Disabled children are twice as likely to be excluded from school as their able bodies contemporaries, it has emerged.

Now, with one mother having won a discrimination case after a Scottish primary school repeatedly excluded her son with Asperger Syndrome, it is time to be honest about how inclusive our education system really is.

The aim to create an inclusive environment by presuming all children will be educated in mainstream schools, introduced two decades ago, is one of which Scotland is rightly proud. But the reality is that many under-resourced schools cannot support those with additional support needs. Cuts to education budgets have seen specially trained teachers fall while staff shortages mean there are few resources to plug the gaps. Schools bursting at the seams in highly populated areas have no room to offer “quiet spaces” for children with autism while outdated school buildings lack lifts that make them accessible.

The result is those with additional needs are too often being excluded, sometimes unlawfully, in a way that is discriminatory under the Equality Act. Experts claim the effects – on mental health, wellbeing, and education ¬ can be long-term. The effects are also felt by other pupils, over-worked teachers and families who often don’t feel listened to.

Last month the Scottish Government closed a consultation on proposing guidance to help local authorities ensure they apply the presumption of mainstreaming all children fairly. Now we need proper resources to be put in place to stop us failing our most vulnerable pupils.