Additional Learning Needs

Nursery-admission

Every child is individual and they all develop and learn at different rates.

Some children find learning easy, and some find it hard. With the right help all children develop at their own pace.

This means that within a classroom, different teaching styles will be needed, taking into account the abilities, strengths, weaknesses and interests of the children.

These different approaches to learning will help most children make progress. Some may, however, need more support.

The way in which children with additional learning needs are supported is being transformed. 

Here are some key changes within the new transformation:

  • The term ‘special educational needs (SEN)’ will be replaced by ‘additional learning needs (ALN)’. 
  • Special Education Needs Co-ordinators (SENCOs) will be known as Additional Learning Needs Co-ordinators (ALNCOs).
  • School/Early Years Action, School/Early Years Action Plus will disappear and every child with recognised ALN, which requires Additional Learning Provision (ALP) will eventually be issued with a new statutory document called an Individual Development Plan (IDP).
  • For those with an ALN who do not require ALP, a One Page Profile will be issued. This is not to be confused with individual education plans (IEP) which will also be phased out. 
  • Unlike statements, which stop when a young person leaves school, IDPs will continue up to 25 years of age if the young person goes onto further education. 

Currently Statements of SEN will be gradually phased over to the new system and converted into IDPs in line with Welsh Government’s timeline.

Under the new system, planning will be flexible and responsive, our professionals will be skilled and confident in identifying needs and deploying strategies to help learners overcome their barriers to learning, and the learner will be at the centre of everything we do.

The transformed system will:

  • ensure that all learners with ALN are supported to overcome barriers to learning and achieve their full potential
  • improve the planning and delivery of support for learners from 0 to 25 with ALN, placing learners’ needs, views, wishes and feelings at the heart of the process
  • focus on the importance of identifying needs early and putting in place timely and effective interventions which are monitored and adapted to ensure they deliver the desired outcomes.

The Welsh Government has produced an overview of the new system and a YouTube video explaining the changes. Together they will give you a good idea of how the Welsh Government expect things to work.