Children in Wales Seminar: ‘Reforming the Additional Learning Needs Framework in Wales’
In July this year the First Minister announced that one of the first areas the Fifth Assembly will be legislating on is an Additional Learning Needs Bill.
It is anticipated that the Bill will be introduced in autumn 2016 and that it may include some of the proposals contained in the draft Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal Bill 2015. Reforming the way the education and health sectors provide for children and young people with additional learning needs has been on the agenda since 2008, and there is cross-party consensus on the need for change and an acceptance amongst stakeholders that the current system does not support children and young people with additional learning needs to achieve their full potential.
Confirmed speakers include:
Tania Nicholson, Head of Additional Learning Needs Legislative Programme, Welsh Government and Charlie Thomas, Head of ALN (ALN) Transformation. They will speak about the Programme and the wider package of measures that will be put in place to support delivery partners to effectively move from the existing system to the new approach
Derek Tilley, Senior Development Officer for Legal Entitlements and Problem-solving (LEaP) at Cerebra – a national charity supporting children with neurological conditions.
Derek is currently undertaking a part-time PhD and is researching, amongst other things, partnership working between parents of disabled children and public body practitioners. Previously he’s worked for SNAP Cymru as an independent parental supporter and, therefore, has a good understanding of the issues faced by children and young people with additional learning needs. He will speak about the reforms highlighted in the Draft Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal Bill and his views on what these proposals will mean for children and young people with additional learning needs, parents and professionals alike.
Come along to this informative seminar and:
- Hear the experts’ presentations on different aspects of the reforms
- Ask questions of the presenters
- Discuss the topics in more detail and work in groups to consider what should be included in the Bill and the accompanying Code of Practice and discuss implications for their practice