Additional Learning Needs (ALN) information

During their time in school, many children may require additional support for areas of their learning. On occasion, it may be necessary for the teachers to target individual children to offer additional support both in class and in a small group. If this happens, we will place your child on our Additional Learning Needs register and their class teacher will identify targets for them to achieve next term. The class teacher will then help them in class through adult support or resources, extra time, etc so that they can complete work at a pace that they feel comfortable with. They may also be having difficulty managing their behaviour, having speech difficulties or a medical concern.

Where a child's ALN is identified by a class teacher then he/she will discuss the child's needs with Mrs Falvey (Additional Learning Needs Co-ordinator) and strategies to meet the identified need will be implemented. This will be reviewed every term.

Once these targets have been achieved, the class teacher will decide to create new targets for the next term or decide that your child's progress has been sufficient to be taken off the ALN register. They may also feel that your child isn't making the progress that they'd like and so could refer them to an outside agency for support, such as Speech and Language or Educational Psychology.

Individual Development Plans

The way pupils with additional needs are supported in Wales has changed and a new Code of Practice was introduced in September 2020. This replaced the term 'Special Educational Needs' with ‘Additional Learning Needs' and the stages of the ALN register which are currently School Action, School Action Plus and Statement were phased out.

Instead, pupils will be supported by Individual Development Plans (IDPs) which consist of a profile of the pupil and targets for them to achieve. All pupils in St. Andrew's that are on the ALN register currently have an IDP which is reviewed each term and some will require a Funded IDP which assigns a level of support to help that child make progress.

Mrs Falvey regularly holds parent meetings to update you on any changes to the way ALN is managed in the school and is always available if you ever have any concerns about the progress your child is making in school.

The following link will provide you with more information about these upcoming changes.