The Additional Support for Learning (Co-ordinated Support Plan) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2010

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Additional Support for Learning (Co-ordinated Support Plan) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2005 (“the principal Regulations”). The principal Regulations prescribe the form and content of a co-ordinated support plan for a child or young person with additional support needs for the purposes of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. They also prescribe time limits and exceptions to such limits for the preparation and review of a plan, arrangements for keeping the plan, arrangements regarding the transfer of a plan to another education authority, arrangements for the disclosure without explicit consent of the plan to specified persons or in specified circumstances and arrangements for the discontinuance, retention and destruction of a plan.

Regulation 3 inserts new regulation 4A into the principal Regulations to provide a time limit of 8 weeks for the education authority to respond to a request to establish whether a child or young person requires a plan unless it is impractical to do so for the reason given in regulation 4A(2).

Regulation 4 inserts new regulation 5A into the principal Regulations to provide a time limit of 4 weeks to respond to a request for an early review of a plan unless it is impractical to do so when a time limit of 12 weeks applies. Failure to meet those timescales is to be treated as a refusal to carry out an early review.

Regulation 5 inserts new regulation 6A into the principal Regulations. Regulation 6A provides for the circumstances in which, a parent or young person who has made a placing request to an education authority other than the one which is responsible for the education of the parent’s child or young person must tell that education authority of those matters. If notification is received before the placing appeal has been finally determined by the potential host authority, an appeal committee or a sheriff, or before a refusal by an appeal committee to confirm a reference to it has been appealed to the sheriff, the parent or young person must advise the potential host authority of the matter. When the potential host authority receives notification of the matter, it must advise the appeal committee or sheriff, if appropriate, of that matter and that the appeal must be forthwith transferred to the Tribunal. Regulation 6A(3) provides that the education authority must also inform the parent or young person that, if they make any future placing requests to a potential host authority, they should inform the potential host authority of that matter. Regulation 6A(4) and (5) provide for the circumstances in which an education authority which makes a relevant decision must inform a parent or young person about their right to appeal to the Tribunal.

Regulation 6 inserts new regulation 9A into the principal Regulations to provide for the transfer of the co-ordinated support plan following a successful placing request to the authority to which the request was made.

Regulation 7 amends regulation 11 to provide that an education authority may inform the parents of a child or a young person, as appropriate, that a plan which has been discontinued in accordance with regulation 11(1)(a) or (b) has been destroyed.