Councillor Matthew Dorrance has backed calls for the Plaid Cymru Welsh Government to allocate £340 million in Additional Learning Needs (ALN) consequential funding to support children and young people across Wales.
The funding became available following additional investment in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision in England. However, Welsh Labour has criticised the Welsh Government for not directing any of this funding towards ALN services in Wales, despite growing pressures on schools and local authorities.
Every single council and teaching union across Wales has called on the Welsh Government to ensure that this money goes to schools. Welsh Labour stands with them.
Councillor Matthew Dorrance, Powys County Council’s Labour Group Leader, said:
“Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed, regardless of the challenges they face.
“Schools and councils are working incredibly hard to support children with additional learning needs, but they need the resources to do so effectively.
“With demand rising and needs becoming more complex, it is vital that this funding reaches frontline services as soon as possible. Plaid Cymru are making the wrong political choice, and I urge them to change their minds.
“Children and families cannot afford to wait.”
Welsh Labour’s Education Spokesperson Lynne Neagle MS said:
“Every pupil deserves the best possible support and care to reach their full potential and be happy at school. School staff, parents and carers work incredibly hard for young people with Additional Learning Needs, often under extraordinary pressures.
“It is astounding that the Plaid Cymru Government are not giving any extra support to these children. Our additional learning needs system is under extreme pressure. Children and young people’s needs require more complex, intensive and long-term support. The pressures they face in England exist here in Wales too, and school reserves don’t have sufficient headroom to absorb ongoing cost increases
“We have asked them to justify their decision and asked why there is no money in their budget for this.
“Schools and families deserve transparency. I stand with my Welsh Labour colleagues, council leaders and teaching unions urging Plaid Cymru to do the right thing and allocate this money to children with additional learning needs.”
The demand for additional learning needs support within Welsh schools is rising. In the spring, the non-partisan Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) reported that the growing complexity of need was creating unsustainable financial strain. They stated that education was “one of the most acute pressures highlighted by councils” as “ALN spending accounts for more than a quarter of all school budget pressures”.
Welsh Labour is supporting calls from schools, councils, and education leaders for the Plaid Cymru Welsh Government to allocate the full ALN consequential funding to help meet growing demand and ensure children receive the support they need.
Residents are also being encouraged to support the NAHT Cymru (National Association of Head Teachers) petition calling on the Welsh Government to release the funding.