Item 10 - Services for Children, Young People and Families Update Report
West Dunbartonshire Council · 26 November 2025
Back to Educational Services Committee — 26 November 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by Chief Education Officer Educational Services Committee: 26 November 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Subject: Services for Children, Young People and Families Update Report 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this report is: a) to inform the Educational Services Committee of progress on support to children, young people and families. 2. Recommendations 2.1 Members of the Educational Services Committee are asked to: a) Note progress on plans to continue developing and improving support to children and families. 3. Background 3.1 West Dunbartonshire Council (WDC) is committed to ensuring all children and young people are enabled to progress through Early Learning and School with the support they need. When this support is more or different to what is generally provided for children and young people of the same age, then the child or young person is said to have additional needs. 3.2 The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2009 lists four interrelated factors which individually or jointly impact on ability to learn: • Learning Environment • Family Circumstances • Disability or Health • Social or Emotional Factors Additional support may be required throughout a child or young person’s educational journey: others may only require additional support for a short period. ITEM 10
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3.3 It is recognised that children, young people and families are best supported through effective multi-agency planning and delivery of services. Educational Services work in collaboration with a range of council, Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and third sector colleagues to support our families. This work is being developed via the Whole Family Wellbeing (WFW) planning, led by Educational Services on behalf of the Community Planning Partnership. 4. Main Issues 4.1 There are currently 11,781 school pupils in West Dunbartonshire Council. 5,470 pupils have Additional Support Needs (ASN), supported mainly in mainstream schools. Approximately 280 pupils are supported in our specialist settings as they require a more specific learning environment. We also have a small percentage of our children and young people with additional support needs supported by day or residential providers in external placements. These often involve young people separated from their peers and their community and can be expensive in comparison to supporting in-house. These costs have increased significantly over the past few years due to increased salaries and increased charges from partner providers for the range of specialist support offered. This has resulted in budget overspends and it is anticipated that there might be mitigation of these to some extent by the ASN strategy implementation. The trajectory of ASN needs in WDC has increased over time (from 36.9% in 2013 to 46.4% in 2025) and has been supported by the investment in our ASN estate expansion. 4.2 In line with National Guidance, we have a presumption to mainstream and almost all children with additional support needs have them successfully met in mainstream settings. Our ASN Strategy identifies and addresses these issues with a focus on the four pillars of inclusive education in Scotland which are: present, participating, achieving and supported, in order that children meet their full potential. Mainstreaming is the ‘central pillar’ to this approach. Our strategy is successfully upskilling staff and building on consistent approaches to meeting learner needs across all settings, ensuring our legal obligations are being met. 4.3 Meeting Learner’s Needs Education Leaders have collaborated to identify key areas of development and focus of the ASN Strategy. Notable areas of development are:
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● Embedding Year 4 of the Child Inclusive Research into Curriculum Learning Education (CIRCLE) Framework across our schools, with a continued focus on self-evaluation of inclusive practices and environments for all establishments. ● The School Participation Questionnaire which has been completed by the majority of schools. This highlights that 77% of schools reported an improvement in their inclusive environments, with an average increase of 6%. This evidence demonstrates that school leaders, Champions and staff are working collaboratively to ensure inclusive approaches for pupils. ● In partnership with Care Connections, care experienced learners are receiving targeted support to improve attainment and engagement. ● There is a collective focus being developed and supported by the PT CE, to ensure shared approaches to data gathering, processes and support for care experienced learners’ attendance, attainment and engagement in school. ● Establishing a secondary consortium model across secondary mainstream and specialist settings, with the primary aim of sharing specialised resources and collaboratively developing a consistent and high-quality curriculum offer for learners with Additional Support Needs ● Extending the supported employment model (Project Search) for learners due to leave school, in Partnership with Working 4 U and West College Scotland; ● The refreshed GIRFEC policy and guidance, implemented in May 2025, has been very positively received by practitioners who cite it as user- friendly and easier to navigate; effectively supporting planning to meet learners' needs. Furthermore, a digital version has been successfully piloted across Local Learning Communities and also received positive feedback at the recent ASN Coordinators Forum. ● In partnership with NHS Neurodevelopmental Team a calendar of parent/carer and professional learning opportunities is accessible via the WD for Families Hubs. This resource is designed to support families and the workforce in using consistent strategies across home and school to better support our children and young people. ● Continued partnership with Citizens Advice Scotland to promote and develop the very successful pilot approach to addressing Child Poverty and the associated stigma. 4.4 Learning Estate Updates Riverside School has fully opened and feedback from the Acting HT, parents and staff is very positive. This is reflected in the settled presentation and progress of the young people. Progress so far includes: the establishment of a Parent Forum and associated parent on-line site, post placement transition planning meetings which are positive, the acquisition of a school bus from charity which will develop curricular and social opportunities and the establishment of a Friday Cafe which will help develop skills for life, family links and wider partnerships with the local community.
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4.5 Developing Respectful and Tolerant Relationships In preparation for Anti-Bullying Week (10-14 November 2025), a focus on delivering a coordinated and evidence-based approach to fostering an inclusive and respectful school environment has been developed. Schools are preparing a range of activities designed to promote and embed the values of respect and kindness across all stages. This work will encourage pupils to move beyond simple definitions, engaging in critical self-reflection on how these values translate into tangible actions and behaviours within the school community and beyond. Our service is committed to ensuring all staff are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to understand and effectively respond to complex issues. We are promoting key professional learning opportunities/development including: Respect Me Scotland Resources: Staff can gain access to two new professional learning resources developed in partnership with Respect Me, Scotland's Anti-Bullying Service. These resources are designed to deepen understanding and improve responses to bullying, hate crime, and prejudice- based behaviours, ensuring a consistent and informed approach. Targeted Training: We are proactively supporting staff development through courses, including the Developing Racial Literacy course, facilitated by Education Scotland and the Digi Discourse program by TIE (The Inclusive Education). These are vital in supporting staff to effectively address contemporary and pressing issues such as racism and misogyny with young people. Crucially, our local anti-bullying policy is being refreshed to align with the new national guidance (2024). The timing of this policy update will coincide with Anti-Bullying Week, ensuring that our local practices reflect the latest national standards and a preventative, rights-based approach. This integrated approach, combining policy alignment, enhanced professional development along with focused pupil engagement, demonstrates our commitment to meeting the goals outlined in the national anti-bullying strategy and creating a culture where all young people feel safe, respected and included. 4.6 Improving Attendance Attendance at school remains a priority for all establishments. Data is monitored closely and focuses on key cohorts of pupils each month. This allows for the identification of trends and areas of need. Our detailed analysis demonstrates improvement in all aspects measured compared to the same period last year. In comparison to average attendance figures for the end of September 2024 to end of September 2025, attendance rates have improved by 1%. This increase reflects the collective ownership of Education Staff and Leaders in ensuring consistent approaches to recording, monitoring and pupil support.
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The gap between our Care Experienced (CE) pupils and their peers remains unsatisfactory. It is recognised there will be stories behind these statistics and supports in place. However, as Corporate Parents, our ‘ask’ of schools is that they focus on the following: 1. Knowing who their CE pupils are and what their attendance patterns are; 2. Reviewing and ensuring support plans reflect attendance interventions; 3. Establishing or maintaining systems of monitoring and tracking these. It is our intention as an authority to continue with our Attendance Improvement Plan this session, focussing on our Care Experienced pupils, those most disengaged in learning and who have Interrupted Learning. (Appendix 1 School Pupil Attendance Report 2024-25 Sept) 4.7 Children Going Missing or Absconding from School Guidance entitled Pupils Going Missing or Absconding from Educational Establishments has been developed to establish a clear and consistent protocol for staff when managing two distinct situations: instances where a pupil is discovered to be missing during the school day and cases where a pupil absconds in the presence of staff. The guidance is designed to minimise ambiguity during potentially highly stressful situations by providing explicit procedures, defined lines of responsibility and practical actions to ensure an appropriate and proportionate response. Its implementation strengthens our duty of care towards children and young people, promotes a coordinated and trauma-informed approach across educational settings and supports timely, safe, proportionate and effective multi-agency intervention where required. (Appendix 2 – Flowchart) 5. People Implications 5.1 There are no people implications as a direct result of this report. However, it should be noted that in line with the recommendations in the ASN Review we must ensure we have a well-trained, high-quality workforce who are equipped to support the range of needs and rights of our children and young people. 6. Financial and Procurement Implications 6.1 The projected additional funding required for the learning estate expansion has been approved and planned for in current and future budgets. 7. Risk Analysis 7.1 If the Council is unable to ensure appropriate support to children and young people, we will not be meeting their needs under the terms of the Children and Young People Act 2014 (Equalities Act 2010).
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7.2 If the Council is unable to ensure appropriate support for all children, young people and staff this could result in reputational damage. 8. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 8.1 As noted in the previously produced Equalities Impact Assessment, the ASN strategy and subsequent supports and guidance developed will enhance the quality of the service provided to all children, young people and staff and therefore can be seen to have a positive impact in terms of the equalities. 9. Consultation 9.1 Legal Services and the Section 95 Officer have been consulted in relation to the content of this report. 10. Strategic Assessment 10.1 This report reflects the Council’s aspiration to reduce inequalities for the people of West Dunbartonshire. Gillian Hamilton Chief Education Officer 11 November 2025 Person to Contact: Claire Cusick, Senior Education Officer Services for Children and Young People E-mail: claire.cusick@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Wards Affected: All Wards Appendices: App.1 School Pupil Attendance Report 2024-25 May App.2 Flowchart