FamilyFX: The Family Reset System
Local support in Stirling

Additional support needs in Stirling: finding the right help

Stirling Council publishes school support and wellbeing information. NHS Forth Valley provides health services across Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire.

Sources checked 14 August 2026Next review 14 August 2027
An illustrated Stirling landscape with a winding river, patchwork fields, wooded crag and hilltop castle.
Stylised illustration representing the area's character, not an exact photograph of a landmark or service location.

How support is organised in Stirling

The Stirling council area reaches well beyond the city into smaller towns and rural communities. A plan may need to work across school, home, transport and appointments in different places. Start with the nursery or school and describe the part of learning or school life that is not accessible for the child.

Ask what can be changed now, what wider advice may be needed and when the response will be reviewed. Include the child's strengths, communication and what helps them recover. A useful plan supports participation across the whole day, not only completion of classroom work.

Stirling Council is the education authority. Its additional support needs and wellbeing section brings together information about support for learning, attendance, inclusion, exclusion, bullying and young carers. Schools remain the usual starting point and can involve council services through local planning.

NHS Forth Valley covers Stirling alongside Falkirk and Clackmannanshire. Regional health pathways do not transfer responsibility for education decisions away from Stirling Council. Enquire gives independent advice about additional support for learning throughout Scotland.

FamilyFX local support signals

The local picture in Stirling

This section maps the current health bodies serving this area and, where a comparable official measure is available, presents it alongside the national figure. It is not a rating of the area or the quality of an individual service.

Health

NHS boards for Stirling

Territorial NHS boards plan and provide many local health services in Scotland. A particular assessment or treatment may be delivered by another team or through a regional pathway.

NHS Forth ValleyCovers NHS Forth Valley areaVisit NHS board website

Urgent help

Urgent mental health help in Scotland

NHS inform guidance for urgent mental health support. Call 999 if life is at immediate risk.

Visit Urgent mental health help in Scotland

Local organisations and advice

Stirling Council

Covers Stirling

The council publishes additional support, wellbeing and inclusion information.

Visit website

NHS Forth Valley

Covers NHS Forth Valley area

The health board also covers Clackmannanshire and Falkirk.

Visit website

Enquire

Covers Scotland

Independent national advice about additional support for learning and education rights.

Visit website

NHS inform

Covers Scotland

Use current NHS inform guidance for urgent mental health help; call 999 if life is at immediate risk.

Visit website

Services and local pathways

Additional support for learning guidance

Scottish Government additional support for learning

Official Scottish Government guidance about additional support for learning.

Who it is for: Children and young people in Scotland who need extra help to benefit from education.

How to access it: Raise the concern with the nursery, school or education authority and use the official guidance to understand the framework.

Check current details

Enquire advice for families

Enquire

Independent advice for parents, carers, children and young people.

Who it is for: Parents, carers, children and young people in Scotland, as well as people supporting them.

How to access it: Read the guidance online or contact Enquire for advice about a specific education question.

Check current details

Practical next steps

Ask the school to write down what support happens in lessons, transitions and less structured periods. Identify the person coordinating it and agree a review date. If attendance has become difficult, ask the school to examine the barriers and adjustments rather than treating the attendance figure as the whole problem.

Where support involves travel from a rural community, check timing and sustainability before the arrangement begins. Keep the named NHS provider and council team separate in your record, then bring their actions together in one family chronology so that missed handovers are easier to spot.

Related FamilyFX help

Library articleSchool Support Scotland Wales Northern IrelandUse the correct Scottish education framework and terminology.Library articleSend Rights Scotland Wales Northern IrelandUnderstand how rights and formal plans differ across the UK.Library articleKeeping A Record For School And Gp MeetingsBuild a concise record for education and health conversations.
Help us strengthen this directory

Do you support SEND families in Stirling?

If you are part of a charity, parent group, advice service, inclusive activity or another organisation supporting SEND families in Stirling, we would like to hear from you. Send us your website, the area you cover, who the service is for and how families can get in touch. We check submissions before deciding whether to add them.

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Sources and checking dates

Local services change. We check the sources below and review any substantive change before altering the page.