North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has called on the Education Minister to ensure that Local Authority allocation of ALN funding to schools allows the aims of the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 to be implemented
Speaking in Wednesday’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament, Mr Isherwood raised concerns with the Minister for Education and Welsh Language that some Local Authorities are using Free School Meals as the sole measure to allocate ALN funding to Schools, which he warned “could leave ALN pupils in Schools with lower Free School Meals levels deprived of the resources they need to fulfil their potential”.
In a question to the Minister over how the Welsh Government is monitoring the implementation of the ALN Act, Mr Isherwood said:
“The Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018, or ALN Act, aims to overhaul the current SEN system, placing the child or young person’s views at the heart of the process and involving them and their families in the planning, intervention, and review process from the onset, with Schools having more autonomy over their Additional Learning Needs Provision.
“The ALN Code of Practice states that ‘Local authorities should consider at strategic level whether changes to funding arrangements for supporting children and young people with ALN are appropriate’.
“Although the ALN Code’s Children’s Rights Impact Assessment states that ‘Children and young people currently recorded as having SEN are twice as likely to be eligible for free school meals as those who do not’, there is concern that some Local Authorities are using Free School Meals as the sole measure to allocate ALN funding to Schools, which could leave ALN pupils in Schools with lower Free School Meals levels deprived of the resources they need to fulfil their potential.
“How is the Minister therefore ensuring that Local Authority allocation of ALN funding to schools allows the Act’s aims to be implemented?”
In his response, the Minister said:
“The point he makes is very important, that we need to ensure that funding is invested in a way that enables the Act's requirements to be met, and that should follow need where it exists in schools in our system. So, one of the key aspects of the Implementation Review that we will be undertaking is to ensure that the emerging processes, as the Act is implemented, is delivering that outcome, but also ensuring that the co-creation is really important, because that enables voices in all parts of the system to have a role in the accountability around the delivery of the Act.”
Speaking afterwards, Mr Isherwood added:
“Surely the Welsh Government should be ensuring that Local Authorities understand the need for ALN funding to follow ALN pupils, wherever they study, from the word go.”
ENDS