Additional Learning Needs

This page provides information on our services in Wales. Please visit our Special Educational Needs page for further information if you are living in England.

Our team of experts in additional learning needs (ALN) and disability law in Wales work with families to ensure that every child or young person with ALN or a disability has access to the education they deserve.

If a child or young person has a learning difficulty and/or a disability that means that they need additional health and education support, they are considered to have additional learning needs and/or a disability.

This includes autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD or dyspraxia), hearing or sight loss and physical disabilities.

These children have as much right to access and participate in education as children without ALN or a disability, and our specialist education team are here to ensure that every child in Wales has the right special educational provision to suit their needs.

Some children with ALN and/or disabilities in Wales may need an Individual Development Plan (IDP) in order to meet their needs at school and allow them to receive an education that helps them achieve the best possible outcomes. An IDP is a legal document prepared by the local authority that states the support and accommodations that must be provided by a school in order to meet that child’s needs. IDPs replace the former Statement of Special Educational Needs, which are being phased out. It applies to all schools, including mainstream schools in Wales.

In England, there are Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP) in place instead. Please visit our Special Educational Needs page for further information.

Unfortunately, many children in Wales go without the IDP or statement they desperately need. Sometimes the IDP provided might not make the right provisions for the child or does not provide appropriate additional support. We help our clients to challenge these decisions so that their child can access the right support.

We have helped thousands of families in Wales fight for the right IDP for their child including, where necessary, appealing decisions to the Special Educational Needs Tribunal for Wales (SENTW) or the new Education Tribunal for Wales.

Our services include:

• Advice on whether the current provision your child’s school is providing is meeting their needs and your options.
• Advice on whether your child requires a statutory assessment by the local authority. This has to happen before an IDP can be made.
• Conducting appeals over decisions not to conduct a statutory assessment.
• Conducting appeals over decisions not to issue an IDP.
• Advice on the contents of an IDP and conducting appeals against contents if you feel it does not meet your child’s needs.
• Conducting appeals against a decision not to maintain a statement or IDP any further.

Talk to us today to see how we can help you.

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