How to Request an ASN Assessment in Scotland: The Formal Process

If you believe your child needs more support than their school is providing, you have a legal right to request a formal assessment of their Additional Support Needs. This right exists under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, regardless of whether your child has a diagnosis, regardless of what the school tells you about waiting lists, and regardless of budget pressures at the local council.

But there is a critical distinction to understand before you send anything: there are two different types of assessment request, and they trigger different statutory timelines and different outcomes. Getting clear on which one you need matters.

The Two Types of Assessment

Assessment for a Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP) is the formal, statutory route under Section 6 of the ASL Act. If you request this, the education authority has eight weeks to decide whether to proceed with a full assessment, and a total of sixteen weeks from your request to issue a CSP if they agree one is needed. Every decision they make at each stage generates a right of appeal to the ASN Tribunal if you disagree with it.

General needs assessment is a broader term covering the authority's ongoing duty under Section 4 of the ASL Act to identify and support ASN. Every education authority is required to keep every child's additional support needs under review. If they are failing to do this, you can put them on notice in writing that they are in breach of their statutory duty.

For most parents, the Section 6 formal request for CSP assessment is the more powerful lever — it triggers hard statutory deadlines and creates appeal rights at every stage. Unless the authority confirms in writing that your child has complex, multi-agency needs, they will typically refuse to issue a CSP at the end of the process. But even a refusal triggers an appeal right to the tribunal, which is exactly the point.

What Your Request Letter Must Include

A verbal request to the head teacher does nothing legally. The formal request must be in writing and directed to the correct department within the local council — typically the ASN or Inclusion team within Education Services, not the school.

A legally robust letter requesting a CSP assessment under Section 6 of the ASL Act should include:

1. An explicit statutory reference. State clearly in the opening paragraph that this constitutes a formal request under Section 6 of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. This is not optional — it is what triggers the statutory eight-week clock.

2. Your child's details. Full legal name, date of birth, and current school.

3. A description of the barriers to learning. You do not need a diagnosis. You need to describe the specific difficulties your child experiences in the learning environment. Frame this in educational terms: what your child cannot do independently, where they fall behind, what happens when support is withdrawn. Reference any existing IEP targets that are not being met.

4. Multi-agency involvement. Name any outside agencies involved with your child — NHS Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, CAMHS, or social work. The CSP threshold requires that the child's needs demand significant input from education and at least one other appropriate agency. Naming these agencies demonstrates that you understand the legal test.

5. Awareness of the deadline. Close the letter by noting that you expect a formal response within the eight-week statutory timeframe as set out in the ASL Act. This demonstrates you know your rights and are tracking the timeline.

Send it by recorded delivery and keep a copy. Email is acceptable but follow up with a paper copy if you don't receive an acknowledgement within five working days.

What Happens After You Send the Request

The education authority has eight weeks to respond in writing. They must either:

• Agree to carry out a full assessment for a CSP, or
• Refuse to assess, with written reasons.

If they agree to assess, the assessment period begins. The authority must consult with relevant agencies (NHS, social work etc.), gather evidence, and reach a decision within the sixteen-week total window. At the end, they either issue a CSP or refuse to do so — again in writing, again with reasons.

If they refuse at any point — refuse to assess, or assess and then refuse to issue the plan — you have a right to refer the matter to the ASN Tribunal. The reference must be lodged within two months of receiving their written refusal.

What If They Don't Respond?

Failure to respond within eight weeks is itself a breach of the statutory obligation. If you hit the eight-week mark without a decision, write again to the Director of Education noting that the statutory deadline has passed without a response and that you are treating the delay as a constructive refusal, which you are prepared to reference to the ASN Tribunal.

In practice, this kind of follow-up letter — one that demonstrates you know exactly what the law requires and are prepared to use it — often produces a response that informal communication never achieved.

The Scotland ASN Appeals Playbook includes template letters for each stage of the formal assessment and CSP request process, with the precise statutory language that signals to the authority that you are serious.

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