North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has raised concern with the Education Minister that disabled children at a school in Flintshire are missing out, as unlike mainstream schools, it doesn’t have the provision for a holiday club.
Speaking in yesterday’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament, Mr Isherwood said he has been contacted by constituents regarding the issue at Ysgol Pen Coch and asked the Minister what can be done about it.
He said:
“I've been contacted by constituents regarding Ysgol Pen Coch, which is the only publicly funded primary school for disabled children in Flintshire, where lots of the pupils have autism and related conditions or complex needs, and at which a holiday club would make a huge difference to the well-being of pupils and their families.
“However, this school, unlike other schools in the county, doesn't have provision for a holiday club, where, I'm told by constituents, this would be much more costly than in a mainstream school, and they lack the funding and the expertise, leaving parents and governors to take it on, which is unrealistic. And, as they say, children in specialist schools are being treated differently to children in mainstream schools, when their behaviours and impairments need this provision more and this needs to be addressed.
“So, what, if any, specific requirement, therefore, exists for such provision within primary schools in general, and specialist primary schools for pupils with additional learning needs in particular?”
The Minister said he would ask his officials to work with the Welsh Local Government Association “to support schools specifically, to understand what the particular barriers are and how best they can be addressed at a school level”.