Members of the Education & Learning Scrutiny Committee have been told the Council remains well on track to deliver the priorities required for ALN Reform.
The reforms are part of the Welsh Government’s new framework, which is designed to best support children and young people with Additional Learning Needs and their families across Wales.
The Additional Learning Needs Educational Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 replaces the existing legislation surrounding special educational needs (SEN, and its main principles are:
• A rights-based approach where the views, wishes and feelings of the child, child’s parents/carers or young person are central to planning and provision of support;
• Early identification, intervention and effective transition planning;
• Collaboration where all involved work together in the best interests of the child or young person;
• Inclusive education supporting participation fully in mainstream education, wherever feasible, and a whole setting approach to meeting the needs of learners with ALN; and,
• A bilingual system where all reasonable steps are taken to deliver additional learning provision in Welsh
A Regional Implementation Plan is in place which sets out four strategic priority areas for the work:
• Early Years
• Schools
• Post 16
• Collaboration
The Committee was told that work against all these areas is progressing well. Training for all staff involved is taking place and several new Local Authority policies have been developed or updated to support the changes.
Councillor Joanne Collins, Executive Member for Education, says:
“One of the objectives in the Blaenau Gwent Well-being Plan and a top priority for this Council is for every child to have the best start in life. Implementation of this Act will support the creation of a fully inclusive education system, where all learners are given the opportunity to succeed and have access to an education that meets their needs and enables them to participate in, benefit from and enjoy learning.
“We are well on track to delivering the priorities needed for reform and look forward to seeing the positive changes this will have for our learners with these needs.”
Read the full report here - http://democracy.blaenau-gwent.gov.uk/documents/s11165/Report.pdf?LLL=0
More on the ALN reforms for Wales here - https://gov.wales/additional-learning-needs-transformation-programme