Implementation of education reforms: In Brief

Ahead of the Senedd’s debate on the implementation of education reforms this Wednesday (16 October), we are setting out some relevant background as well as highlighting our previous articles.

• Both Additional Learning Needs (ALN) and curriculum reforms are being scrutinised by the Senedd’s Children, Young People and Education (CYPE) Committee, which published an interim report in July.
• The Welsh Government responded to the CYPE Committee’s report last month. It accepted 4 recommendations, a further 3 in principle and rejected 1.
• The Cabinet Secretary for Education, Lynne Neagle MS, issued a statement on ALN implementation on 7 October. She said she’d “heard about the challenges” and “now is the time to combine reflection with decisive action”.
• The CYPE Committee’s report focuses mainly on ALN where there is concern about what lies behind a fall in numbers. The number of pupils recognised as having ALN has decreased by 44% since the new ALN system started being rolled out (2023/24 compared with 2020/21).
• This is despite the definition of ALN remaining the same as under the previous Special Educational Needs (SEN) system. When introducing the legislation, the Welsh Government’s stated expectation was that numbers would be broadly similar.
• The Welsh Government’s explanation for the decrease is that schools have systematically reviewed their SEN/ALN registers and removed learners whose needs can be met through “holistic” or ‘universal’ provision. Also, a previous category of “general learning difficulties” is no longer included in SEN/ALN recording.
• In May, the Cabinet Secretary told the CYPE Committee she wanted to “get under the skin of what it is going on”, and was “really worried” about the decrease in recorded ALN numbers.
• Following the CYPE Committee’s scrutiny, the Cabinet Secretary has initiated a review of the legislation and the ALN Code, and what is meant by ‘universal provision’. Scoping of this work will be completed by November, informed by the CYPE Committee’s report and the four-year evaluation already in place, with the review’s findings expected by summer 2025.
• Other issues and recommendations raised in the CYPE Committee’s report centred on funding for ALN provision, staffing arrangements and collaboration between education and health services. Issues regarding the Curriculum for Wales included the balance between consistency and flexibility in what schools teach and what this means for qualifications.

In Brief by Michael Dauncey, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament