2. Pa gefnogaeth y mae Llywodraeth Cymru'n ei rhoi i bobl ifanc ag anghenion dysgu ychwanegol sydd am fynychu i addysg ôl-16, a'u teuluoedd? OQ59089

For the first time ever, we have a unified system for supporting learners from nought to 25 with additional learning needs. We are making a new investment in the coming days of £2.1 million to further education colleges to support the roll-out of this system for young people.

Thank you, Minister. It was helpful to hear that. Minister, you will be aware from the case work that I have previously written to you about, which touches upon my original question—. The main issue that was raised with me was that there generally isn’t straightforward signposting available for young people with additional learning needs and their families who wish to attend post-16 education. I’m sure, Minister, that you’ll agree that there should be a process to ensure that a young person’s needs can be met. But, from what I understand, there are frustrations that this process isn’t as clear as it should be, and that there can be a lack of communication as to why certain decisions have been made.

I appreciate that the additional learning needs Act looks to improve the support that is on offer to young people with additional needs. But, can the Minister outline how the current reforms are being extended to better help young people with ALN and their families, with the transition into post-16 education, and to ensure that they can access consistent, straightforward advice and support, so that we can remove any unnecessary barriers and open as many doors as possible for young people with additional needs?

I thank the Member for that question. He has, as he said, corresponded with me in relation to particular issues on behalf of constituents. While I’m sure that the response wasn’t what he was hoping for, at least I hope that it was a clear explanation of the decision that was taken, and the impact of the appeal process, if that’s the reference that he’s making in his question. The ALN system is designed to strengthen young people’s rights and to ensure that their feelings and views, and those of their families, are listened to and taken fully into account. It’s designed to ensure that the right support is put in place quickly in a way that best reflects the needs of those young people.

In the context of post-16 reforms, we have adopted, as the Member may know, a flow-through approach to move young people from the SEN system through to the ALN system. So, those currently in year 11 and below will flow through into FE with their existing IDP at that point in time. The Welsh Government is, at the moment, working with local authorities to devolve the budgets to support local authorities making those judgments into the future, so that there’s a local connection between the needs of young people and the provision that is available. He makes an important point in relation to the communication of the availability of services to young people. It's an important principle of the code and the Act that that is, obviously, working effectively. Most recently, at the end of last year, we published a series of guidance documents for young people about the system and the code, and the ALN pathfinder website, which aims to help young people with ALN, should, I hope, be a useful tool, so that young people know what rights they have and what support there is available to them.

At the beginning of January, I raised the issue of a lack of Welsh-language assessments in a timely manner for children and young people who are neurodiverse. I have a few cases in my constituency of children who need Welsh-language assessments and are having to wait years for those assessments. One, for example, has been waiting for assessment since February, and an initial online assessment by the Healios company was conducted some weeks ago. The child's first language is Welsh, and it was decided by the assessor that the assessment should be held through the medium of Welsh in terms of fairness, but the only Welsh-medium assessor is on maternity leave. The case was referred to the local neurodevelopment service; the result of that is that they'll have to wait two or three years for a Welsh-medium face-to-face appointment. So, does the Minister believe that it's acceptable that people who have Welsh as their first language have to wait far longer for assessments, and what cross-departmental work is happening in order to improve the provision and ensure that this situation is improved?

Well, I don't think that it's acceptable that that happens, of course, and I'm sorry to hear the example that the Member brings to the Chamber today. One of my priorities, in terms of the reforms within the education system, is to ensure that we have expertise in this field in the Welsh language. We are commissioning resources to support that at the moment, but we haven't reached where we need to be—I accept that fully. But work is in train to commission more resources and to provide provision across Wales, so that there is leadership in the system to be able to respond to the kinds of challenges that the Member mentions. If the Member wishes to write to me about that specific example, I'm happy to look at that, but I can also work with Julie Morgan on how this works in the health system too and bring the example to the attention of the Welsh language lead that we have in the system already.