North Wales ALN parents say support system is broken

Alec Doyle, Local Democracy Reporter

Parents of children with additional learning needs in a north Wales county say getting the right support has become “an endless battle”.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has received more than 20 case studies from across Flintshire highlighting serious failings within the ALN service.

Parents who have passed on their stories have requested anonymity to protect their vulnerable children but their stories share common themes.

They report some children waiting years for Individual Development Plans (IDPs) to support their learning in mainstream schools and others missing schooling due to schools not offering the correct support, with systemic problems going back more than 10 years.

One parent said their child’s autism had been missed for years, with the system initially refusing to seriously consider the issue before then failing to provide the correct support.

“Over the last year, my family has been through what has felt like an endless battle to get the right support in place for my autistic child,” she said.

“What should have been a process centred around understanding their needs instead became exhausting, confusing and at times incredibly distressing.

“While adults debated responsibilities and paperwork, my child was left without the support they needed and their education suffered.

“I’ve known since my child was six months old they were different but you’re just fobbed off, told they are going through a phase.”

She said speaking to other parents highlighted common issues around the ALN support process in Flintshire.

“As time has gone on I have met more parents going through the same experience and  heard the same stories,” she said. “Children waiting months for support, parents having to fight to have their child’s needs recognised, poor communication between services, delays to IDPs and families feeling completely worn down by a system that is supposed to help them.

“The high school that my child was originally at, in my opinion, magnificently failed them with every process and every offer of support imaginable.

“I want recognition, I want accountability, I want them to say we messed up and we’re sorry, we’ll do better. I want them to have more training to ensure they give children the support they need.”

She says she doesn’t feel teachers are to blame however – the problems lie in the wider system.

“I feel like teachers are completely faultless in this,” she said. “They’re doing their jobs. I don’t even know if the teachers were told my child was neurodiverse.

“The ALN teams, the SENCO teams, the Senior Leadership Teams are partly to blame though. They’re not accepting accountability or responsibility for their actions.

“There are individuals within Flintshire County Council who bend over backwards to try to help within the constraints of the system but – in general – the humanity has gone from the ALN system.”

That view was shared by another parent. Her child has missed school due to not receiving the correct support for their complex needs.

“We have a liaison person from the local authority who is the only person we trust,” she said. “She is brilliant.”

“But overall our experience has been horrendous. I haven’t been able to navigate it at all and I’m still struggling now.

“The frustration levels of trying to get the paperwork done, trying to speak to people, trying to get answers to emails, the frustration of having to keep chasing and not getting any response.

“We know our children can thrive in mainstream school so long as reasonable adjustments can be made and the local authority agrees – that’s what the IDP is supposed to be for.

“But too often it all gets forgotten and before you know it children with additional learning needs become dysregulated and problems arise.

“Once my child’s additional needs were recognised small measures were put in place to help them engage with school and get through the day without issues.

“But even these minor measures…were not managed in an appropriate way.”

She added: “Getting support wrong for a child with ALN can be devastating to their self esteem and confidence.”

Similar experiences were reflected across more than 20 written case studies sent in by parents across Flintshire highlighting the challenges they face getting their children the right support.

Asked whether it accepted there were problems with Additional Learning Needs support, Flintshire County Council said: “We have worked hard to support the transition from the outgoing Special Educational Needs legislation to the implementation of the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 (ALNET).

“The council significantly expanded its ALN team within the Education and  Youth Portfolio in anticipation of the new legislation, increasing from three officers in 2019 to the nine officers currently delivering the service.

“A range of other support services such as Education Psychology, Speech, Language and Communication Service and Autism Service provide support for schools and families, and feedback indicates that central council services providing support for ALN are valued.

“Similar to other local authorities in Wales, Flintshire has experienced an increase in the number of children presenting with more complex needs following the Covid pandemic. This has placed increased pressure on schools and central services which it is working to respond to but this remains a challenge.”

The authority said it was launching a new training programme for schools to help teachers and council staff better meet the needs of ALN students and families.

“We have invested in training and support materials from the Neuroinclusive Education Network and have started rolling this out across our schools,” said the spokesperson.

“Feedback from school staff who have engaged in this training indicates this has improved knowledge and understanding.

“The Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 (ALNET) applies equally to all maintained schools which must ensure learners’ additional needs are identified and supported.

“While we are working with schools to provide clear and consistent understanding through our Belonging Strategy, this remains an ongoing area of development.

“Welsh Government has identified that ALNET has been challenging for schools and local authorities to implement and determined a review of the legislation was required.

“Further guidance to support a consistent interpretation of the law by Welsh Government has not yet been issued. This is a key requirement to ensure consistency at both local and national level.

“Funding for ALN also remains a significant challenge. The council was disappointed with the recent Welsh Government decision not to forward significant ALN consequentials from the UK Government to local authorities and continues to press for the additional funding to support learners effectively.

“Under the current system, parents should not be waiting significant periods of time for school IDs and the council’s website provides guidance for parents who may be in dispute with schools in relation to ALN.

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