Many children and young people with additional support needs are still currently learning at home due to coronavirus. For example, their year group may not have returned to school yet, or they may be following shielding guidance or have been advised by their doctor not to attend school.

In this section we will explain what your child’s school should be doing to support your child to continue with their education while they can’t be in school, how they should plan for when your child can return, and where you and your child can find some support during this time.

There are lots of measures in place to make sure it is as safe as possible when the time comes for your child to attend school or nursery. Currently, all pre-school children in early learning and childcare settings, and all children in P1-P3, are back to their full normal hours of in person learning. A limited number of pupils in S4-S6 are able to attend school part time, if they need to complete essential practical work for their national qualifications that they cannot do at home.

The next phase of reopening schools is currently planned for 15 March. From this date, all primary school children will return to school full time. All high school pupils will have a phased return to school, with some time spent learning in school and some time being supported to learn remotely at home. Pupils in S4 to S6 taking national qualifications will be given priority for face-to-face lessons in school.

The final phase of reopening schools is currently planned for after the Easter break. It is hoped by that stage all pupils will return to full time in school learning.

All current plans for reopening schools are subject to review, and may need to change depending on the prevalence of coronavirus in Scotland. The Scottish Government will keep the situation under review, and your child’s school should update you with what is happening when they know more. We will also update these pages of our website as new information comes to light.

In this section, we will answer questions about health and safety, and the support your child should be getting once they are attending school or nursery again. Our answers are all based on Scottish Government guidance.

If you have a question that we have not answered in the sections below, or if you have other concerns about returning to school or nursery, please get in touch with our helpline. We will listen to your concerns and do our best to answer any questions you may have.

In this section, we will explain how coronavirus might affect your child’s learning support plan, whether they are back at school or nursery full time, attending part time, or still learning remotely from home.

We’ll also explain your and your child’s rights if they have a co-ordinated support plan (CSP), or you think they need one.

During coronavirus, some changes have been made to timescales for responding to placing requests and the way that education appeal committees and the Additional Support Needs Tribunal operate. This section summarises these changes.

In this section we have summarised some of the key information we know so far about exams and course assessments in 2020/21 and how these will be affected by coronavirus.

Coronavirus has had a big impact on the lives of all children and young people, including their learning. Some pupils will have found learning at home, and returning to school, easier than others. Schools are aware of this, and they should be working to understand where your child is at with their learning, what help they need to get back on track, and offering them that support.

If you are worried your child still needs more or different support to help them catch up, you can speak to the school. For more information about how to do this, see our coronavirus webpage on Working together with your child’s school or nursery during coronavirus.

In this section we will explain how you can continue to work together with your child’s school or nursery while there are still some restrictions in place due to coronavirus, including changes to how meetings about your child’s support might happen.

Most of Scotland is currently being asked to stay at home, often referred to as a ‘lockdown’. As Scotland starts to come out of lockdown, the Scottish Government have set out 5 coronavirus protection levels (0 - 4) that can be used nationally or locally, depending on the prevalence of the virus across Scotland. You can find out what level your local area is in on the Scottish Government website below.

Your child’s education and support for learning may be affected in different ways, depending on what the coronavirus protection level is in your local area. Different local authorities will have different measures in place for keeping their pupils and staff safe. As well as the local protection levels, these measures may vary because of things like the size and layout of particular schools, and how pupils need to travel to and from school in your area.

Schools, nurseries and local authorities should be doing their best to update parents on local developments and plans for your child’s education and support. It may be helpful to start by looking at your local authority’s website for updates if you are not sure what is happening in your area. If your child’s school has a website or newsletter it may be helpful to check these too. If you are not able to find the information you are looking for, get in touch with the school.