Additional Learning Needs

Here is information on various aspects of ALN from the Local Education Authority and Welsh Government on the new ALN Code. There is also information about the intervention programs we run in the school and links to useful websites.

Please contact me immediately if you would like to discuss any aspect of your child’s development.

 

Here is some information on the intervention programmes we are currently running in school:

Ysgol Gynradd Aberporth Intervention Programmes

 

Additional Learning Needs in Ceredigion

 

 

Welsh Government – Additional Learning Needs in Wales

 

 

Useful Links:

Ceredigion County Council ALN Website

Information on Autism (AwtistiaethCymru.org)

 

Information on ALN from the Welsh Government

What is the new additional learning needs (ALN) system?

The ALN system is the new statutory support system for children and young people aged 0 to 25 in Wales with ALN that is due to come into force in September 2021.

The legislative framework of the new system is created by the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 (‘the Act’), the ALN Code for Wales and regulations made under the Act. Through this statutory framework the Welsh Government aims to ensure that all learners with ALN are supported to overcome barriers to learning and can achieve their full potential, by creating:

a unified legislative framework to support all children of compulsory school age or below with additional learning needs (ALN) and to support young people with ALN who are in school or further education (FE);

an integrated, collaborative process of assessment, planning and monitoring of the support provided to ALN learners which facilitates early, timely and effective interventions;

and a fair and transparent system for providing information and advice, and for resolving concerns and appeals.

 

The Act replaces the terms ‘special educational needs (SEN)’ and ‘learning difficulties and/or disabilities (LDD)’ with the new term ‘additional learning needs (ALN)’. All children and young people with ALN regardless of the severity or complexity of their learning difficulty or disability will be entitled to a statutory support plan called an ‘Individual Development Plan’ (IDP). Children and young people with ALN will receive support called additional learning provision (ALP) which will be set out in their IDP.

What is ALN?

A learner has ALN if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability which calls for additional learning provision (ALP).

A child of compulsory school age or person over that age has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:

has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or

has a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities for education or training of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream maintained schools or mainstream institutions in the further education sector.

A child under compulsory school age has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she is likely to (or would be likely to if no ALP were made) have significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of their peers when they reach compulsory school age.

ALP for a learner aged over 3 years means educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for others of the same age in a mainstream school, FEI or nursery education setting In Wales.

For those under 3 years old it means educational provision of any kind.

It is possible for a child or young person to have a learning difficulty or disability that does not call for ALP. In these instances such a child or young people would not be considered to have ALN. Further it is important to note that not all learning difficulties or disabilities that arise from a medical condition will call for additional learning provision.

One of the principles of the draft ALN Code is inclusive education where children and young people are supported to participate fully in mainstream education, wherever feasible, and a whole setting approach is taken to meet the needs of learners with ALN. Where settings adopt a fully inclusive approach combined with universal learning provision that meets a broad range of learning needs, this can help to negate the need for ALP. The draft ALN Code provides guidance on the process for assessing and deciding whether a child or young person has ALN.