If you’ve closely watched (what passes as) the headlines in Wales over the last few years, you would assume the biggest reform in education at the moment is the introduction of the new national curriculum from September 2022 for primary schools and – as of yesterday – September 2023 for secondary schools.
In fact, there’s another equally wide-ranging reform that crosses the boundaries of health, education and social services: the Additional Learning Needs (ALN) Act 2018.
- The Act replaces the current Special Educational Needs (SEN) system, which has been in place for at least 25-30 years.
- SEN has been redefined as “Additional Learning Needs” (ALN). This means having a disability which puts a learner at a clear disadvantage compared to their peers. This includes conditions like dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, autism and other educational and physical disabilities which impact learning.
- All people under the age of 25 and in education who are identified as having ALN will be entitled to an Individual Development Plan. This plan will not only set out the individual’s educational needs but also their related health and social service needs and requirements.
- Some form of ALN intervention may be considered appropriate for children who don’t have a learning disability but have experienced issues that may impact their learning (i.e. a bereavement, trauma, lengthy illness/absence).
- All existing statements/plans are expected to be converted to the new Individual Development Plan system by September 2023.
- The right for those with ALN to receive support through the Welsh language has been protected in law.
- If disputes around ALN or Individual Development Plans can’t be settled locally, parents and young people will have the right to appeal to a reformed Education Tribunal (the current – as of July 2021 – Special Educational Needs Tribunal for Wales).
To put the scale of the reforms in context, around 100,000 school-age children in Wales – roughly 20% of the entire cohort – are estimated to have some form of ALN. That figure won’t include those in further and higher education.
The new system is set to be phased in from 1st September 2021. It’s been delayed at least once, namely to allow extra time for training and development of relevant staff. It’s unclear at this time how the pandemic will have impacted that and whether it’s become a rush to get things done on time.
The Senedd approved an ALN Code – setting out how the new ALN system will work in practice – in March 2021. There were concerns about how some parts of the Code were drafted, as well as rights concerning home-education transport and the possible impact of the pandemic.
There have also been concerns about funding – particularly how much of a burden the education system will bear in terms of costs when this is equally, if not more so, a health and social services matter.
When the new system is implemented it may also reignite the debate over an Autism Bill and how autism is treated in the ALN Code. While autism is covered by the new system, there’s a separate code in development for autism services. That may detach some health and care aspects from the education aspects in a manner that doesn’t apply to any other form of ALN.
Other – more positive – aspects of the new system include:
- increased collaboration between mainstream and special schools (so they can learn the best ways of working with ALN students from each other).
- an expectation that schools should provide access to educational psychology services (which have been cut back in some local authorities).
- a single point of contact for ALN at schools and local health boards.
