By Amanda Crawford

Cabinet Secretary for Education Jenny Gilruth MSP told Parliament this week that mainstream education for children with additional support needs is working, according to teachers.

But UWS News spoke to parents and teachers who are calling for a “total reform”.

Carrie*, alias for legal reasons, is an Early Years Practitioner in a local authority led nursery.

She said: “They need to do something. These kids need smaller ratios in settings that are set up for them, with sensory things. We have kids and it’s a sin, because they have high functioning autism and they get put in our setting of 50 kids in mainstream and they can’t cope, whereas if they go to a specialised setting the staff are specially trained.

“We go on the odd course on autism, but they but we are not trained to deal with these conditions.

“We have a lot of ASN children in our setting, but it is not the right place for them. Staff are getting battered bit, nipped and kicked, and so are other children.

“And it’s not the children’s fault, it is the local authority’s fault.”

In 2007 there were 36,000 children recorded with additional needs in schools and this year it is 259,036 children. That is one third of all pupils in Scotland.

Mum-of-two Sonia Shokar, 36, is originally from Kent and has lived in Scotland for 10 years. She said individual needs are not being met and thinks settings need to be revised.

“There is a child in my daughter’s class [whose needs are not being met], because inclusion comes first.

“Her learning is being disrupted and I had a meeting with school. I went in there diplomatic and as soon as I mentioned the disruptive behaviours, I was told who he has a condition, and we can’t exclude him.

“It’s not about that, it’s not about exclusion it’s about the child’s individual needs.”

Teacher of 20 years, Sara*, alias for legal reasons, has said the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) needs scrapped.

She said: “The Scottish education system needs total reform. The first thing that needs to go is the Curriculum for Excellence and it needs to start with a foundational knowledge with a focus on literacy and numeracy.”

While Carrie* recognises a need for change, she enjoys aspects of the Curriculum for Excellence. She added: “I find it more flexible, we can do outdoor learning and cross-curriculum learning. I do find that it is helping them [the children] gain knowledge and life skills.”

Ms Gilruth MSP and her representatives were unavailable for response to the experiences of the parents and teachers featured in this article at the time of publishing.