Space matters: creating inclusive learning spaces for pupils with additional support needs (ASN) in Scotland

Abstract With the policy to integrate as many young people as possible into mainstream education, schools and local authorities across Scotland endeavour to create the best conditions for learning and support the needs of all learners. As increased awareness of the importance of well-designed, agile learning spaces evolves, there is ongoing investment in new buildings and renovation work, and in furniture and fittings, albeit in a context of high energy and construction prices. Interviews with 14 educators in different roles at four inner-city schools (Early Years, primary, secondary, special) explored their experiences of co-designing and adapting learning spaces with assistance from a local interior designer, particularly focused on pupils with additional support needs (ASN). The findings reveal tangible adaptations of indoor and outdoor learning environments and tools that influence a pupil’s ability to regulate emotional response and to engage with learning tasks, across different learner ages and building types. The findings also foreground the need to embrace space and spatial literacy as a crucial pedagogical approach in inclusive education, relevant for all learners, not only ASN pupils.