Planning your support
You have the right to be involved in planning your support at school.
However, if you don’t feel able to have your say at school, you have options. On this page you can find out more about different support plans and how to be involved in planning them.
Making a plan is an important part of making sure you get the right support. This is because they are a way of thinking and talking about how best to help you learn.
Plans are also there to help make sure your support is working and that the people who support you know how to do that in the best possible way.
Here are examples of different plans used for pupils in Scotland:
Personal Learning Plan (PLP)
Personal learning plans are a way of planning what and how you learn. They also assess your progress. They set on-going goals that should both reflect your strengths but also where you need to develop your learning. Regularly checking in with these goals can help make sure you’re achieving them and whether your support is working.
Individual Education Programme (IEP)
If you need a plan with more detail, then your school may create an Individualised Educational Programme (IEP) for you. These plans sometimes have different names, like an ‘Additional Support Plan’, ‘Support and Strategies Plan’ or ‘Wellbeing Assessment Plan’.
An IEP should set out all your additional support needs and the type of support you will be given.
Coordinated Support Plan (CSP)
If you need a lot of support from both your school and other people outside of school (like a social worker or a special nurse), you may be given a coordinated support plan.
A CSP helps to make sure all the people supporting you work well together and that they also know what’s going on with your support. A CSP is a legal document and tends to be for pupils who need support for more than a year.
Child’s Plan
You may have a Child’s Plan if you need extra support to help with your wellbeing. This plan is for children who need support from different adults from different services, such as health and your school. It’s part of the Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) approach. Making this plan should involve you.
Healthcare plan
If you have healthcare needs, then you may have a healthcare plan. This is used to set out your treatment and medication. If your healthcare needs mean you find it difficult to go to school or learn, you may also need a school healthcare plan. You would make this plan with the health staff that look after you.
What is advocacy?
If you feel like you need help to have your say in planning meetings, then an advocacy worker could help you. Find out more about what this means and how it can help in the video below:
Need help to have your say AT school?
Are you are aged 12-15 and having difficulty speaking to your school about support? If so, an organisation called My Rights, My Say can help!
You can contact them by hitting the button below.
More advice
Find out about your right to be involved in Support Planning Meetings and what to expect.
Read our top tips for having your say in your Support Planning Meetings.
Read about the different ways your school can support your learning.
Find out more about how to use your voice and get involved in decisions about your learning and support.
If you need additional support with your learning, there may be some technology or digital tools that could help.
Information about your options if you disagree with decisions being made about your support at school.