The Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 and the Additional Learning Needs Code aims to make education provision more inclusive for all children in Wales by providing the statutory system for meeting the needs of children with additional learning needs (ALN).
Section 2 of the Act defines the term ‘additional learning needs’ (ALN):
2 Additional learning needs
(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, or
(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.
(3) A child under compulsory school age has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she is, or would be if no additional learning provision were made, likely to be within subsection (2) when of compulsory school age.
(4) A person does not have a learning difficulty or disability solely because the language (or form of language) in which he or she is or will be taught is different from a language (or form of language) which is or has been used at home.
Caerphilly Early Years team works with families, early intervention teams, health professionals, registered childcare and play settings, schools, and community provisions to see how we can best support children with emerging needs.
Our early intervention teams work in communities with families at the earliest opportunity supporting early language development and child development through individual family sessions online or in person as well as group sessions including language groups and social communication needs groups.
Our childcare team works with registered childcare and play settings to develop inclusive provision, including child observations, role modelling strategies in setting, delivering training for staff teams, as well as providing resources needed for the child to access the environment.
We want all children to become independent learners who are confident and thrive in a fun learning environment. However, some children struggle with this and need more targeted support to help them settle into a childcare setting and develop their independence skills. The Early Years Emerging Needs Panel identifies children who may need this additional level of support above the universal provision.
Sometimes there is support to access funded childcare provision depending on funding or situation of the family. Please check the webpages for more information and contact us if you need support.
Lots of communities set up their own local groups to support children and play in the community. You can find out what is available by using Dewis. In the summer holidays there are also Food and Fun sessions run in schools and Family Play in the Park Days which are inclusive sessions and can offer great play opportunities for children and families.
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