ALN (Wales)

A school’s responsibilities

The Additional Learning Needs Code for Wales sets out new responsibilities for schools as part of the ALN reform.

Two of the key actions schools will need to take are:

• prepare an IDP: All children and young people with ALN now get an Individual Development Plan (IDPs), which replaced the variety of existing plans. The school should work in partnership with the local authority to prepare an IDP for ALN pupils, where possible working with parents too. You can find out more about the IDP process in this factsheet from the Welsh government.
• appoint an ALNCo: the new Act made having an additional learning needs co-ordinator statutory in schools, where previously having an SENCo was non-statutory.

Where a child or young person has been assessed as having ALN, schools should:

• make arrangements for letting all staff who are involved with the pupil know about those needs;
• involve the ALNCo in advising teaching staff on appropriate teaching approaches to use in relation to the pupil with a view to meeting the apparent needs;
• make appropriate adjustments to the school environment to improve the child or young person’s access to education;
• provide appropriate additional and/or different support for the child or young person from the resources available to them, including access to input from external specialists;
• monitor the impact of support provided for the child or young person and alter it if it becomes apparent that this would be appropriate.

What schools and further education settings can do

• Create a whole-school environment emphasising inclusion and cooperation.
• Have high aspirations for all children and young people.
• Deliver social and emotional skills programmes which aim to build resilience:
  • With an Individual Development Plan, that builds skills step-by-step to improve success and gives pupils a chance to test skills out and receive encouragement and feedback.
• Develop children and young people’s understanding of difference and ensure all pupils value difference in others.
  • Inclusiveness can be developed through good quality Health and Wellbeing lessons promoting relationships and diversity.
• Support children and young people with ALN to feel accepted and to belong.
• Tackle bullying and discrimination.
• See children and young people as a whole rather than focusing just on their disability or illness.
• Be alert to early signs of escalating risk to mental health and mobilise protective factors to prevent further escalation.
• Provide children and young people with extra support, if needed (e.g. through pastoral care/school counselling, school nurses or through referral to community-based support.