6th February 2024
The Scottish Government wants to develop a Bill to support people with learning disabilities and neurodivergent people across all walks of Scottish society.
The consultation closes 21 April 24.
The consultation explores a wide range of topics which we summarise below. Connect will submit a response on those that are most relevant parental and family engagement in children’s learning and school lives which we have also highlighted. We encourage parents/carers to submit their own responses too. You can find the consultation and how to submit a response here. Theres is also an easy read version and a child friendly version, along with a guide to help adults support children and young people to participate.
The full range of themes:
- How to define neurodivergence and learning disabilities (who the Bill should apply to)
- Potential requirements for strategies for neurodivergent conditions or learning disabilities. These could be local or national
- Greater awareness and more training for the public sector to understand the needs and experiences of people with learning disabilities and neurodivergent people
- Making sure communication is inclusive, so people can access information in ways they can understand. This should include complaints procedures
- Allowing the collection of more data to better understand the needs of people with learning disabilities and neurodivergent people
- Independent advocacy, so people can be supported to understand and access their rights
- How to improve health and wellbeing, by supporting people to access supports and services when they need them
- Mental health and capacity law reform
- Social care
- Housing and independent living
- Supporting people with complex care needs to live in their own homes and communities
- Supporting people to make and maintain healthy relationships, including support for parents with learning disabilities and neurodivergent parents.
- Access to technology
- Supporting people with employment
- Social security
- Justice
- How to avoid the misuse of restraint and seclusion, which can happen to children at school and to adults in hospital and care settings.
- Transport
- Education
- Transitions to adulthood
- How public bodies can be held accountable, so that people with learning disabilities and neurodivergent people’s rights can’t be ignored.
Elements of the consultation most relevant to Connect and parental and family engagement in children’s learning and school lives:
Restraint and Seclusion
The consultation refers to the recent Member’s Bill consultation on statutory guidance and training on the use of restraint and seclusion, and that the Scottish Government is considering what legislative action it can take. This consultation paper argues that guidance on restraint and seclusion needs to apply to all children and young people, so this Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill is not the right place to consider restraint and seclusion.
Education
This is the key section for parents and carers who are interested in improvements to additional support for learning in early years settings and schools. It refers to the Morgan Review findings that the Additional Support for Learning Act isn’t deficient, but that there is a gap between policy and actual implementation on the ground. The Scottish Government ASL Review Action Plan is currently in progress, so this Bill’s consultation has three further and related proposals:
- Strategies and reporting requirements: Education authorities currently have duties to plan and report annually on actions they are taking to address the key priorities of the National Improvement Framework. Local authorities and health boards must also publish a Children’s Services Plan Annual Report on progress made to improve wellbeing outcomes for children and their families. The Bill could require these to include specific consideration to children with learning disabilities and neurodivergent children.
- Mandatory training for teachers, practitioners and other educators: This consultation asks whether there is a need to legislate for training requirements on learning disabilities and neurodivergence for student teachers and early learning and childcare practitioners and for all educators as part of their ongoing professional learning.
- Data: To collect and publish more data to understand the experiences and outcomes of neurodivergent children and young people
Children and Young people – Transitions to Adulthood
The Scottish Government has committed to introducing a National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy this Parliamentary term and aims to consult on this in 2024.