Parents call for more support for children with additional learning needs

Anthony Lewis, Local democracy reporter

Parents in a south Wales town are calling for more transparency and support from the council for their children with additional learning needs.

Parents and children gathered outside the civic centre in Merthyr Tydfil on Wednesday, February 18 calling for improvements to support for children with additional learning needs (ALN) in the county borough.

Mother of two, Kadie Phillips organised the protest and said: “There’s still so many children, struggling in mainstream, without the correct support, IDPs (individual development plans) not being adhered to. “

She said that according to the Welsh Government, Merthyr Tydfil Council is only delegating 49% of the 100% budget into its schools.

Kadie added that a recent letter sent out by the director of education upset a lot of ALN parents and played a part in kick-starting the movement.

“We just want change. We want to give our children voices. We want those who are in mainstream to be able to thrive in mainstream as long as they have the correct support,” said Kadie.

She said some children are waiting on waiting lists for a psychologist for months and months, adding: “I want complete transparency. We want a good relationship with the council so they can support us the best way.

“We want that transparency, we want to have that relationship, so we can come to them and be like ‘look, my child is struggling here can you help?’

“But where we haven’t had that relationship instead it’s just created a bad rapport between the ALN families and the council and obviously we need to break that barrier.

“We need transparency. We need support and we just want what’s best for our children, the same as any other parent.”

Speaking about her personal experience, Kadie said that both her children are non verbal and one has mobility issues and other complex needs on top.

“My children don’t sleep very well. Obviously, there’s constant appointments, therapies, it is literally a full time job.

“It takes over everything that you do, pharmacy runs. It’s down to the small things.

“Everything from the minute I open my eyes to the minute I close them, which isn’t for long.”

“Obviously, it’s very difficult. It’s constant, you know? I spend my life in and out of hospitals, fighting the NHS for the correct support, issuing medications, doing physiotherapy.

“Literally. I went from just being a person, to a mother to then becoming a nurse, a physiotherapist, an advocate. I became everything overnight, and it’s hard. It’s exhausting.

“So to then have to constantly fight everyone, that’s why we need change. We need transparency, and we need this” adding “so we know that they’ve got our children’s best interests at heart really.”

“We’re not going to stop until we are listened to, until they’ve changed it.

“I will keep going. I will keep sending emails. I will keep coming down here.

“I will not back down, for my own, and for every other ALN child in this borough. I’m not going to stop.”`

The council said that in 2025/26 it spent £2,258 per pupil on Additional Learning Needs (ALN) which is the highest ALN spend per pupil in Wales and 52% more than the Welsh average.

It said that of this money, £1,102 per pupil was originally reported by Welsh Government as going directly to schools which placed Merthyr Tydfil 6th highest in Wales for delegated ALN funding.

The council added that some figures indicated that Merthyr Tydfil only delegated 49% of ALN funding to schools but that this didn’t reflect the full picture.

Part of the ALN funding (the £461 per pupil Additional Support Funding) was going to schools, but because of the way it was accounted for, it was classed as “non‑delegated,” the council added.

In May 2025, the council agreed that most of this (£309) should be formally delegated, with the remaining £152 continuing to be devolved meaning schools still control how it’s used.

The council said that when the £461 is correctly included, the true figure for 2025/26 is that 69% of ALN funding is delegated to schools and that 31% is kept centrally for services such as psychology, specialist support, and placements

The council said that this 69% delegation level is in line with the Welsh average, and Merthyr Tydfil still spends more per ALN pupil than any other council in Wales and delegates more ALN funding per pupil than any other council.

The council said that of the remaining 31%, 20% is allocated to the pupil referral unit, out of county placements, specialist school nursing, school counselling and other monies given directly to schools.

The remaining 11% supports educational psychology services, specialist ALN support teams, equipment and services that benefit pupils across the borough, therapeutic and specialist services to pupils across the borough and training of school-based staff on ALN strategies and intervention.

The director of education Sue Walker recently wrote to parents and carers saying she was genuinely sorry for the distress and upset that the recent letter caused to some families.

She said: “Having listened carefully to feedback, I recognise that the tone of that communication was not helpful, and that it did not reflect as clearly as it should have our commitment to supporting children with additional learning needs in a compassionate and individualised way.

“The intention of the original letter was to explain how concerns can be raised and to encourage positive collaboration between families and schools.

“However, I accept that this was not communicated well, and I regret the anxiety this has caused.

“I also want to be clear in my support of our headteachers and school staff, who work tirelessly and professionally to meet the needs of all children.

“Schools and the local authority have a legal and moral duty to make reasonable adjustments and to apply expectations flexibly, taking account of each child’s individual needs and circumstances. That principle remains central to our approach.

“We are listening to schools, parents, carers and partner organisations regarding the concerns raised, so that we can reflect on practice and our communications going forward.

“Discussions are also taking place around wider engagement, and we plan to arrange sessions with schools and parents/carers to attain a better understanding of the concerns raised. Details of these sessions will be communicated in due course.

“Thank you to those families who have taken the time to share their experiences and concerns. Your voices matter, and they help us to improve how we support children and young people across Merthyr Tydfil.”

The council leader, Councillor Brent Carter, said that the council acknowledges that both the tone and timing of the letter had caused upset among families.

He said: “We regret any distress that this may have caused. The original letter was intended to ask for collaboration between families and schools, and to outline how to address concerns and questions.

“I want to reassure residents that we are listening. Your views are incredibly important to us, so a broader review of safeguarding and ALN-related complaints has now been escalated to senior leadership level.

“We recognise that the reports referenced by multiple families warrant a deeper examination of our current systems and their effectiveness”.