Stressed Midlothian mum on 'filling the gap' for son with additional needs

A Midlothian mum has called out inadequate primary school support for her son with additional support needs (ASN) and spoken of the “stress” it creates at home.

Annie Wysock’s oldest son has attended Roslin Primary since January of 2023 and has ADHD, ASD, and dyspraxia.

The 40-year-old, a lecturer at Queen Margaret University, said her son’s needs are not properly addressed at school, prompting Annie and her husband to fill the gap by teaching him math and reading at home.

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The Midlothian Council assured it has “effective systems, processes and policies in place to support the needs of all children across the region.” Officials said their schools are visited by an educational psychologist “to work with staff, pupils and families” and that pupils receive “bespoke support for each school from the ASN team, based on need."

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Annie said: “In terms of resources offered to my son, there’s really nothing. There is one learning support teacher for the whole school’s P1-7 children. And there is only one educational psychologist for Midlothian Council schools. They’re definitely under-resourced.

“The school says there is universal support in each classroom, but if a child is struggling with needs, they’re not getting an individualised approach.”

The mum said she and her husband end up taking on their son’s learning at home to fill the gap. They try to provide individualised support with reading and math “because they can’t at school.”

But she said this process “creates stress at the home environment”.

Annie said: “He’ll shut down or stonewall, he gets so upset. He challenges us so much. It’s creating a lot of difficulty and contention at home.

“We do what we can as parents because we feel we need to support him but we can't, and school can't either, which is a really difficult thing to take on.”

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Annie is from Illinois and worked in special education in the United States. She said the difference in support for students with additional needs is “night and day.”

She added: “When I was in the States working in the special education system, every school had at least one school psychologist. You had social workers in the school, occupational therapists, physical therapists.

“My son would’ve had an educational psychology evaluation and been getting support from special education teachers as well. It’s night and day when comparing resources available in the States versus here.”

Annie maintained the school and staff are not at fault - instead blaming a perceived underfunding and understaffing.

She said: “I get that the schools have their hands tied. I don’t blame the teachers or school, they just don’t have the resources.”

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A Midlothian Council spokesman said: “The school is not aware of any complaints from a parent about ASN provision for their son. If the parent would like to contact the school, the head teacher will be happy to arrange a meeting.

“In terms of Additional Support Needs for children across Midlothian, each school has a link educational psychologist who regularly visits the school to work with staff, pupils and families, with parents’ permission, and there is bespoke support for each school from the ASN team, based on need.

“Midlothian has effective systems, processes and policies in place to support the needs of all children across the region, and these gained positive feedback during a recent HMI inspection.”