What we looked at

This report is about the system that supports people with Additional Learning Needs (ALN) in Wales. 

The Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 (the Act) introduced a new system to help learners with ALN. The aim was to create a more integrated, collaborative, and person-centred system.

We looked at whether public bodies understand ALN demand, workforce capacity and skills, costs, and outcomes. We focused mainly on the Welsh Government and councils, and their remit in relation to ALN within schools.

Why this is important 

Children and young people with ALN can have a broad range of differing needs. Whatever their needs, the ALN system should help overcome barriers so that learners can reach their full potential. 

Before the new system, there was no statutory protection around the support for learners not yet in education. The Act extended provision to learners aged 0-25. And it replaced two separate systems, one helping learners up to age 16 with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and another for post-16 learners with learning difficulties or disabilities. The old and new systems ran in parallel through a phased transition between September 2021 and August 2025.

A key change has been the new statutory Individual Development Plan (IDP). The IDP replaced non-statutory SEN support – school action, school action plus – and statutory statements of SEN. Previously, statements were reserved for a relatively small group with the highest needs. But the new system gives every learner with ALN an IDP.

When introducing the Act, the Welsh Government said the previous system was ‘complex, bewildering and adversarial’. However, several reviews have found that challenges remain within the new system. We refer to evidence from various other sources in this report.

What we have found

We found that the system is under strain and facing challenges that threaten its sustainability. Public bodies do not have a complete picture of demand, costs, and outcomes so they do not have enough information for effective planning and budgeting, and with which to assess value for money. Ultimately, we have concerns about the current performance of the system in supporting learners to meet their full potential. 9 We came to this view because:

• the system does not have good enough data to understand the extent of growing demand and complexity; 
• patchy workforce data limits the system’s understanding of a range of capacity and skills challenges; 
• public bodies do not have a good enough understanding of ALN costs, and we have concerns about the system’s financial sustainability; and 
• the goals of the ALN system are clear but there is only a limited picture of whether it is delivering good outcomes for learners and the system remains adversarial despite evidence of some improvement. 

What we recommend 

Our recommendations focus on improving data about learners with ALN and the workforce, making the cost of support for learners more transparent, and collecting data on outcomes. Our aim is to support better long-term planning and to ensure that support for learners with ALN is having the desired impact.

Our recommendations focus on the Welsh Government and its role as an enabler of change at a national level. Nevertheless, a wide range of public bodies will need to be involved if our recommendations are to be implemented successfully. They do, therefore, have wider relevance. Proposals that the Welsh Government has consulted on recently will also impact other bodies.