Additional Learning Needs
ALN stands for Additional Learning Needs. At Carreg Hirfaen Primary School we value the abilities and achievements of all our pupils. Every child is valued, respected and nurtured. We endeavour to provide the best educational opportunities for all of our pupils and strive to maximise their potential in a positive ‘can do’ learning environment. We also recognise that all of our pupils are at different stages of their development and consequently all have different needs.
Whilst many factors contribute to the range of difficulties experienced by some children, we believe that much can be done to overcome these difficulties by parents, teachers and pupils all working together in harmony.
Pupils who meet our criteria for having Additional Learning Needs will be supported by class teachers, teaching assistants, other adults, and their learning environment.
As a school we identify support for Pupils under the following areas:
- School Action (SA) - Support for Pupils identified as School Action lies within our School. This may be in the form of school based interventions or differentiated tasks in class. There would be no involvement or support from any external agencies
- School Action Plus (SA+) - Those who are identified as School Action Plus will have the additional support and/or advice of external agencies such as Speech and Language, Behavioural Support or Educational Psychologist.
- Statement - Pupils with statements are provided with provision to meet their needs by the Local Authority, who take responsibility for this Statement. The school will fully engage with the statement process.
The ALN aims of the school
- To ensure that all pupils have access to a broad and balanced curriculum
- To provide a differentiated curriculum appropriate to the individual’s needs and ability
- To ensure that early identification of a pupil’s needs is made
- To ensure that ALN pupils take as full a part as possible in all school activities
- To ensure that parents of ALN pupils are fully involved from the beginning and are kept regularly informed of their child’s progress
- To ensure that ALN pupils are involved, where practical, in decisions affecting their future ALN provision
- To work in partnership with parents, pupils and other agencies e.g. Educational Psychologist, Speech Therapists, Social Workers, School Nurse etc.
ALN Transformation in Wales
Here is an ERW brief guide to the role of the ALNCo inline with the new code of conduct released in March 2021. The new ALN Bill and the new system for supporting children with additional learning needs will be rolled out to schools in September 2021.
In Wales, we want to transform expectations, experiences and outcomes for children and young people with additional learning needs (ALN).
To do so, the Welsh Assembly have developed the additional learning needs (ALN) transformation programme, which transforms the separate systems for special educational needs (SEN) in schools and learning difficulties and/or disabilities (LDD) in further education, to create a unified system for supporting learners with Additional Learning Needs from 0 to 25 years of age.
The transformed system will:
• ensure that all learners with ALN are supported to overcome barriers to learning and achieve their full potential
• improve the planning and delivery of support for learners from 0 to 25 with ALN, placing learners’ needs, views, wishes and feelings at the heart of the process
• focus on the importance of identifying needs early and putting in place timely and effective interventions which are monitored and adapted to ensure they deliver the desired outcomes.
New legislation and statutory guidance is only one aspect, albeit a fundamental one, of the wider package of reforms needed. The ALN transformation programme also focuses on skills development for the education workforce, to deliver effective support to learners with ALN in the classroom, as well as easier access to specialist support, information and advice.
MEETING THE LEARNING NEEDS OF ALL PUPILS
At Carreg Hirfaen the ALNCo is Mrs Nelian Williams. Children with additional learning needs are supported well in Carreg Hiurfaen. Additional support includes differentiated work with the class teacher, time spent in small groups or with the help of outside agencies.
Individual Development Plans (IDPs) are used to focus upon the child’s needs and next steps. IDPs are reviewed and updated at least termly. We believe strongly that all teachers are teachers of learners with additional learning needs.
The school has clear procedures for supporting pupils with additional Learning Needs (ALN) and these are outlined in the school’s ALN Policy.