASN specialists. Both national reports highlight that teachers are already being asked to manage increasingly complex needs in the classroom, a situation described as “unsustainable.”
Teacher workload and expectations around personalised learning are already unmanageable, the union says, and diverting attention from subject teaching will harm educational outcomes for all.
“Secondary teachers must be allowed to focus on high-quality teaching and learning. This proposal pulls us further away from that goal,” said Mr Searson. “The SSTA cannot support a plan that reduces specialist provision for Scotland’s most vulnerable learners and increases workload for our members.”
[ENDS]
For further information, please contact: info@ssta.org.uk
