An alliance of providers of specialist children’s services across Scotland has called for more money to be spent on mental health resources to support children and young people with autism, additional support needs and dyslexia.

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC) says, following a decade of cuts to spending for school children with additional support needs, the Scottish government must do more.

The call comes as Jenny Gilruth MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, revealed in parliament that the average additional support for learning (ASL) funding per pupil has dropped by over a third since 2013.

The figures highlight that average spending per pupil on ASL by local authorities in Scotland (primary, secondary and special education) has fallen from £5,698 in the 2012/13 financial year to £3,764 in 2022/23 (in real terms).

This amounts to an overall cut in spending of £1,934 per pupil, representing a 33.9 per cent drop.

Last week, Ms Gilruth told parliament that the figures may be affected by local accounting practices and education delivery, adding:

“Decisions about prioritisation and budgets, including those for the provision of services for pupils with additional support needs, are a matter for individual councils.

“We recognise the challenges facing authorities in balancing their need to meet a wide range of statutory duties, local priorities and local circumstances.”

The SCSC says this sits amidst a “perfect storm” of escalating numbers of pupils with additional support needs (ASN) and cuts in care support.

According to the latest pupil census, there has been a 104.8% increase in the number of children identified to have additional support needs between 2012 and 2022, rising by over 100,000 young people.

Meanwhile, over the same period, the number of full-time equivalent ASN teachers has fallen from 3,390 to an all-time low of 2,844 across Scotland.

The SCSC says the Scottish government must now work with local authorities to increase funding to support the needs of young people, including greater provision of specialist ASN teachers, educational psychologists, behaviour support staff and classroom assistants.

While supporting the mainstreaming of pupils with additional support needs, the SCSC says there must be adequate resourcing to prevent the negative impacts faced by those pupils and their teachers.

A spokesperson for the SCSC says that the cuts to spending are “devastating”, urging the government to increase provision for support:

“We are facing a lost generation of children with ASN, and it is vital that they get the care and support they need, when they need it, especially given the impacts of the COVID-19 and cost-of-living crisis.

“This is also key if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap, as we know that those with ASN are disproportionately drawn from poorer neighbourhoods.

“We are experiencing a mental health emergency, and have also witnessed dramatic increases in classroom disruption, impacting on pupils and teachers alike.

“This is in part due to increased levels of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties post-lockdown.

“The Scottish government and local authorities must work together to provide adequately resourced support across Scotland for those children and young people with ASN, representing some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society.”

Read more: ‘Bold action' needed for children's health; Children's health not improving despite good policy; Psychiatrists in ‘disbelief' over cut funding; Health poverty hits children halfway through pregnancy; Regulation key to reducing obesity

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