11. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the provision of specialist learning support in schools in Wales? OAQ(5)0101(EDU)

Specialist learning support must be provided to all children identified as having a need. Through our additional learning needs transformation programme and the associated ALN Bill, the needs of learners will be identified earlier and appropriate support provided. We have announced £20 million of funding to support implementation and delivery of the new system.

Thank you, Minister. Minister, I’ve recently been made aware of a situation in my constituency where a learning support assistant is providing assistance to a girl with needs around her sight—Braille support. That LSA has left the council to work elsewhere and the council has been unable to replace that position, so she’s been unable to continue with that level of support through no fault of her own, or even the local authority’s. I guess we’re probably all agreed that greater collaboration between authorities around providing that sort of support would help, as would the local authority using retention and recruitment premiums if necessary. But can the Minister say what else local authorities and Welsh Government can do to ensure that children such as my constituent’s can get the assistance they need when local authorities are unable to fill these posts?

I think we all sympathise with people who are put in that position, and that’s why I’ve sought to emphasise, throughout the debate and the conversation we’ve been having on the additional learning needs Bill, that the Bill is part of a wider transformation programme, and it is the programme that is absolutely key to the success of the Bill. That means a workforce planning programme that is able to recognise where the pressures are, and the Member’s outlined a significant pressure that I don’t think is alone in Merthyr, as it happens—I think it’s the case elsewhere as well.

We are working with the WLGA to ensure that we understand and we can map the pressures that exist within the system at the moment, and of course we’re funding the ALN transformation programme. That’s absolutely key, because if we are to succeed in the future, and if both the Bill itself, the primary legislation and the code and everything that goes along with it, and all of our ambitions and visions for the future, are to be delivered, then they will be delivered by professionals working with children in the classroom or other settings. That means we need to invest in the people and the workforce of the future, to ensure all of these specialisms are available to children when and where they need them, and that they’re available in both English and in Welsh.

After concerns were raised with me by parents who were being told that there would be cuts in one-to-one support in Gwynedd primary schools for their children with type 1 diabetes, they’ve told me it’s good news, and that they’ve found a fantastic way forward, and they’re pleased with the approach adopted by council staff and their willingness to collaborate. However, they expressed concern that this is funded through ALN budgets and they are seeking assurance from the Welsh Government that the upcoming ALN Bill will not compromise that funding. What assurances can you provide for them?

I don’t want to step entirely into the example that the Member’s just quoted. If the Member wishes to write to me with more details about that example, I’m more than happy to reply to him and put a copy of that reply into the library for other Members to see. But can I say this? In the approach that we’re taking, there should be no reduction or diminution in services. In fact, there should be a provision of services that are tailored to the needs of the individual, and those services available potentially to more people, and not fewer people, and that those services will be funded. I’ve just referred in my previous answer to the wider transformation programme that we are undertaking in order to transform the experience, so that all children, no matter what their additional learning need happens to be, are able to enjoy a rich educational experience wherever they happen to be. I would say, since the Member’s mentioned the needs of children with diabetes, we are publishing next week a set of statutory guidance on how children with healthcare needs should be supported within the school and other settings.

Thank you, Minister.