Enquire continues to help hundreds of parents navigate the additional support for learning landscape.
Between April and June 2023, the Enquire helpline team responded to 433 enquiries from across 29 Scottish local authority areas. Of these enquiries, the majority (89%) came from parents.
Why do families contact us?
The most common reason for families contacting the helpline continues to be concerns about their child’s support (54%). This was closely followed by calls relating to relationship and communication issues between home and school.
Most common areas of advice
The top three areas of advice covered by our helpline staff continue to be related to autistic children (54%), anxiety (20%) and those with ADHD / ADD (18%).
In addition, a quarter of all enquiries related to children and young people who were currently out of school. In these enquiries, the most common themes were school-related anxiety and communication with professionals. A significant number of parents and carers with children and young people currently out of school highlighted concerns around out of school education provision (27%). A similar percentage questioned the understanding of their child’s additional support needs.
Success rate
The team continue with an impressive success rate. Of those who provided initial feedback following engagement with our helpline team, 100% stated they felt they had a better understanding of their child’s rights, they felt supported and listened to and that they felt more confident communicating with professionals.
Mark Patterson, Senior Information and Advice Officer commented:
“We continue to hear from a lot of parents looking for help understanding their child’s rights and how to get their child the support they need at nursery and school.
“Often when people reach out to Enquire they are worried, meaning stress and anxiety levels can be high. There can be frustrations on all sides, especially when communication has broken down.
“Our helpline team take time to listen and talk through concerns. We have a real focus on helping everyone work together towards positive relationships. It’s a testament to the team’s empathy and knowledge, that parents who speak to us feel better informed, supported and, crucially, know what steps they can take next.”
Lunchtime Listen: Working Together Join us for our first Lunchtime Listen on Wednesday 30 August, themed around working together. Designed for parents, carers and professionals this free, 30-minute session will consider the importance of relationship building when planning and delivering support for learning, and what to do when disagreements arise. Click here to find out more and book