Bishopston Primary School values the abilities and achievements of all its pupils. We care for one another and be the best that we can be. As a school we provide outstanding educational opportunities for each child to allow them to reach their full potential.

The new Additional Learning Needs policy is widely known as the ALN Code and can be found in the link below.

https://www.gov.wales/additional-learning-needs-code

How has ALN changed?

https://youtu.be/cDjWUZgoR3A

The ALN Coordinator, Mrs Jo Barrow, with the Headteacher and Governing Body, plays a key role in the development of the ALN provision in the school. 

ALN stands for Additional Learning Needs.

At Bishopston Primary School, we recognise that all pupils are individual and come to school at different stages of development and with different needs. As a school we work closely with the pupils, class teachers, families and outside agencies to ensure that progress is made and that any difficulties experienced by any pupil can be overcome through working in a holistic way. The well-being of every pupil is at the forefront of everything that we do and we endeavour to help and support each individual to the best of our abilities.

 Our Aims:

• To enable learners with identified additional needs and challenges to have access to a broad, balanced, differentiated and relevant curriculum.
• To meet the needs of all learners with additional needs, with the support of the Local Authority and outside agencies.
• To take into account the views and wishes of learners (where possible) and families/carers when developing provision and practice for additional support, through person centred planning approaches. 
• To involve learners in setting targets
• To involve learners in transition phases when entering the school and transferring between Key Stages.
• To use the school's assessment, recording and reporting system as part of the identification process of additional learning needs.
• To keep informed of best practice when devising intervention, support and provision 
• To ensure early identification of pupil’s needs is made and any additional support requirements are out in place
• To review the intervention and provision set out in IDPs as part of the school assessment cycle

The principles underpinning our approach to ALN are:

• A rights-based, pupil centred approach where the views, wishes and feelings of the child, child’s parent or young person are at the core of the planning and provision of support. We have due regard to the requirements of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and also the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)
• Early identification, intervention and prevention
• Collaboration and integration
• Inclusive education

In order for the school to determine whether a child has ALN, the following tests must be applied. The key questions that need to be asked are:

1. Does the child or young person have a greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age?

2. Does the child or young person have a disability (within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010) which prevents or hinders the child or young person from making use of facilities for education or training of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream maintained schools or mainstream FEIs.

Pupils who meet our criteria for having ALN will require a graduated response through the following levels of support;

• School Action – a Person Outcome Proforma (POP) will be set up with the parent and teacher
• School Action+ – specialist services are involved with the child’s POP
• IDP – The school (decision making panel) assess and agree that the pupil will receive targeted support and a pupil centered review takes place once a year to review progress.

ALN children will need additional or different support from that given to other children of the same age

As a school we understand the importance of early identification of ALN and early intervention to help support our pupils. Below you will find more information about areas of ALN, Universal Learning Provision (ULP) provided at our school along with details of the intervention we are trained in and provide at Bishopston Primary School.