Additional Learning Needs
A person has additional learning needs if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability (whether the learning difficulty or disability arises from a medical condition or otherwise) which calls for additional learning provision.
A child of compulsory school age or person over that age has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:
(a) has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
(b) has a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities for education or training of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream maintained schools or mainstream institutions in the further education sector.
A child under compulsory school age has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she is, or would be if no additional learning provision were made, likely to be when of compulsory school age.
A person does not have a learning difficulty or disability solely because the language (or form of language) in which he or she is or will be taught is different from a language (or form of language) which is or has been used at home.
“Additional learning provision” for a person aged three or over means educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for others of the same age in—
(a) mainstream maintained schools in Wales,
(b) mainstream institutions in the further education sector in Wales, or
(c) places in Wales at which nursery education is provided.
At Dolau Primary School we shall:
- Work with the Local Education Authority and parents to ensure a child’s Additional Learning needs are identified quickly
- Ensure the wishes of the child are taken into account when providing ALN provision
- Review the child’s progress regularly and assess the impact of any intervention that they are having.
- Work closely with parents and all agencies involved with the child
- Ensure that all children reach their full potential
You can find lots of helpful information regarding the new ALN Bill on the RCT website below.
https://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/EN/Resident/SchoolsandLearning/AccessandInclusiontoEducation/AccessandInclusiontoEducation.aspx
Websites and posters below have some useful information regarding the changes that will be taking place:
Autism is much more common than most people think. There are around 700,000 autistic people in the UK – that’s more than 1 in 100.
ASD info Wales is a National site for Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD). On the website you will find lots of information about Autistic Spectrum Disorders (including Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome), service details, training opportunities and updates on the implementation of the ASD Strategic Action Plan for Wales.
Learning with Autism is a programme that has been developed by the Welsh Local Government Association to raised awareness of ASD in schools and is open to all schools to meet the required standards throughout their whole school. We are very proud at Dolau Primary School to have achieved the Learning with Autism Primary School Award.
Welsh Government guidance on supporting learners with Autistic Spectrum disorders (ASD)
https://gov.wales/supporting-learners-autistic-spectrum-disorder-asd
ASD Wales – A guide for Mainstream Primary Schools
https://autismwales.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2015_Autism-A-Guide-for-Mainstream-Primary-Schools-ENG.pdf
Welsh Government guidance on supporting learners with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
https://gov.wales/supporting-learners-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd
Snap Cymru provide information, advice and support for parents, children and young people who have, or may have, special educational needs or disabilities.
The Resilient Families’ service has been operational since January 2018 and provides the Team Around the Family arrangements in RCT. It is the Council’s recognised approach to delivering the early intervention and prevention agenda across RCT. Resilient Families Service provides the opportunity to deliver swift, effective, consistent and bespoke support to families.
The Service has been designed to identify the right families in need of support at the right time, to provide swift resilience focused assessments, to remove practical barriers to positive change and to provide timely, appropriate and effective interventions. The Service aims to deliver improved support to families in quicker response times; shorter and sharper diagnostic assessment; a trusted single point of contact and pro-active practical support to engage with interventions designed to increase resilience levels.
The New Referral mechanism for Resilient Families Service:
Referrals can be made to the Service via the Information, Advice and Assistance (IAA) Team in the following way:
• Families can self-refer for Resilient Families Service by phone (01443 425006) or email (IAATeam@rctcbc.gov.uk) Emails will be read during office hours only Monday – Friday between 08:30 – 17:00
• Professionals referring families to the Resilient Families Service should send referrals to the IAA Team (IAATeam@rctcbc.gov.uk) via email using the C1 referral form. Professionals need to have the consent of families to refer.
All referrals will be ‘triaged’ by the IAA Team for allocation according to risk/need. Referrals received by the IAA Team that do not reach Children’s Services threshold but are deemed appropriate for intervention will be allocated to the Resilient Families Service. Emails will be read during office hours only Monday – Friday between 08:30 – 17:00