Gloriously Ordinary Sundays - 25th January 2026

Language matters. I know you know that, or you wouldn’t be reading this. All the ‘wonky words’, as Isaac Samuels says, or the ‘Words that make me go Hmmm’ as Bryony Shannon writes about. The words we use with and about people that fail Test Two because they are absolutely NOT words we’d use in our kitchen with family or in the café or pub with our friends.

I stumbled upon a new one for me last week, ‘additional support needs’. I think the ‘additional needs’ one has made it onto my radar, along with ‘special educational needs’, of course, but I picked this new one up in a post on social media that described an event around ‘inclusion and ASN’, so I had to dig deeper.

Turns out that it’s a Scottish definition, and the equivalent to our (equally wonky) ‘special educational needs and disabilities’

AI tells me that,

‘Additional support needs (ASN) refer to extra or different help required by children, young people, or adults to overcome barriers to learning or access services. These needs can stem from disability, health conditions, family circumstances, or social/emotional factors, lasting for short or long periods. Key support includes classroom adaptations, specialized staff, or tailored communication.’

So, there are two things here for me. Firstly, what does it even mean? Is that definition clear to you? Is your kid ‘ordinary’ or do they have ‘additional support needs’? At what point does a need become additional?

So many words that we use just don’t make any sense.

Additional support needs

Special Educational Needs

Challenging Behaviour

Complex needs

Hard to reach

We nod sagely and say, ‘Oh, they have challenging behaviour’ but what does that even mean?

The reason we use these words is to make it clear where the problem lies – it’s your problem, not ours.

I came across ‘additional support needs’ because it was used in the context of advertising an event about Inclusion in schools, and that took me down the rabbit hole, as how we educate our kids is my absolute passion (have a read of my other blogs around inclusive education - The power of all our children going to school, Segregating and ‘othering’ children - gloriously ordinary?, and This one's all about identity.).

If we’re talking about inclusion, then we’re talking about inclusion.

EVERYONE.

All means all.  

Isn’t it rather counterintuitive to first categorise the ‘types’ of children who we need to think about including, before we work out how we are going to include them? Isn’t education about figuring out the best possible way of making sure that children (all children) get to learn, to grow alongside each other, figuring out this wonderful world of ours?

As Marsha Forest was known to say, ‘What part of all don’t you understand?’

I’m left-handed, and in the 1970s, in a little (progressive) village primary school, I was lucky that it only meant I had to try and learn (fail) how not to smudge my books using a fountain pen. My mum and Dad were both left-handed, and going to school in the 1930s meant they both had their left hands tied behind their backs in an attempt to cure them of their additional need.

I think my point is at what point does any need in education (or in life) become additional? I had a look at the government stats, and apparently, in England, over 1.7 million school pupils (19.6% of all pupils) were identified as having Special Educational Needs (SEN) as of January 2025, which is nearly one in five pupils.

As of December 2025, 299,445 children in Scotland are identified as having additional support needs (ASN), representing 43.0% of all pupils. This figure has more than doubled over the past decade.

How much higher does the percentage need to get before we catch ourselves and recognise that’s potentially every child?  Before the tipping point reminds us that actually, education (as we currently set it up) doesn’t work for the majority of children?

There was a fabulous campaign as part of World Down Syndrome Day in 2017 that I often use, which challenges the idea of any need of being special and reminds us that,

‘What we really need is education, jobs, opportunities, friends and some love. Just like everyone else. Are these needs really special?’

Excellent point well made.

#NOTSPECIALNEEDS.

JUST HUMAN NEEDS

PS. Did you see? The Gloriously Ordinary Sundays Podcast episode 14 is here. You'll hear that I am absolutely thrilled to introduce you all to the lovely ⁠⁠⁠Marianne Selby-Boothroyd⁠⁠⁠, who's joining the Gloriously Ordinary Lives team... that's right, the Gloriously Ordinary Lives team! How exciting is that? Have a listen, and we'd love to hear what you think!