A petition has been started for more funding for Additional Learning Needs schools in Wales.
Many unequipped and understaffed ‘mainstream’ schools across Wales are having to support children with a high level of need as there are no places available in the special schools, causing distress to not only the additional learners but other children too. Even some being segregated from their classmates.
The petition set up states it is :
‘To look at funding provided for specialist provisions in Wales for children with additional needs it’s far from acceptable children with a high level of need being forced to stay in a mainstream environment due to spaces in schools and schools being underfunded and understaffed! More details’
The petition can be found here: https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/245340
READ MORE:
South Wales Police catch 44 year old burglar through CSI like skills and locks him up
Mark Drakeford defends Welsh Health minister Eluned Morgan who appears to have vanished in this time of need
Cardiff’s new indoor arena now going to cost £100 milllion more than expected
Cardiff council leader Huw Thomas implies taxes may need to rise
UK government offering more help from April as cost of living crisis kicks in
Porsche crashes into Cardiff pub
Body found in Cardiff park
‘Gun’ wielding woman in South Wales, finally receives jail time
Specialist schools and unit base provisions throughout Wales are already almost all full to capacity and the ones who aren’t yet will not be far behind. Schools are understaffed, staff are overworked already, ALN (Additional Learning Needs) children are unable to receive the education and support they so rightfully deserve from the start, in many cases early intervention is extremely important and these chances are being taken away from children due to the crisis we are facing within our education system.’
We spoke to a parent of a child in a Welsh school in Cardiff who said:
“There is an additional needs child in my 6 year old daughter class who, I do feel sorry for him and others like him because he isn’t getting the attention he requires in the class and often acts out, causing quite a bit of alarm and distress to other children often making them scared, there was a brief period of time where my child and others like her didn’t want to go to school anymore, so i had to go in and speak with the head teacher who explained to me that there was nowhere else for him to go and they were already understaffed, the child is now often segregated from his classmates as he is prone to lash out. He needs to be somewhere safe for him where trained staff can help him and us parents need to know our kids are safe when in school. Every child should have the right for access to support”
The petition can be found here: https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/245340