How can the school help my child?

As a parent you will know your child best. If you have any concerns about your child’s learning or behaviour you should first talk things over with your child’s class teacher, Additional Learning Needs Coordinator, Headteacher or early year’s provider. It is very important that you discuss your worries with school/education provider as a first step. Quite a lot of children will struggle with their learning and behaviour at some point during their school life.

Torfaen LA believe that the best way to help your child is for everyone to work together using a Person-Centred approach. This approach puts the pupil at the heart of the planning and ensures that all relevant agencies work together to plan for the learner. The LA believes that children and young people should feel confident that their views will be listened to and valued. Where possible children and young people will be encouraged to participate in all the decision-making processes that occur in education.

The majority of learners are educated within mainstream early years settings/schools and colleges through universal provision and services.  Each school or setting has a provision map which sets out their graduated response for meeting pupil needs with the support and interventions they have developed as a whole school/setting to meet the needs of the students on their roll. Pupils may have a One Page Profile wit targets to monitor their progress with the support and interventions that they receive. All maintained mainstream schools in Torfaen have an allocated ALN budget with which to plan support and provision for pupils attending their school.

Some pupils will be identified by their school as having an Additional Learning Need and the pupil may require more individualised planning with targeted interventions and additional learning provision provided by their school through an Individual Development Plan.  Where this is the case the school will talk to you about the plan, and you will be invited to a person-centred meeting with the professionals involved in supporting your child to put a plan together. Your child’s school may also talk with you about accessing support from one of our central services like Educational Psychology or Outreach who can provide advice and guidance to support planning for a pupil in their school.

ALNCo

ALNCo is short for Additional Learning Needs Coordinator.

All schools have an ALNCo. In a small school the Head Teacher or Deputy may take on this role. In larger schools there may be an ALN team.

The ALNCo co-ordinates the Additional Learning support within the school and will keep a record of the children with ALN and monitor their progress. They will advise you of how the school will meet your child’s needs.

Each school has delegated ALN funding and have each developed a provision map which identifies the interventions and support they provide at universal, targeted and specific levels.

The ALNCo will also take responsibility for the operation and implementation of the school's ALN policy which is available to view at the school should you wish.

The importance of timely identification and of providing appropriate provision as soon as possible for a learner with ALN cannot be over-emphasised. The earlier action is taken, the more effective the action is likely to be.

Professionals and agencies who support learners

Various professionals meet regularly with the Additional Learning Needs Co-ordinator at a local school. They will work closely with the school staff to provide advice on how to work with individual pupils; they may provide additional specialist assessments or they may work directly with the child. They will also suggest new targets for the child or young person.