Moving to Edinburgh – any great primary/secondary schools for autistic kids?

[MamaMeesh]

Hi all,

We’re looking at moving up to Edinburgh from England and I’m trying to get my head round schools up there. I’ve got two boys (7 and 4), both autistic – eldest would be going into primary/early secondary soon, youngest still in early years.
I’m basically looking for tips from parents who’ve been there, done it. Which primaries and secondaries in Edinburgh are genuinely good with SEN/ASN kids? I’d love to know:

• Where the good support is
• Any primaries that naturally feed into a supportive high school
• Smaller/nurturing schools or ones with strong communication with parents
• Any areas worth focusing on for house-hunting

I’m totally new to the Scottish system so any advice on how applications/EHCP equivalents work would be brilliant too.
Would just love to hear your experiences – what’s worked for your autistic kids, what to avoid, and any hidden gems.
Thanks so much!

EHCPs do not exist here in the same way. CSPs exist but are far rarer (<1% compared to >5%). I think you will find the system quite an adjustment.

From your post, I assume you are looking at mainstream? In my experience, due to the lack of EHCPs, it’s parents who shout the loudest and show persistence in communication that get their child’s needs met. I’ve heard this of Boroughmuir, Broughton, and Craigmount. As for primaries, I’ve heard good things about ASN provision at Sciennes.

For your information, roughly 25% of school places in Edinburgh are private, so that might be another significant change to what you are used to. From the private sector, I’ve heard good things about ASN provision at St George’s (all girls, so not for you) and Clifton Hall (a bit of a drive out of town).

Some of the Edinburgh schools used to have ASD hubs but I’m not sure that they still do. I hate to say it but Scottish education is in a terrible state just now and virtually all children just get lumped in mainstream schools and are expected to get on with it.

Does your older child have any particular needs that he got help with in England?

Major problems in Scottish education system at moment (as there are in English + Welsh system)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2xr243eryo

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/feb/06/scotland-schools-pupil-violence-increase

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/15369352/terrified-school-staff-claim-8-in-10-teachers-have-been-threatened-with-weapon-in-school/

@MamaMeesh honestly, if you’ve gone through the fight to get an EHCP which is legally enforceable, and your dc are well supported, I’d have a think about moving carefully. I’ve got two autistic dc and we had years of inadequate support, as have many parents (not all) in the same situation.

no, there are no schools i could think of here where you’d be able to guarantee a level of legally enforceable support.

thank you :) my youngest has an EHCP and is currently in mainstream reception but we are waiting for him to get a place at a special needs school local to us. and my eldest has no EHCP and currently attends mainstream he is year 3. i actually was looking at Sciennes.🙂

A few years ago we were set to move to Edinburgh for work from the UK but decided against it after speaking to some other parents and some SEN charities. There was no way the provision our child was in could be matched in the city, the places for something similar were tiny and we had no chance of accessing them, and in the nicest possible way friends said to us they'd advise against the move.

oh really? iv'e heard that that Scottish education system is better than England as autistic children get the help they need in a mainstream setting rather than struggling. but i guess its the same as England then!
My eldest has no EHCP and he has gone to a mainstream school where they have made "reasonable adjustments" so far for him. For example:

• eats by himself in the SEN-co's office as he can't eat around other people
• wears ear Deffenders in class if it is too noisy
• doesn't attend music lesson or singing assembly due to noise
• Let him ham a chew toy for chewing during lessons
• he doesn't have to wear a shirt a tie, can still wear polo ( with no buttons) and jumper as he has sensory issues around clothes.

oh wow really. thats interesting. My sons school have been good with him so far and he doesn't have an EHCP they have just made the adjustments for him as and when we have asked or if he needs it.
My youngest has an EHCP and attends the same school in reception whilst we wait for a place in a special needs school for him as his needs are a lot more complex and too complex for mainstream school in the long run.

My husband and I want to move as we will have more friends and family around us in Edinburgh. But its moving the kids school which has always made me say no. arghh its a tough one.

Can you afford private if it comes to it? The behaviour control in private schools is a lot better, making for a calmer atmosphere.

You might want to phone Edinburgh council to find out the process for getting a special school place here, and some charities in this space.

I’ve heard it can take years to get a special place. depending on the primary, from your list for your older one, eating separately could be impossible due to no staff. My dc couldn’t stay in at break because there were no staff at all that could facilitate that. So you’d want to phone any primary and check that.

it is a tough one as Scotland in general I’ve found to be accepting and inclusive of autistic dc and friends and family matter too.

There’s very, very limited opportunity for special schools - they cut provision massively and my friend’s son is still in a mainstream hub for high school despite being non verbal and having various other challenges. The hub placement came after a massive fight for over a year.

I have actually heard problematic things about Sciennes as it’s so popular so they are at capacity and it’s very busy.

I have never lived in England but I am raising an autistic daughter in edinburgh and have been relatively impressed with the support she is receiving. You don’t need a diagnosis for support (which is helpful as we are years into the waitlist with no actual date for an assessment). The planning meetings aren’t about a diagnosis, it’s about the support needed for the child to thrive. So there are little adjustments she’s had to help her - I’m not sure about the list you’ve provided but the uniforms in primary schools are fairly relaxed in general anyway so that part should be fine.

My daughter is in high school now and it’s really difficult for her. Really overwhelming and loads of disruptive behaviour. Everything is crowded and tiring. She’s okay but it has been a rough year and she’s the typical female autistic who masks hard and can fake it through almost anything - but she’s had some wobbles now and again.

However from what friends have said the provision for support within edinburgh is miles ahead of East Lothian, Fife, Midlothian etc so probably worth staying within the city.

did you know about flexi schooling? Another friend of mine is flexi schooling their autistic son and finding it really helpful. Obviously a massive commitment but it’s keeping him in school, just on a part time basis. If this is an option for you with work it might be worth considering.

the cahms waitlists are endless so I don’t know how that compares to England but you’ll want to consider private therapy etc if you are currently receiving anything like that.

The description of the reasonable adjustments made for your eldest make me think Clifton Hall would be a good fit for him. You would definitely need to speak with the council education office before committing to any state school.

For your youngest, it sounds like a CSP might be a possibility given how hard it can be to get an EHCP by the start of Reception. I’d ring up the special schools (if you’re thinking Sciennes for your eldest, maybe Braidburn?) and see if they would have you to visit or meet with someone before starting the application process to get an idea of whether it’s a possibility.

I think the myth of the Scottish system being “good” for ASN comes from the fact that the assessment benchmarks are more inclusively worded (and spirited), but the resources just are not there to provide for individuals. Also, as said up thread, EHCPs ensure much stronger protections for meeting needs and give parents a stronger hand.

thank you for your reply. this sounds great about autistic kids getting help diagnosis or not. It kinda seems like the other way here. You don't start getting help or taking seriously until you receive a diagnosis and then ontop of that an EHCP.
We talked about flexi schooling as an option as i'm in a situation where we have our own business so i can be at home with the kids and my husband can work. So that is good to know! x

thank you, i will give the council a call.

To be honest it sounds the same here too. You have non verbal children on waiting lists to get into special needs schools whilst they struggle in mainstream or who Are not in school at all waiting it out. There are more and more special needs children then school places for them sadly. I think its the same case in England and Scotland by the sounds of it.

And my eldest has only started to eat lunch on his own this year (year3) as there is now a teacher who he can sit with. he eats with her and then goes out to play. I know in his previous years he went a lunch club but still struggles being around other peoples food sadly and it took for him to no eat at school for a whole term for them to set up his new lunch situation.

It sounds like you will benefit from the friends and family help and have compelling reasons to move, and then it’s a question of trying to assemble the best school support you can after that factor. In reality, friends and family can make the most difference over and above school systems. Good luck @MamaMeesh edinburgh certainly is a lovely place.

the general questions aren’t really answerable and neither do they matter, certainly we’ve family in England with EHCPs who’ve had better support than we could access but there is so much variation. We did find though (as have others) that schools here can downgrade support year to year if they perceive your child no longer needs it as much as other children.

in any system given the constraints it’s always a fight, that’s guaranteed!

I have an ASD (she has been formally diagnosed but only recently) p2 child in Edinburgh. I’d say that support is available and the adjustments you mentioned are similar to ones my dd has had. However, I’ve also found it difficult to arrange conversations with SLT and I’d say some schools are more pro active than others. I would also agree that you have to be persistent and vocal sometimes to ensure your child is getting support.

I have worked as a teacher in both Scotland and England and my personal view is the quality of education is better in England overall but that Scotland is probably better for my own child as there is less pressure academically from teachers and schools (this can be good or bad but for us it is ok).

There is a problem with behaviour everywhere and schools are putting out fires every day and often the non violent children who need support go to the back of the queue (hence me saying you need to be vocal).

Ive found the above to be true for my child even though she has been in a well behaved school/class.

Also I’m happy to give you more specific info on schools in private message

iv'e heard that that Scottish education system is better than England as autistic children get the help they need in a mainstream setting rather than struggling.

oh how we laughed….

Ime it can be a real struggle. I’m from Edinburgh originally and know several families that have ended up homeschooling as provision just wasn’t there.

To get a CSP it is not enough to be struggling in mainstream, they need significant input from another service - basically the NHS. The NHS in Scotland is worse than in England with waiting lists years long. Only 0.2% of children have a CSP. They also are not comparable to ECHPs in terms of provision.

I see private schools have been mentioned. Non-specialist private schools can be good for bright kids who need a quieter controlled environment and limited extra support (eg a couple of sessions in support for learning each week). They are not designed to take kids who need a higher level of support. Independent specialist schools are generally not affordable for anyone not extremely wealthy.

The SNP have ruined Scottish education. GIRFET (getting it right for every child) has failed as it prioritises children with bad behaviour over the victims.

Also ASN (which is Scottish version of SEN provision) is not good.

If I could move to England I would. I have a severely autistic non verbal non toilet trained son with development issues. He's in an ASN base but they are stretched v v thin. I do not want him to go to mainstream but noises are being made about it. How that would work I do not know. He pulls his trousers down constantly, smears poo, kicks, hits. If I was richer I'd home school him. I think when he goes to secondary school I probably will have to. I will NOT be voting SNP next year and I hope a lot of people follow. They've made so many catastrophic mistakes since being in power such is in education and allowing third party ideologists too much power in schools and have ruined things. All my teacher friends are in despair yet hands are tied. Complain to the council, they blame the government. Complain to the government they blame the council.

I was interviewing S1s at a secondary the other week as part of my job as I work in public sector and two of the teachers had what I felt to be highly inappropriate badges pinned to their shirts. One sexually suggestive the other political. Female teachers as well. NO WAY would that have been permitted when I was at school in the late 90s early 00s. I was quite shocked as this was one of the better schools. So even ones that don't have violence and bullying and behavioural issues, they have other things wrong.

advice re child going to primary next session sen support . Roseburn or st cu

Looking at Roseburn vs St Cuthbert’s .