What assessment has the Minister made of the costs associated with the expansion of individual development plans?
In 2020 we published the findings of an independent review of school spending in Wales which provided an in-depth analysis of the school funding system and made recommendations for improvements. The report recommended that the Welsh Government should work with local authorities (LAs) and other stakeholders to keep the new ALN system under continual review to ensure it is implemented as intended.
The regulatory impact assessment (RIA) that accompanied the ALN Bill, which was scrutinised by the Senedd stated that the new system would be cost neutral. However, we have identified additional costs in the initial implementation period, as extra capacity is needed to move children from the SEN system to the ALN system.
In recognition of this, additional funding is being invested and to date, we have allocated £35m core funding to develop infrastructure, support system reform, and increase additional learning provision, with a yearly budget of £21m until 2025. An additional £20m was provided to schools and colleges in 2020/21 and 2021/22 to support ALN learners with complex needs and those disadvantaged by the pandemic. This funding is also supporting the skills development of the education workforce to help build capacity and ensure learners’ needs can be met in a range of education settings.
Welsh Government has committed £42k to each LA in Wales, for the next 3 years, to support the provision of online individual development plans (IDP) to ensure the information about learners with ALN is captured and recorded, so that learners with ALN are given suitable support.
The ALN Reform National Steering Group will include consideration of the potential impact of the reforms on funding.