Additional Needs Panel and Specialist Placements

Decision Making Forums

The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice for Wales, 2002 advises LAs to establish multi agency groups to moderate decisions in a consistent and robust manner.  Torfaen have 2 main decision-making Forums.

Decision Making Forums

Title of Forum	Main Function	Frequency	Membership
ALN Panel	Make decisions on statutory assessment / LA IDP processes EOTAS (PRU placements)  Medical Tuition	3 weekly	ALN Manager, EPS, Schools ALNCO, SNAP Cymru, PRU, Outreach, Special School/SNRB
Specialist Placement Panel	Make decision on pupils who access specialist placement at SNRB or Special School.	Termly	ALN Manager, EPS, Schools ALNCO, Outreach, Special School/SNRB

The panel role is too:

• Ensure Torfaen adhere to the SEN Code of Practice 2002 and the Equality Act 2010 from September 2020 the ALN Education and Tribunal Act.
• Provide a balanced representation from a wide range of specialised services to make informed, objective, equitable decisions on statutory assessments, provision, and placement for pupils of all ages and all ALN.
• To make objective evidence-based decisions on requests for addition resources / provision at School Action Plus and for Statutory Assessments. 

These decisions made at these panels are final and based on the written information submitted in line with each process. Where it becomes necessary to access a change in educational placement because of an individual child’s needs, parents, and children where appropriate, will always be consulted about the new placement. The child’s views will be sought by the current school and will form part of the advice submitted by schools to the LA.

The ALN Act requires that learners’ views should always be considered as part of the planning process, along with those of their parents/carers. It is imperative that children and young people see the planning process as something which is done with them rather than to them.

Torfaen advocate that Pupil participation is an important element of the ALN process and pupils should be encouraged and supported to contribute their views whenever possible should be encouraged to attend and participate in the meeting. Torfaen subscribe to the Children’s participation Standards and use person centred thinking and practise in our planning.

Torfaen Specialist Provision

A small number of children will have severe and complex Additional Learning Needs which cannot reasonably be met within the context of a mainstream school. Torfaen Local Authority have a continuum of specialist provision that includes Crownbridge Special School and Specialist Resource Bases attached to mainstream schools for pupils who have been assessed as requiring a more specialist education placement. Our Resource Bases and Special School have considerable expertise in working with pupils who have more complex needs. The Local Authority is responsible for the placement of pupils within Resource Bases and Special School via the ALN Specialist Placement Panel. Schools assess and monitor pupils on their ALN registers. When they have concluded that a pupil may require more specialist support or intervention that cannot be reasonably provided by their mainstream school, they liaise with their school Educational Psychologist (EP) to discuss the pupil. If it is agreed as appropriate and consent given by parents, the EP will undertake a formal consultation to determine if a specialist placement should be considered. If agreed the pupils name is placed on the specialist placement list for discussion at the meeting. Not all pupils who are placed on the list or discussed for specialist places will receive a placement and some pupils will be able to remain at their school with individual planning. Where a pupil is not awarded a placement at a specialist provision the Local Authority will work with the pupils mainstream school to provide advice and guidance to continue to support the pupil at their school.

Torfaen Specialist Provision

Name of Provision	Type	Headteacher/ Head of Base	Nature of Provision	Capacity	Age Range	Referrals
Crownbridge Special School Turnpike Road, Croesceiliog, Cwmbran. NP44 2BJ Telephone: 01633 624201 www.crownbridgeschool.co.uk	Special school	Bethan Moore	SLD and associated needs	116	3-19	Torfaen
Nant Celyn Primary Henllys Way, Cwmbran. NP44 7DJ Telephone: 01633 624170 www.nantcelynprimary.co.uk	Primary resource base P SNU	Gemma Bussy	Hearing impairment	14	5-11	Regional referrals accepted
Nant Celyn Primary Henllys Way, Cwmbran. NP44 7DJ Telephone: 01633 624170 Fax: 01633 624169 www.nantcelynprimary.co.uk	Primary resource base P SNU	Gemma Bussy	Autistic spectrum disorder	18	5-11	Torfaen
Maendy Primary Wayfield Crescent, Cwmbran. NP44 1NH Telephone: 01633 483168 www.maendyprimary.co.uk	Primary resource base P SNU	Fiona Colcombe	Complex learning and associated needs	16	3-7	Torfaen
Pontnewydd Primary Bryn Celyn Road, Pontnewydd, Cwmbran. NP44 1JW Telephone: 01633 483307 www.pontnewyddprimaryschool.co.uk	Primary resource base P SNU	Paulette Cox	Complex learning and associated needs	32	5-11	Torfaen
Secondary
Abersychan Comprehensive Incline Road, Abersychan, Pontypool. NP4 7DF Telephone/Fax: 01495 773068 www.abersychan.org.uk	Secondary resource base S SNU	Richard Price	Complex learning and associated needs	38	11-16	Torfaen
Cwmbran High Comprehensive Ty Gwyn Way, Fairwater, Cwmbran. NP44 4YZ Telephone: 01633 643950 Fax: 01633 643951 www.cwmbranhighschool.co.uk	Secondary resource base S SNU	Claire Sims	Hearing impairment	24	11-16	Regional referral accepted
Cwmbran High School Ty Gwyn Way, Fairwater, Cwmbran. NP44 4YZ Telephone: 01633 643950 Fax: 01633 643951 www.cwmbranhighschool.co.uk	Secondary resource base S SNU	Gemma Bussy	Autistic spectrum disorder	16 Total Torfaen 8 Newport 4 Monmouth 2 Blaenau Gwent 2	11-16	Regional

Local Authority Pupil Referral Unit (EOTAS Provision)

Tuition

Where a young person is unable to attend school for a fix period due to ongoing significant physical and/or medical reasons. Schools, local authorities, health professionals and other agencies should work together to support a pupil who cannot attend their school.

Tuition for these pupils aims to support the continuing of education of children and young people of statutory school age who are unable to access mainstream school due to Physical or medical reasons. Tuition is short term and the pupil will return to their mainstream school once able. Where schools have information from a consultant that have assessed that a pupil is not able to attend their school for a fixed period of time due to their medical needs the school can submit a request for tuition to the LA ALN panel for discussion. Schools will need to complete the relevant parts of the application form attaching appropriate medical reports. with a range of needs can be referred to a PRU.

Tuition requests are made by schools with supporting medical evidence in line with Torfaen’ s PRU protocol.Request are discussed by ALN panel. All tuition is short term and the pupil remains on roll at their home school.

Pupil Referral Unit Placements

The Pupil Referral Unit is maintained by the Local Authority and provides education provision outside the mainstream school setting for pupils who might not otherwise receive a suitable and appropriate education.

Torfaen PRU provides education for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties and for those who require education otherwise than at school (EOTAS). The provision includes: a main site, Ty Glyn which caters for pupils at key stage 3 and 4, and New Inn, which caters for pupils who are anxious, or school refusers.

They also offer short term placements for pupils at one of the bases. All pupils remain on their school roll whilst attending the PRU. All placements are agreed via the local authority panel and monitored closely. Pupil progress is reviewed with partners and the pupils themselves on a half termly basis. These map pupil progress and plan a return to their school or map pupil progress and plan a return to their school or consider the best future options for the young person.

The PRU works closely and in partnership with all Torfaen primary and secondary schools. It is able to offer, when appropriate to the needs of the learner, a five day (25hrs) provision and aims to provide a balanced curriculum. Pupils’ individual programmes focus on promoting personal understanding and developing skills in behaviour management. All pupils study Mathematics, English, Science, information and communication technology (ICT), art, geography, history, physical education, PSHE and food technology.

Requests for PRU and anxiety group placements are made by schools with supporting planning and evidence in  line with Torfaen PRU protocol.Request are discussed by ALN panel and reviewed regularly.

Contact details

Neil Payne Headteacher
Tel: 01495 742 859 (Ty Glyn Site)
Tel: 01495 742 882 (New Inn Site)
Email: neil.payne@torfaen.gov.uk

Placements In Out of County Schools

The majority of pupils will have their Additional Learning Needs met in Torfaen schools or provisions. In a very small number of cases, children will have been assessed as part of the statutory assessment /IDP process as having severe and complex needs that Torfaen do not have in county provision to provide for their individual needs. In these cases, a specialist placement outside the authority will be sought using the Local Authority commissioning process. We will seek to commission a day placement at an independent or non-maintained special school which is within reasonable travelling distance of the pupil’s home. We will also work in conjunction with Social Care and /or Aneurin Bevan Health Board for placement of pupils with complex health and social care needs who may require a residential care placement in conjunction with the care plan.

We will continue to regularly review these pupils progress and monitor their provision to ensure it remains appropriate to meet their education needs as part of the Local Authorities quality assurance process.

Transport for pupils who attend Specialist Provisions

The majority of pupils with ALN attend their nearest suitable maintained mainstream school. Torfaen Transport Policy for students who have ALN is the same as for all pupils and transport is only provided for those students who reside over the statutory walking distances from the nearest suitable mainstream school. These are 2 miles for a primary aged pupil and 3 miles for a secondary aged pupil. Where a parent has chosen a school, which is not the nearest suitable maintained school they will be responsible for the transport to school.

Where Torfaen Inclusion and Pupil Support Service have awarded a placement at a specialist provision the transport department will be notified of the placement and transport will be put in place where the pupil is ordinarily resident within Torfaen and has been awarded a placement by the Local Authority specialist placement panel at:

• A Local Authority Special Needs Resource Base (Unless the pupil resides under the statutory walking distances from the school, they have been awarded a placement)
• Crownbridge Special School
• Pupil Referral Until or Pont Fach Assessment Centre
• An Independent Special School named in the Statement of SEN /IDP.

The Pupil Support and Inclusion Service only have involvement in transport for pupils who attend specialist provisions all other transport queries will go through the main transport department. (Please see main transport section)

Torfaen have a range of Special Resource Bases and a Special Schools for pupils assessed as having severe and complex additional learning needs. We work in conjunction with the provisions to develop them as  centres of advice and expertise, this is an integral part of developing graduated response to meeting pupil needs. Our special schools and provisions work with mainstream to develop provision and share good practise within Torfaen schools.

The Local Authority is responsible for the admission of pupils to its resource bases and special schools via the ALN Specialist Placement Panel.  Schools assess and monitor pupils on their ALN registers. When they have concluded that a pupil may require more specialist support or intervention that cannot be reasonably provided by their mainstream school, they liaise with their school Educational Psychologist to discuss the pupil. If it is agreed as appropriate and consent given by parents the EP will undertake a formal consultation to determine if a specialist placement should be considered. If agreed the pupils name is placed on the specialist placement list.  The panel meets on a termly basis to discuss the pupils.

Last Modified: 09/02/2022 Back to top