School staff ‘terrified for future’ of Moray’s Additional Support Needs (ASN) pupils following funding cut

SCHOOL staff are “terrified for the future” of Moray’s most vulnerable children, following news this week that Moray Council plans to drastically reduce the funding for Additional Support Needs (ASN) staff.

The announcement, made to staff on Tuesday, outlined Moray Council’s plans to drastically reduce the funding for pupil support assistants, which will result in job losses among school staff and reduce the amount of support available for children requiring ASN assistance to access education.

One Moray pupil support assistant, who preferred to stay anonymous, has been on a temporary contract at her school for more than three years and typically supports three or four pupils in each class she works in. She was told on Tuesday that the ASN hours at her school will be cut, despite what she says is an ever-increasing need for further pupil support and that all staff on temporary contracts will be at risk.

She said: “I was obviously very shocked and upset, as although I thought cuts may be coming, I thought my hours may be reduced, I had not been expecting to have no job at all to return to.

“This will have a huge impact on the ground and affect the pupils, and their education in the school system. School staff are facing more and more levels of needs, rising violence and Moray Council decide to reduce the number of staff in schools and classes.

“I have seen a rise in the level of support needed within classes over the years, with many more children requiring support. This includes things such as ADHD and autism, but also many children needing emotional support, or general assistance due to poor attainment. We also face much higher levels of violence within the school, and support staff are having to break up fights, sit with children outwith classes and support children if they have suffered violence.

“I'm not only heartbroken to be losing a job I love, where I support and nurture all these children, but I am terrified for the future that faces them and the impact this will have.”

It is unclear how many jobs are at risk, as the impact of the cuts vary across different schools, with some experiencing reductions while others have remained the same or increased. The reduced hours will be re-allocated to staff on permanent contracts where they are available, meaning some staff may need to be relocated to other schools to stay in line with their contractual hours. Any remaining hours will then be given to those on temporary contracts, who may need to reapply for positions they have held for years.

Moray Council have said that the decision to cut support staff follows a “considerable time” where staffing has remained unchanged across Moray, and that these allocations “no longer match the level of needs across schools nor take account of the context of each school.” They added that the responsibility for meeting the needs of pupils lies with the class teacher, supported, where necessary by support staff.

However, the pupil support assistant said she is concerned about the impact the removal of support staff will have on children and teachers, and that she has been left with “more questions than answers” about the cut.

She said: “I would really like to know what the plan is to support the children, as I don't think those who have made these cuts have realistically thought it through. It is 100 per cent going to have a negative effect on the service as a whole, our class teachers hugely rely on the support staff, with many of my teachers saying their PSAs are invaluable and they will struggle to do their job without this extra support.

“Teachers will have more piled on them, not having support within classes and it will be harder for teachers to give the level of support every individual needs. The children are the ones who are going to suffer the most due to this, and it is our most vulnerable children. They are not going to get the support they need and this will impact them socially, it will effect their emotional wellbeing and it will detrimentally affect their education.”

The concerns were echoed by Janis Donaldson, Branch Secretary of trade union Unison Moray, who have contacted Moray Council to ask that the plan is paused and have requested an urgent meeting about the job cuts. She explained: “The staff affected are additional support needs staff and we have concerns at the moment with the increase of violence and aggression within schools. We are concerned for the children and for the Pupil Support Assistants themselves, there are huge implications for this decision.”

Moray Council spokesperson said: “Support Staff allocations to schools have remained unchanged for a considerable time and no longer match the level of needs across schools nor take account of the context of each school. The responsibility for meeting the needs of pupils lies with the class teacher, supported, where necessary by support staff and across Moray we have staff who provide invaluable support on a daily basis.

“As part of the ASN review the Education team undertook a moderation exercise whereby they visited every establishment to ascertain the need, taking this information to then allocate resource. We are confident that allocations match the needs from the moderation evidence.

“It's the responsibility of Head Teachers and managers to manage any resource allocation to ensure that those children who require most support receive it and to review this as interventions in place across schools and settings have an impact. There are a range of supports available to schools and settings which includes training and development for staff.”