4. How is the Welsh Government ensuring support for pupils with additional learning needs in North Wales? OQ57868

Local authorities are responsible for securing suitable education for children and young people, including those with additional learning needs. And the new ALN system will drive improvements in the way learners across Wales are supported to ensure that they can achieve their full potential.

Well, I recently met a Flintshire mum and dad whose son was denied autism diagnosis because he doesn't present autistic traits in school, masking and suppressing most of his tics and anxieties. They told me:

'He's well behaved in school, but will have a meltdown when he comes home after having a bad day.'

The same day, I wrote to you on behalf of a different constituent whose daughter with similar behaviours is under the care of Flintshire County Council, contributing to the shocking reality that Wales has the highest proportion of children in the UK being cared for by the state.

I've acted over many years and I'm still currently acting in a representative capacity on behalf of numerous separate families who have encountered similar barriers. Each case involves children with lifelong neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism spectrum conditions, denied diagnosis, and/or understanding and support because of coping and masking strategies by the pupils to conceal their autistic traits in school, copying the behaviours of those around them to fit in, with anxiety then kicking in when they arrive home. And each case has involved implied or actual parent blaming. When are you going to act to end this tragic scandal, because too many of these families are in agony?

I share the Member's concern about the circumstances that he's described in his question, and, as he knows, the purpose of the reforms that we're introducing is to be able to address the very real range of challenges that he's described in his question. These are very significant reforms, and I know the Member has previously challenged us in relation to the support for the system to deliver these reforms effectively. I hope he'll acknowledge that, over the course of the last six months or so, we've been able to provide further resources into the system to be able to respond to the kinds of challenges that he's describing in his question. And I've been continuing to do that in recent weeks, both in relation to the impact of the pandemic, but also the costs of the transformation itself in the system.