Additional Learning Needs At Severn Primary School

We value each and every one of our pupils.  We pride ourselves upon our core moral purpose - to foster positive relationships within our whole school community, promoting and supporting pupil and staff wellbeing, and ensuring all pupils experience a true sense of achievement throughout their time at Severn Primary.  All aspects of life at our school are inclusive and aim to meet the individual needs of all pupils, encouraging everyone to reach their full potential.    We recognise that every pupil comes to us with a wide range of skills, abilities, interests, qualities and attributes, and we welcome and celebrate this diversity.  We appreciate that all learners are individuals and we are keen to support and challenge all learners, with consideration of their individual needs.   
 
From September 2021, the school will be working to the definition of additional learning as identified in the Additional Learning Needs Code for Wales 2021: (1) A person has additional learning needs if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability (whether the learning difficulty or disability arises from a medical condition or otherwise) which calls for additional learning provision.  (2) A child of compulsory school age or person over that age has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she: (a) has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age. (b) has a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities for education or training of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream maintained schools or mainstream institutions in the further education sector.    At Severn Primary, we are well equipped to provide support through a variety of strategies, ranging from in-class effective differentiation to a wide range of intervention programs, specifically designed to allow pupils to develop their literacy and numeracy skills, as well as their emotional health and wellbeing.  Pupils' needs are considered on an individual basis and we ensure that the appropriate support is put in place for each child (which may be on a 1:1 basis or within a small group).  Please note that pupils do not need to be identified as having Additional Learning Needs (ALN) to access this support nor does accessing this support automatically mean that a pupil has ALN. 
 
When organising additional learning support, it is very important that we provide children who have ALN with a broad and balanced curriculum and regular access to all areas of learning. We believe that children with ALN should not be routinely segregated from their class teachers and peers but be included as much as possible within their class. We will ensure that teachers and teaching assistants are prepared for dealing with any challenges and complex difficulties posed by children with ALN by providing them with the necessary training. We believe that teachers are responsible for children’s learning and teaching assistants will be used effectively to provide the necessary support for children with ALN within the classroom. 
 
We fully embrace person centred practices (PCP) in our school and as such aim to include both ALN pupils and their parents in any decisions that might affect them. All 
children who are identified as having ALN will be in receipt of an Individual Development Plan (IDP) which includes a One Page Profile.  Further support can be gained through the services of specialist teachers or educational psychology team.    If we consider that your child may have Additional Learning Needs (ALN) we will invite you in to school to discuss this at a meeting with your child's class teacher and the Additional Learning Needs Coordinator (Mrs Bibi).  If you have concerns about your child's progress, please discuss this with your child's teacher in the first instance.     For further information about ALN and the changes to the ALN system in Wales, please follow the links below.   
https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2020-09/additional-learning-needsaln-transformation-programme-guide.pdf 
Contact Mrs Bibi (Additional Learning Needs Coordinator) 

The new Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal Act

September 2020

Severn Primary School 

Severn Road,

Canton, Cardiff, Wales,

CF11 9DZ

Email:  severnprm@cardiff.gov.uk

Tel: 02920 387507 
 
Additional Learning Needs

It will transform the separate systems for SEN and LDD (Learning difficulties/disabilities) in education, to create a unified system of ALN to learners from 0-25 with ALN.

The transformed system will: 

• Ensure that all learners with ALN are supported
• Improve planning and delivery of support for learners from 0-25 with ALN.
• Focus on the importance of identifying needs early and putting in place effective interventions which are monitored. 

When?

• The new system will be operational from September 2021
• It is intended that from September 2021, Individual Development Plans (IDPs) will begin to replace plans that currently support learners with SEN. Conversion for learners with statements will take place during the two academic years
• Children supported via School Action (SA) and School Action plus (SA+) will be converted during the three academic years. 

 
The Act introduces a new statutory role:

The Additional Learning Needs Coordinator (ALNCo)

The ALNCo will:

• Be responsible for the strategic coordination of ALN resources for example deployment of support staff and budgetary responsibilities
• Not be directly involved with the day to day process of supporting every learner with ALN as this is the responsibility of the class teacher
• Be responsible for ensuring that all learners who have ALN across the education setting have an IDP
• Be responsible for overseeing the provision across the education setting to meet the needs identified within IDPs

 Your school ALNCo is Mrs Bibi

Learning Forum Meetings

Frequent reviews allow us to identify and further assess pupils who have additional learning needs and constantly ensure appropriate provision for all pupils in order for them to achieve their full potential. Learning Forum meetings are conducted once every term. 

 
Graduated Response for ALN  

The needs of the pupils will be met through a Graduated Response to provision for all pupils identified as having Additional Learning Needs.  

Universal good practice at classroom level

The impact of our effective learning and teaching policy ensures that we meet a wide range of needs and provide an effective foundation for all pupils including those accessing additional support. 

Targeted

• For pupils who do not make adequate progress at Universal level, further action will be necessary. Concerns over progress may be a short term or long-term issue but a focus on early intervention is key.
• Children will still be catered for through effective whole class practice.

Teachers will:

• ensure effective differentiation through suitable learning challenges for these pupils and employ the support of the year group teaching assistant where necessary
• Additionally, intervention(s) will be put in place that will best meet identified needs

Focus

For the very few pupils who do not make progress at Stage 2, Partnership Area Request Meetings (PARM) are held on a regular basis. PARM requests are fully discussed at a multi-agency team meeting and appropriate actions are agreed. E.g. external support is accessed; training is accessed from specialist support teams, recommendations for consideration at Stage 4. 

 
Intensive

A range of professionals working together to agree the exact nature of the child’s needs and possible underlying causes and then use the information to plan and deliver a package of solution-focused support through a Person-Centred Practice meeting. PCP recommendations could include:

• A highly individualised intervention programme with significant support.
• This could include specialised teacher provision and/or intensive TA support from a central Specialist support Team e.g. Autism Support Team (ASD), Emotional Health and Wellbeing Team (EHW) etc. Direct support from Health Service e.g. OT, Speech and Language.
• There will be a very small number of pupils who have exceptional needs. For these pupils the PCP may recommend a school referral for a funded Individual Development Plan (IDP) with supporting evidence from professional to be put forward to the Case Advisory Panel (CAP) for consideration.
• A statement of Special Needs will inform the school/provision for the pupil and will be renewed annually through a Person-Centred Practice review (PCP)
• Some pupils will have their needs met in mainstream school with significant support whilst pupils with more complex needs, a Special Resource base (SRB) or Special school will best meet their needs.