Llyr Gruffydd MS stated in the Senedd chamber – “Too many children with additional learning needs are being let down by the system.” And went on to ask – “With autistic children sometimes waiting years to be assessed, how is the Government addressing this injustice?”
There is growing concern that the whole support system for children with additional learning needs (ALN) is failing. Mr Gruffydd added-
“Children referred for assessment frequently have to wait years for an assessment, and even when diagnosed the support simply isn’t there to help them.”
In 2018 the Welsh Government passed a law that makes supporting ALN a priority, and is meant to streamline the processes as well as to protect the rights of ALN children to get the support they need.
Llyr Gruffydd added-
“Currently, far too many children are falling through the net. Some fail to get the assessment they need, others fail to get the most basic of support they need to thrive.
“It is far too late for many of them – the most critical years of their education are behind them by the time they get any kind of help.”
“I call on the Government to sort this out as a matter of priority before we lose more of this generation to a system that is far from being fit-for-purpose”
In response to Llyr Gruffydd, Lynne Neagle the Cabinet Secretary for Education said-
“There is some really good practice in Wales, but there is more that we need to do to ensure consistent implementation across Wales, and that's something that I'm working on at the moment.
“There's more work to do. We've had encouraging feedback from Estyn, and they're currently conducting another thematic review.”
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