5. What provision has been made for additional learning needs in the Welsh Government’s school organisation code? OAQ(5)0035(EDU)

Thank you, Mark. Consideration for the needs of these children runs throughout the statutory code. The code sets out factors that should be taken into account, and that relevant bodies should place the interests of learners above all others, with particular attention being paid to the impact of school proposals on vulnerable groups of children.

Thank you. As you said, the code specifies the need to pay particular attention to the impact of the proposals for school closures on vulnerable groups, including children with special educational needs. Despite that, you recently took the decision to support the decision by Flintshire to close John Summers High School, which caters for some of the most vulnerable pupils in the area, taking pupils from pupil referral units and children excluded from other high schools that wouldn’t be sent to bigger schools. Half of the pupils are living in an area that is amongst the top 5 per cent of the index of multiple of deprivation in Wales, and almost a third fall within the school action, school action plus and statemented additional learning needs categories, something which the council’s consultation document failed to acknowledge. Given that under normal pupil criteria, the Welsh Government has set a minimum figure, I understand, of 600 for school numbers, why isn’t the Welsh Government applying greater flexibility under its existing legislation and code, where particular needs arise, to enable smaller schools to meet those needs in the unique way that only they can?

Thank you, Mark, for that question. The closure of John Summers school is not an easy one and not one I took lightly, but took on the advice provided about how best we could improve educational outcomes for all children in that particular area. You will know that, in my progressive agreement with the First Minister, there is specific mention about the need to review the schools organisation code, especially with regard to smaller schools. I will be making further announcements on my consultation on the schools organisation code and how it could be reformed and strengthened, if necessary, later on this month.

My concern is about the rights of families to get an independent assessment of additional learning needs, both independent of the school and the local education authority. I’ve had several constituents who are educational psychologists contact me about the absence of a statutory role for educations psychologists in the draft Bill, and there has been no statutory obligation for families to be able to have access to an educational psychologist in the draft code as well. That means that only families who can afford to pay for an educational psychologist are potentially able to access that. Given the number of cases I get where people’s special needs haven’t been identified while they were in full-time education, that causes me considerable concern and I wondered what you’re able to do about it.

Thank you, Jenny, for raising that important point. Welsh Government recognises the importance of educational psychology; that’s why we support the professional development courses for educational psychology here in Cardiff. As you will be aware, the Minister has stated his intention to bring forward the draft Bill before Christmas of this year. Views around the role of educational psychologists were raised when the previous administration consulted on the draft code and Bill in 2015, and those matters have subsequently been discussed directly with the Association of Educational Psychologists. As I say, we recognise the very important role that educational psychologists play in the current special educational needs system, and strongly believe that they will need to continue to do so under our proposed ALN Bill. The ongoing development of that Bill, the code and the wider ALN transformation programme has been undertaken in light of those conversations that have been and will continue to happen between the Minister and the profession.

Obviously, the special educational needs code is currently, as it stands, being considered as part of the school organisation code. While reading it, it was clear to me that it says that children should have their needs met, that the views of children should be sought and taken into account and that the parental role is vital. If we bring you back to the debate that we had on the autism Bill last week, when I met with people from my region, it was very clear to me that the parents or the children didn’t feel that they had been considered in many of these discussions. So, I wonder, when you are minded to talk to organisations like the National Autistic Society, whether you will be looking at this code in relation to amending it so that parents and children can be heard more effectively, so that they don’t come to us with stories whereby some children are not actually going to school at all at the moment because the provision simply is not there for them.

Thank you for that very important point, and I’m sure the Minister who will be taking the Bill through the Assembly has heard what you have to say. Can I say that I too recently met with a local autism group? Given that my constituency neighbours your region, many of the people that came to the meeting were actually from your region. I was very concerned to hear that those parents felt that they could not begin to get their children on the assessment path unless they were given permission to do so by a school. Can I say that that is not the correct position? That is not the case. As a result of that meeting, I have asked my officials to write to Neath Port Talbot local education authority—and indeed, we’ve picked up this feedback from Pembrokeshire authority as well—to make it absolutely clear to the LEA that is not the case, that is not the only referral route in, and that they should not be saying that to parents. We’re also developing a new resource for parents that will explain quite clearly their existing rights and how they can access help for their children, and that, I’m hoping, will be published early in the new year.