There are seven categories of ALN needs for primary schools to consider for their pupils.Please will you publish the number of pupils in each of the seven categories for all the primary schools in north Monmouthshire, and give Council an indication of any concerns that you may have when you analyse the information from this request?
Minutes:
Councillor John provided the following response:
For clarification, there are four main PLASC SEN categories
• Cognition and Learning
• Communication and Interaction Difficulties
• Behaviour, Emotional and Social Difficulties
• Sensory and Physical Difficulties
Each of these categories is broken down into sub-categories, which describes in more detail the child’s special educational need. For example, the category Cognition and Learning has eight sub-categories, which includes Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) Dyslexia, Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD) and Profound and Multiple Difficulties (PMLD). I attach for your information a document which includes a description of all the PLASC SEN categories.
The ALN Statutory Team provides regular information on the numbers of children and young people with statements of special educational need across Monmouthshire. This information is analysed by special educational need category, national curriculum year group and gender. There are regular discussions any aspects of the information provided that would be a cause for concern.
Cllr Harris has asked for specific information about primary pupils with ALN in the north of the county. The information below has been taken from the January SEN PLASC and includes data from Cantref, Cross Ash, Deri View, Gilwern, Goytre, Kymin View, Llandogo, Llanfoist, Llantillio Pertholey, Llanvihangel Crucorney, Osbaston, OLSM, Overmonnow, Raglan, Usk and Ysgol Gymraeg Y Fenni.
• Cognition and Learning
49 Dyslexia – DYSL
3 Dyspraxia – DYSP
5 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - ADHD
193 General Learning Difficulties – GLD
75 Moderate Learning Difficulties – MLD
11 Severe Learning Difficulties – SLD
6 Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties – PMLD
• Communication and Interaction Difficulties
146 Speech, Language and Communication Difficulties - SLCD
39 Autistic Spectrum Disorders – ASD This includes Asperger’s Syndrome and social communication difficulties.
• Behaviour, Emotional and Social Difficulties
108 Behaviour, Emotional and Social Difficulties - BESD
• Sensory and Physical Difficulties
50 Hearing Impairment – HI
8 Visual Impairment – VI
3 Multi-Sensory Impairment – MSI Pupils with MSI will have a combination of visual and hearing difficulties
40 Physical and Medical Difficulties – PMED
The Principal Officer for ALN and Statutory ALN Officer have met with all primary schools to discuss their ALN population and have addressed directly with each school any areas of concern. Further work and training is planned in the autumn term which will support schools more effectively meet the needs of their pupils with ALN. This includes the identification of effective, specialist interventions and a training programme for Teaching Assistants. The number of children diagnosed with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder is growing so the ALN and Educational Psychology services have prioritised this as an area where more targeted training and support is required.
From September 2020 the Local Authority will be required to implement the statutory requirements outlined in the ALN and Educational Tribunal Act 2018, which includes a number of changes, including Individual Development Plans (IDPs) instead of a statement of special educational need, will present schools and the local authority with significant challenges going forward.
I wouldn’t say these figures represent concerns as such, but they do set out the challenge of meeting the needs of a growing population of school pupils with speech, language and communication difficulties (SLCD) and with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the challenge is based around earlier identification and support.
The data for ALN in the North of the county there is an increase in ASD, speech language and communication and behaviour needs. The last can be the presentation of children frustrated because their needs have not been diagnosed. SLCD may indicate ASD and therefore moving forward there is a need to improve timely assessments and support for these pupils. In many cases assessment is carried out be Health and we are working with these colleagues to improve these process and the time they take.
Inclusion colleagues have recognised the need to support schools with pupils presenting with behaviour and are in the process of developing a package of support.
We have met individually with all schools to discuss individual concerns and have agreed support for the coming year. This approach has been very well received by schools
As a supplementary Councillor Harris asked that should any detailed analysis of the statistics reveal a large variation in individual schools identified ALN needs, would it be appropriate to consider that professional support be distributed on a proportionate basis?
Councillor John responded that there are four special needs resource bases which are particularly specialised. In terms of data and differences between schools, this data can be obtained to provide a further breakdown. He added that he would be happy to discuss this data, and what this means for ALN pupils.