Coordinated Support Plan (CSP)

A CSP is Scotland's statutory support plan, and it is deliberately narrow. To qualify, a child needs significant support from the education authority Local authority Your local council. In England, Wales and Scotland, this is the body you ask to assess what extra help your child needs. Read the full definition of Local authority plus at least one other service, such as health or social work, and the needs must be expected to last a year or more. Most children in Scotland with additional support needs Additional support needs The term used in Scotland when a child needs extra support to get the most from school. A disability counts, but so do things like bereavement or being a young carer. Read the full definition of Additional support needs will never have one, and their support comes through other plans instead.

A CSP is not the Scottish version of an EHCP EHCP A legal document, used in England, that sets out a child's needs and the support they must get. It is for children who need more help than their school can give on its own. Read the full definition of EHCP . The tests are different, so English advice about EHCPs does not carry over. Knowing the difference before you ask puts you in a stronger position.

You have a legal right to ask the education authority to assess whether your child needs a CSP. If the answer is no, your child can still get real support through a child's plan Child's Plan In Scotland, a plan for a child who needs extra support from more than one service. It is not set out in law, so it does not carry the enforceable rights some other plans do. Read the full definition of Child's Plan or an individualised educational programme, and you can challenge the decision.