There are only 3 Observation/Assessment units in Carmarthenshire. These are units where children with speech and learning difficulties are placed when it is decided by Carmarthenshire county council's education psychologists that they require assessment so that their additional needs can be catered for in school. Some children move from here into special schools, while others are released into mainstream school with support. At present all three of Carmarthenshire's assessment units educate via English medium. It was stated by Mr Sully that the aim of Carmarthenshire county council is to discontinue the provision of English medium education by 2022 and that Llangennech school is merely on this path of change. I am a parent of a child who was enrolled and accepted into the Welsh medium stream at Llangennech school, but on the say of Carmarthenshire county council specialists was placed for assessment at a unit which educated via English medium. This then prevented him being placed back into Welsh medium education upon his release into mainstream education as he could only speak English. How can Carmarthenshire County Council discontinue English medium education in Llangennech thus barring my child to be returned to education in his community school with the longer term possibility of then moving, with support into the Welsh stream of his local school, when it cannot support welsh speaking pupils with learning difficulties to integrate into their chosen communities?
Minutes:
There are only 3 Observation/Assessment units in Carmarthenshire. These are units where children with speech and learning difficulties are placed when it is decided by Carmarthenshire county council's education psychologists that they require assessment so that their additional needs can be catered for in school. Some children move from here into special schools, while others are released into mainstream school with support. At present all three of Carmarthenshire's assessment units educate via English medium. It was stated by Mr Sully that the aim of Carmarthenshire county council is to discontinue the provision of English medium education by 2022 and that Llangennech school is merely on this path of change. I am a parent of a child who was enrolled and accepted into the Welsh medium stream at Llangennech school, but on the say of Carmarthenshire county council specialists was placed for assessment at a unit which educated via English medium. This then prevented him being placed back into Welsh medium education upon his release into mainstream education as he could only speak English. How can Carmarthenshire County Council discontinue English medium education in Llangennech thus barring my child to be returned to education in his community school with the longer term possibility of then moving, with support into the Welsh stream of his local school, when it cannot support welsh speaking pupils with learning difficulties to integrate into their chosen communities?
Response by Councillor J.E. Williams, Chair of the E&C Scrutiny Committee
The Chair stated that Carmarthenshire County Council’s policy was that all its schools should be inclusive, with children with additional learning needs being educated in a mainstream setting alongside their peers, wherever possible. In the vast majority of cases this was achieved, with all children benefitting. Whilst the system was designed to meet the needs of learners through an universal and inclusive approach, for a small number of children with significant and complex additional needs, this is not always possible and specialised provision offered a more appropriate learning setting.
In order to make sure that the needs of all learners were met, the school system in Carmarthenshire included a range of provision for children with additional needs. A specialised school or unit offered education to children with the most profound or complex needs where a mainstream setting was either not suitable for the children’s needs, or where parents preferred an alternative setting. Selected secondary and primary schools across the County included specialised units for children with particular needs, such as autism, sensory impairment or speech and language delay. The Department for Education & Children provided specific additional support in schools wherever practicable so that as many children as possible remained in their local school. Whilst the Council’s preference was to meet the needs of all children in a mainstream setting wherever possible, this was not always practicable.
All pupils with additional learning needs had specific individual plans based on their circumstances and a tailored support programme was provided according to need. Generally, an additional learning need was not a barrier to learning two languages. It was important to assess and monitor progress in each or all of the languages that a child was using or learning, including sign and visually supported communication systems required for some pupils, particularly as the stronger developed language could be used to support and build learning through a lesser developed language medium. Staff were required to differentiate the curriculum and make reasonable adjustments to the language of instruction and response in order to accommodate additional needs and ensure access to the curriculum and learning progress. At times it might be appropriate to target additional support in one language for a period in order to consolidate and accelerate learning (e.g. in literacy).
He added that there would be rare instances, however, where a child might be diagnosed with a condition that was not conducive to a fully bilingual education. In these circumstances, a package of support was identified by professional practitioners and discussed with parents. Arrangements were made for the child to attend an appropriate school where their needs could be met. It might be the case that on a small number of occasions the needs of an individual child could not be met at the local school as, notwithstanding the Council’s commitment to inclusive education, it was simply not practicable to meet all needs at every school. In the last five years the Educational and Child Psychology Service had been involved in only one or two cases each year where a move of school has been advised. To place this into context, the County’s school system served around 27,000 pupils in total and so the frequency of pupil movement for additional learning needs, was very low indeed.
It was the Council’s experience that the vast majority of pupils with a wide range of additional learning needs and abilities were successful in the County’s schools, irrespective of the language of instruction but the Council did acknowledge that there would be a very few children whose needs could not be met other than through provision at a specialist unit.
For the Llangennech proposal, the support provided to children currently in the schools with additional needs, would continue through the medium in which they currently received their education. Should the proposal be implemented, all future pupils would receive this support mainly through the medium of Welsh, with appropriate adjustments being made to meet pupils’ individual additional needs.