A struggle or a struggle, this is how some parents describe the extra support given to their children at school, despite reforms designed to make it easier.
One mother, Ros, said she was “stunned” when told her profoundly deaf four-year-old would not be given an individual development plan.
This is a key document to help a child with additional learning needs (ALN).
The objectives of the ALN reforms have been welcomed, but there are budget and workload concerns.
A timeframe for introducing changes has been extended to 2025 by the Welsh Government.
- Mum feels failed because of ALN
- More time for system reform in Wales
Lola received cochlear implants that allow deaf people to process sound and speech when she was one after failing newborn hearing screening tests.
Ros said she did “phenomenally well” in kindergarten and Lola would start regular primary school in September, but it was only after she questioned a decision not to give Lola an IDP that her local council changed its mind.
“This is a profoundly deaf child who relies 100% on implants and technology to access every sound.
“I would have thought it would be an absolute no-brainer that she would have an IDP,” Ros said.
“We fought to get their IDP and I had to fight it … but there will be other families who experience this and they need to be aware that they can challenge and absolutely argue against the decisions that are being made.” and they must fight for what is right for their children.”
The National Deaf Children’s Society said it was concerned about “raising the bar” for eligibility for additional support under the new system.
Welsh Government figures showed that there were 74,661 pupils with ALN in schools in February 2022 (15.8% of all pupils), down from 92,668 (19.5%) in April 2021.
Ministers have said they are monitoring the data, but past inconsistent reporting could be a reason for the figures.
Jo, from Swansea, said she was “really worried and worried” about the changes that could affect two of her four children.
“It’s really difficult to get support for a child … the constant battles to get any kind of support is so exhausting that it really affects the whole family,” she said.
Her eldest and one of her twins both have additional needs and declarations, which are documents that outline support for children with the most complex needs.
They will be phased out as children of all need levels receive individual development plans with the aim of simplifying the system.
Jo said she supports aspects of the reforms but said there is still a lot of uncertainty while students are being moved from the previous special needs system.
“We’re getting delays because people are questioning the fact that this was rolled out too quickly and we’re hiccupping and these kids shouldn’t be the hiccups.
“Your life has been so badly affected by Covid that we don’t need any more problems. Just slow it down.”
The Welsh Government said learners are at the heart of the new system and their views and those of parents will be taken into account throughout.
“Parents should not have to struggle to find the right support to meet their child’s individual needs,” a spokesman said.
Since 2021, children have been moved into the new system in groups, but earlier this year Education Secretary Jeremy Miles announced more time would be given based on staff feedback.
The National Education Union said another delay was needed amid concerns about workloads and budgets.
Executive Member Elizabeth McLean said staff “fully supported” the goals of the reforms but said members had complained of “drowning in paperwork,” with reports of ALN coordinators going to work sick to do their jobs .
“Slowing down the process even more would be really beneficial in the long run,” she added.
The right of every child, whatever their needs, to go to their local school is at the heart of what they do at Cwm Glas Primary School in Swansea, the Headteacher said.
Earlier this school year, they set up Little Acorns for the younger students who would have struggled all day in a mainstream class.
Through targeted support in another area in the morning, they are ready to join their classmates in the afternoon and fully participate in school life.
Headmaster Neil Craven-Lashley said the school works closely with the local authority to ‘ensure every penny is really carefully put towards additional learning needs’.
Through Little Acorns, they have “space and time” to assess whether a child’s learning needs have been worsened by the pandemic and decide on longer-term support.
By offering extra support in the mornings, “these boys and girls can go to Cwm Glas, their local school, and be part of a mainstream setting in the afternoons, so they’re still nurturing those relationships and friendships with their age group.”
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