The Additional Support for Learning Act is a key piece of legislation in Scotland's efforts to achieve a more inclusive society and to give all young people access to the learning opportunities they need in order to meet their potential. The Act also has a key role to play in the day-to-day preventative action that schools can take to be inclusive and to avoid longer-term blights such as not being in education, employment or training when they move on from school. In September 2005, Scottish Ministers asked Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) to monitor and evaluate the consistency, effectiveness and efficiency of education authorities in implementing the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 which came into force on 14 November 2005; and to ensure that procedures for implementation were in line with the duties of the Act 2004 and the associated Code of Practice. This report is the outcome of that evaluation. Its findings are based on fieldwork in local authorities and schools and consultation with a range of voluntary agencies supporting families of children and young people. The main activities of this task were: (1) to undertake an investigation of the implementation of the new legislation on additional support for learning across all 32 education authorities in Scotland; (2) to seek the views of stakeholders as to the effectiveness of the new legislation; (3) to evaluate the impact of the new legislation in improving the quality of learning, progress and achievements of children and young people with additional support needs; and (4) to provide an interim report and a final report to Scottish Ministers on the key findings of the task. [For the full report, see ED544603.]