ALN

Additional Learning Needs (ALN)

We pride ourselves on being an inclusive community for learners of all abilities and challenges. We recognise that many learners throughout their full time education will experience an occasion when they need support from time to time ‘in addition to, the education provision made generally for pupils’.

The fundamental principles set out in the SEN Code of Practice for Wales underpin this approach, together with guidelines established by the Local Authority. It also incorporates the three key principles set out in the National Curriculum Inclusion Statement:

1.  setting suitable learning challenges;

2.  responding to learners’ diverse needs;

3. overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of learners.

Our Additional Learning Needs Coordinator (ALNCo) attends termly meetings to update the whole staff on current developments and to advise on its implementation. These procedures are clearly understood and implemented by all staff. Teachers differentiate tasks to meet the individual learners.

We are committed to promoting high standards of appropriate achievements and progress for all learners with additional learning needs.

The Governor with responsibility for ALN is Mr Chris Law.

The ALN Coordinator, with the Headteacher and Governing Body, plays a key role in the development of the ALN policy and provision in the school. 
 

 Our Aims:

• To enable learners with identified additional needs and challenges to have access to a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum.
• To meet the needs of all learners with additional needs, with the support of the Local Authority and outside agencies.
• To take into account the views and wishes of learners (where possible) and families/carers when developing provision and practice for additional support, through person centred planning approaches. 
• To involve learners in setting targets within their Individual Education Plan (IEP) and agree the strategies, support, approaches and success criteria to achieve these targets. 
• To involve learners in transition phases when entering the school and transferring between Key Stages.
• To use the school's assessment, recording and reporting system as part of the identification process of additional learning needs.
• To keep informed of best practice when devising intervention, support and provision following the graduated system of ‘School Action’, ‘School Action Plus’ and ‘Statement’ set out in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice for Wales.
• To support identification of need and any additional support requirements, through a ‘cause for concern’ system, allowing further monitoring of learner progress. 
• To review the intervention and provision set out in IEPs as part of the school assessment cycle.

Additonal Learning Needs is changing in Wales.

https://youtu.be/cDjWUZgoR3A

The ALN system is the new statutory support system for children and young people aged 0 to 25 in Wales with ALN that is due to come into force in September 2021.

The legislative framework of the new system is created by the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 (‘the Act’), the ALN Code for Wales and regulations made under the Act. Through this statutory framework the Welsh Government aims to ensure that all learners with ALN are supported to overcome barriers to learning and can achieve their full potential, by creating:

• a unified legislative framework to support all children of compulsory school age or below with additional learning needs (ALN) and to support young people with ALN who are in school or further education (FE);
• an integrated, collaborative process of assessment, planning and monitoring of the support provided to ALN learners which facilitates early, timely and effective interventions; and
• a fair and transparent system for providing information and advice, and for resolving concerns and appeals.

The Act replaces the terms ‘special educational needs (SEN)’ and ‘learning difficulties and/or disabilities (LDD)’ with the new term ‘additional learning needs (ALN)’. All children and young people with ALN regardless of the severity or complexity of their learning difficulty or disability will be entitled to a statutory support plan called an ‘Individual Development Plan’ (IDP). Children and young people with ALN will receive support called additional learning provision (ALP) which will be set out in their IDP.

Additional Information

For additional information regarding ALN, follow the links below:

Additional Learning Needs in Wales – What is happening in Wales?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00gHqzWowPg

A Parent / Carers guide to Additional Learning Needs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISba05AGqJk

At our school we constantly strive to provide ALN support that meets the needs of our learners. Here is a brief summary of the interventions we provide:

• Wellcomm - all our nursery pupils are screened using the Wellcomm assessment tool which identifies children with delayed understanding and/or expression of language, these children are then supported through play based language activities.
• Language Link - pupils identified with delayed understanding of language take part in individual/small group highly focused sessions.
• Speech Link - allows pupils with delays in the development of speech sounds to be identified. 
• DCD interventions for pupils who have difficulties with co-ordination and/or handwriting. 
• Rapid Reading - an individual program to support the development of reading skills. 
• Nessy - an online program designed to help children with a variety of abilities and different learning styles learn to read, write, spell and type.