The Cabinet Secretary for Education will give an oral statement on the Additional Learning Needs (ALN) reforms in the Senedd on Tuesday. We set out some relevant background below.
- The Senedd’s Children, Young People and Education Committee has been scrutinising the implementation of the new ALN system. It published a report in July 2024, which the Senedd debated in October 2024.
- There has been a 53% decrease in the number of pupils identified / recognised as having ALN over the four years since the new system was first introduced. From 92,668 (19.5% of all pupils) in 2020/21 to 43,885 (9.5% of all pupils) in 2024/25.
- This comes at the same time as the Welsh Government acknowledges more children are presenting with more complex needs. This raises questions about how and whether their needs are being met.
- This week Welsh Government launched a consultation on data to monitor the ALN system.
- The definition for ALN is materially the same as the previous definition for Special Educational Needs (SEN). However, there are longstanding concerns that the additional workload associated with the ALN system – providing Individual Development Plans (IDPs) for all learners with ALN – could ‘raise the bar’ to access support. These concerns date back to the consultation on the draft ALN Code in 2019.
- The Welsh Government has previously attributed the fall in ALN numbers to an over-reporting of SEN in the past and more effective ‘universal provision’ which can better meet many pupils’ needs (rather than requiring Additional Learning Provision - the test as to whether needs constitute ALN).
- Responding in September 2024 to the CYPE Committee’s report, the Cabinet Secretary for Education instigated a review of the legislation and ALN Code, and how they are being implemented. Following the Cabinet Secretary’s written statement in July, the review is expected to be published on Tuesday (14 October 2025) alongside her oral statement.
Article by Michael Dauncey, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament.