Additional learning needs present a key challenge for the incoming Senedd

Emily Roberts-Tyler, Lecturer in Education, Bangor University

The upcoming Senedd elections may shift the balance of power in Wales. Any new government must immediately grapple with the significant ongoing challenges of embedding educational reforms across the additional learning needs system.

Recent policy proposals to change the system of support for children with special educational needs in England have brought a heightened focus on how education systems might best support all learners. In Wales, special educational needs and disabilities are referred to as additional learning needs (ALN).

Wales reached a major milestone in August 2025 when the ALN code came fully into effect, four years after its publication.

Despite the devolution of education and increasing divergence in education policy between Wales and England, the ALN code in Wales shares some similar ambitions to England’s recent policy plans.

These reforms in Wales sought to increase the rights and autonomy of children and young people. They provide statutory individual development plans for those needing anything additional to universal learning provision. They also extend support for learners aged up to 25. The intention is to improve consistency and strengthen multi-agency collaboration across education, health and social care.

The progress of reform

The additional learning needs reforms in Wales reflect a commendable shift towards rights-based, person-centred planning and autonomy for children and young people and their families.

This is also a key tenet of the Curriculum for Wales. This has been implemented since 2022 in primary schools, and gradually over subsequent years in secondary schools. The curriculum framework has a focus on learner voice and providing a broad, purpose-led and flexible curriculum. It is designed to ensure that even those from disadvantaged backgrounds or with complex needs are supported to access a meaningful education.

However, a number of challenges remain with embedding the ALN reforms across Wales.

A key issue relates to the identification of learners with ALN. Under the new system, there has been a 53% decrease in the number of learners being identified as having ALN. This is despite a reported increase in children presenting with more complex needs, indicating that learning needs may in fact be increasing. Data also suggests that it is those with low to moderate needs who are much less likely to be formally identified.

It has been suggested that this reduction could be due to children who might previously have been identified with ALN being catered for through an improved universal offering.

However, teachers have reported that the proportion of learners in their classes with ALN has increased over the past five years. A majority – 65% – of teachers in Wales reported that there were learners in their classes who still needed additional support, but were no longer identified as having ALN following changes in identification criteria.

Lacking resources

This has caused hugely increased workloads in attempts to provide adequate learner support. At the same time, the number of in-house specialist staff to advise and support delivery has dramatically reduced. Without the resources to support more learners with additional needs, many teachers have reported that children are often not receiving the education they are entitled to.

There have been significant strides towards developing inclusive schools across Wales. Even in the best cases, though, there is a long way to go. In reality, the overall picture behind the reduction in identification of ALN indicates issues with identification criteria and resources, and whether the current policy encompasses all children in need, rather than a sudden shift to high quality inclusive education.

Schools report an increase in local authorities refusing requests for assessments or access to support for struggling learners. They have suggested the bar is being raised for access to support, without clarity or transparency. There’s also a clear indication from specialist staff in Wales that they have insufficient time to fulfil their ALN duties.

This suggests that processes and resources for identifying learners with ALN are playing a significant part in the reduced identification. Many learners could be slipping through the net, rather than experiencing effective inclusive provision.

This tension between policy intent and practice is familiar territory when it comes to inclusion. There are ongoing concerns that legislative reform has outpaced operational readiness and available resources, leading to a crisis point.

This crisis is exacerbated for Welsh-medium learners. The policy intention is for a fully bilingual system. But finding Welsh-medium specialists and honouring language preference is proving challenging. This has lead to families struggling to find support in their preferred language. Such battles are at odds with both Welsh Language policy and the principles of Person-Centred Planning and autonomy that are central to the reforms.

Whatever the outcome of the Senedd elections, educators and families across Wales will be hoping for an increased sense of momentum and urgency. They’ll also be looking for a commitment to sustained and appropriate levels of funding to ensure learners in Wales can be supported to access their education.

This article was first published on The Conversation