We use cookies on our website to track and enhance your user experience. For more information or to update your cookie settings, please refer to our cookie policy.

AcceptDecline
Skip to Content

Special education schools

Children in Scotland with additional support needs can receive education in three formats: education in mainstream school, education in a special education school, or flexible provision with a mixed approach. Some special education schools are independently run, often by charities, and the education authority may pay for a child to attend one of these. 

Number of ASN schools

In 2022, there were 109 ASN (Additional Support Needs) schools in Scotland with 7,821 pupils enrolled. Of these, 106 schools were non-denominational with 7,572 pupils enrolled, and three schools were Roman Catholic with 249 pupils enrolled.

In Glasgow City Region there were 22 ASN schools with 1,551 pupils enrolled: 19 schools were non-denominational with 1,302 pupils enrolled and three were Roman Catholic with 249 pupils enrolled. Glasgow City was the only local authority across Scotland to have a Roman Catholic special school.

Pupil Profile 

Age 

In 2022, over half (59%) of all pupils enrolled at a special school in Glasgow City Region were in secondary stage of education (i.e. age 12+years). There were no children aged four years in special schools in Glasgow City, and data for 18-19 year olds was suppressed due to potentially identifiable data.

Special School and Age

Gender 

In the same year, male pupils outnumbered female pupils in special schools across Scotland. This was also found in every local authority, with the exception of Dumfries and Galloway. In Glasgow City Region, almost three quarters (72%) of pupils enrolled in special schools were male and 28% female. Data was suppressed for six local authorities (Angus, East Lothian, Moray, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Borders, and Shetland). 

Support needs 

In 2022, almost all (1,548 out of 1,551) pupils enrolled in special schools in Glasgow City Region had additional support needs, the primary reasons being autism spectrum disorder (53%) and learning disability (51%). Two thirds (62%) of pupils enrolled in special schools in Glasgow City were assessed or declared as having a disability. This mirrors national figures.

Ethnicity 

In 2022, three quarters (79%) of pupils enrolled in special schools across Scotland were 'white British', 12% were 'minority ethnic' and 5% 'white other' with 4% reported as 'not known' or 'not disclosed'.

In the same year, two thirds (63%) of pupils enrolled at special schools in Glasgow City were white British, one quarter (26%) was minority ethnic, and 5% was white other. Across the other local authorities, East Renfrewshire and Aberdeen City had the highest proportion of minority ethnic pupils enrolled in special schools (29%, respectively) and Dumfries and Galloway had 100% white British pupils enrolled.

Local authority of residence 

There were clear trends in the proportion of pupils who were attending special schools out with their local authority of residence and the number of special schools in their local authority of residence.

For example, all pupils in Angus were attending special schools outside their local authority of residence, presumably because there were no special schools (or no available spaces) in Angus. While in Glasgow City, less than 1% of pupils who lived in Glasgow were attending special schools outside the city, potentially because there were 22 special schools operating in Glasgow. Due to supressed data, due to potentially identifiable information, it was not possible to report these trends across all local authorities.

English Language 

One third (35%) of pupils across all special schools in Scotland were reported to be new to English language. In Glasgow, 38% of pupils enrolled in special schools were new to English language. Data was suppressed for 20 of the 32 local authorities. From the data available, the proportion of pupils who were new to English was highest in West Lothian (89%). 

Free School Meals 

As of 2022, all special school pupils were eligible for free school meals.

Notes

Data is from the 2022 annual school pupil census, published by the Scottish Government in March 2023. Pupils with more than one additional need may appear multiple times. 

Page updated in June 2024.