What are additional support needs?

Children who need extra help to access and make progress in their learning are considered to have additional support needs. Children may only need support for a short time, or they may need support the whole time they are in education. Their needs may also change over time. A child or young person does not need to have a diagnosed condition to have additional support needs. If your child is struggling at school and needs extra help for any reason, they have a right to receive the help they need. 

What additional support is available for my child?

Most children's needs can be met universally. For example, through high quality teaching and learning, or simple adjustments to a child's or young person's timetable. 

In addition to universal supports, we can provide a range of supports and services for children and young people with additional support needs in Stirling Council. This might include additional support provided by someone in their nursery, or school, such as a support for learning teacher in a school or adaptations to the environment to make it more accessible for a child or young person.

If your child requires targeted support, this is provided by another service or team in education such as an educational psychologist, or an inclusion support worker, or a specialist teacher.

If your child requires enhanced support this is likely to include support from other services or teams other than education such as health or social work.