8. How is the Welsh Government supporting neurodiverse pupils? OQ59072

We continue to support neurodiverse pupils. Both the additional learning needs system and the Curriculum for Wales put children and young people's needs at the centre through person-centred planning and supporting individuals' progression.

Thank you. I'm still contacted regularly by parents of pupils with diagnosed or suspected neurodiverse conditions, many of whom have diagnosed neurodiverse conditions themselves and most of whom live in Flintshire. In recent months alone, e-mails received from Flintshire parents include the following: 'We attach evidence showing behaviours that are autism related and are held in her education file, yet she's without a formal assessment and diagnosis of autism.' Another neurodiverse mother said, 'If anything, we're excluded from anything such as when social services recently went into my daughter's school. How is that an equal partnership when you live in fear and cannot trust?' Another wrote, 'My son is autistic and had complained of extreme bullying by pupils and a teaching assistant at his previous school. The council dismissed any request for support.' An advocate for an autistic mother wrote that her client's son came home from school with some bruising. The social worker that visited said that she could see no bruising despite his mother taking photographs of the bruising that day. And finally, only last week, a mother wrote that her autistic daughter's school had put many referrals in place for her daughter, only to be knocked back. How can you ensure effective implementation of Welsh legislation to prevent such clear and repeated breaches from happening?

Well, none of us want to hear the sorts of examples that Mark Isherwood has described in his question today, and if there are any of those that he wishes to write to me about specifically, I'd be happy to take that up.

In relation to ensuring the reforms are effective, we are making sure that there is additional funding in the system, both this year and for the next two years. We are now a little over a year into a three-year implementation period for the very significant additional learning needs reforms. He will also know that we have recently published significant new material, which is guidance for pupils and their parents about their rights and the services that they are entitled to. And in relation to supporting the workforce to understand the needs of pupils with additional learning needs, in both initial teacher education and now continuing professional learning for teachers in practice, obviously meeting those needs is a priority, and supporting learners with ALN is part of a student teacher's core studies. We've also developed an online ALN national professional learning programme, aimed specifically at additional learning needs co-ordinators, but also teachers and lecturers, so they can develop their own ability to support teachers with ALN. And in addition to our work to support all learners with ALN, we fund the national autism team to provide relevant support and resources to the education sector as well.

I thank the Minister.