Enquire Scotland ASN and the Support Network You Should Know About

When you're in the middle of a dispute with an education authority, or simply trying to understand why your child isn't getting the support they need, knowing who to call is not a trivial thing. Scotland has a genuinely strong network of ASN support organisations — funded by the Scottish Government and by legal aid — but most parents only discover them after months of struggling alone.

This is the guide to that network: who each organisation is, what they actually do, and — critically — when to use each one.

Enquire: The Starting Point for Most Parents

Enquire is Scotland's national advice and information service for additional support for learning. It is funded by the Scottish Government and provides impartial, expert advice on the ASN system — free of charge.

The Enquire helpline number is 0345 123 2303. It is staffed by people who understand the ASL Act 2004, the CSP framework, staged intervention, and the dispute resolution process in detail. They are not a complaints body and they don't have the power to force education authorities to act, but what they provide is genuinely valuable: clear advice on what your rights are, what the relevant legislation says, and what your next steps should be.

Enquire also provides a webchat service and a comprehensive online information library covering everything from how to request a CSP assessment to how to navigate an ASN Tribunal reference.

When to contact Enquire: At any point. If you're unsure whether your child qualifies for a formal assessment, if you don't understand what a CSP is or whether your child should have one, if you want to know how to write a formal letter to the education authority — Enquire is the right first call. They will point you to the right next step whether that's informal advice, mediation, or legal representation.

Let's Talk ASN / Govan Law Centre: Free Legal Representation

Let's Talk ASN is a national advocacy and legal representation service run by the Govan Law Centre in partnership with Barnardo's Scotland. This is one of the most significant free services available to Scottish ASN families — and one of the least well-known.

The Govan Law Centre's Education Law Unit provides expert legal advice, advocacy support, and direct legal representation at the ASN Tribunal for parents and young people in high-level disputes. This includes:

• Legal advice on your rights under the ASL Act
• Support preparing formal letters and evidence
• Advocacy representation at mediation and adjudication
• Full legal representation at the ASN Tribunal

This is free. The Govan Law Centre can be reached at 0800 043 0306. Their website (govanlawcentre.org) also provides a library of template letters — including a template for requesting an ASN assessment that explicitly cites Sections 6 and 8A of the ASL Act — which parents can download and adapt.

When to contact Govan Law Centre: When you are in a formal dispute with your education authority. If the authority has refused a CSP assessment, failed to respond within statutory timelines, issued a CSP you believe is inadequate, or refused a placing request for a specialist school — these are the situations where legal representation at Tribunal is needed and where Govan Law Centre's expertise is directly applicable. Don't wait until you're one week from a Tribunal hearing. Contact them as early in the dispute as possible.

My Rights My Say: For Children Aged 12-15

My Rights My Say is a dedicated service for children and young people between the ages of 12 and 15. Following the Education (Scotland) Act 2016, children in this age group gained independent rights under the ASL Act — including the ability to independently request ASN assessments, initiate placing requests, and bring references to the ASN Tribunal.

My Rights My Say provides independent advocacy and legal representation specifically to support young people in exercising these rights. They ensure the young person's own views are formally heard in ASN assessments and Tribunal proceedings.

When to contact My Rights My Say: When the young person themselves wants to exercise their rights independently, or when their perspective is being overlooked in the process. Secondary-aged pupils often have strong views about their educational placement and support arrangements that should be part of the formal record.

Resolve ASN Mediation: Early-Stage Disputes

Resolve ASN Mediation (managed by Children in Scotland) provides independent, free mediation between parents and education authorities. Mediation is a voluntary, confidential process — a neutral mediator facilitates dialogue to help both sides reach agreement without formal legal proceedings.

Education authorities have a statutory duty to make mediation available under the ASL Act. It is not something you have to pay for or fight to access.

When to use mediation: In the early stages of a dispute, before positions become entrenched and before formal Tribunal proceedings are initiated. Mediation is most effective when the fundamental issue is a breakdown in communication or a misunderstanding of what support is available — rather than a case where the education authority is systematically failing to meet a clear legal duty. If the authority has refused a CSP assessment in apparent contravention of the law, mediation is unlikely to resolve that — a Tribunal reference may be more appropriate.

Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance: Find a Local Advocate

The Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance (SIAA) is an umbrella organisation that helps parents locate independent advocacy services within their specific education authority area. An advocate can accompany you to meetings with the school or education authority, ensure your views are properly heard, and help you articulate your concerns clearly.

Unlike legal representatives, advocates do not give legal advice — but their presence at meetings often changes the dynamic significantly. Education authorities tend to communicate more carefully when they know the conversation is being observed by an independent professional.

Find a local advocate via the SIAA website (siaa.org.uk) using their "Find an Advocate" directory.

Condition-Specific Organisations

For families dealing with specific conditions, the condition-specific organisations carry expertise that general ASN services cannot replicate:

Dyslexia Scotland operates a dedicated helpline and provides expert guidance on literacy interventions, assistive technology, and how dyslexia-related needs should be identified and supported within Scotland's ASN framework. Their helpline can advise on what specific accommodations are appropriate and what to request from the school.

National Autistic Society Scotland provides education rights advice specifically for autistic pupils and their families, including guidance on placing requests for specialist provisions and how to navigate the Tribunal process. The NAS Scotland office can be particularly useful when families are in conflict with an education authority about mainstreaming versus specialist placement.

CALL Scotland (Communication, Access, Literacy and Learning) is a Scottish Government-funded centre based at the University of Edinburgh. CALL provides assessment services, assistive technology expertise, and guidance specifically around communication and literacy technology. If your child has communication needs or requires augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) support, CALL Scotland is the leading specialist resource in Scotland.

Scottish Sensory Centre supports pupils with visual or hearing impairments, providing resources and specialist advice for families and professionals.

Enable Scotland supports individuals with learning disabilities and their families, including education rights information and advocacy support.

How to Choose the Right Service

A practical decision framework:

• You need to understand your rights or the system better → Call Enquire (0345 123 2303)
• Your child is 12-15 and wants to exercise their own rights → Contact My Rights My Say
• You want independent support at a school meeting → Find a local advocate via SIAA
• You're in early-stage disagreement with the school → Try Resolve ASN Mediation
• You're in a formal dispute and need legal representation → Contact Govan Law Centre (0800 043 0306)
• Your child has autism and you're fighting for specialist provision → NAS Scotland
• Your child has dyslexia and the school isn't providing adequate literacy support → Dyslexia Scotland
• Your child needs communication or assistive technology assessment → CALL Scotland

None of these services are alternatives to each other — they serve different functions at different points in the process. Many families use Enquire for ongoing advice while simultaneously working with Govan Law Centre on a formal dispute.

The Scotland CSP & Additional Support Blueprint includes contact details, template letters for initial contact with each service, and a guide to building your evidence base before engaging with formal dispute resolution.

A Note on the Scale of What You're Navigating

Scotland has 32 education authorities with enormous variation in how well they implement the ASL Act. Audit Scotland's 2025 briefing found that about two-thirds of pupils identified as having ASN have no specific documented support plan. The number of legally binding CSPs has fallen to 1,215 — a record low — while ASN identification has risen 710% since 2007.

The support organisations listed here exist specifically because the system as designed does not reliably deliver what the law requires. Using them is not an admission of defeat or an aggressive act — it is what informed parents do to secure what their children are already legally entitled to.

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