Agenda item

The Committee considered a report providing a final summary of the work of the Task & Finish Group established to undertake a review into the model for funding Additional Learning Needs (ALN) in schools.  The financial support for ALN has experienced much pressure and strain for some time due to increasing demands on the current level of resources available. The Committee was also aware of the key changes being made by the Welsh Government in this area which will lead to a new way of delivering support to pupils with Additional Learning Needs.

The Task and Finish review was set up to examine the current funding formula and to consider possible alternative models to meet the requirements of the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act.  The Act highlights the need for an integrated, collaborative process of assessment, planning and monitoring which facilities early, timely and effective interventions. The underlying need for a more reactive model of funding was a key consideration.

The key aims and objectives for the review were detailed in a planning and scoping document endorsed at the meeting held on 4^th July, 2019 when it was decided to establish the Task & Finish Group, along with the membership.

As part of its considerations the group considered a wide range of information in the form of written and verbal reports containing current funding models and possible new parameters for funding. The group identified that there was a need for greater delegation of ALN resources to underpin:-

·         strengthening universal and targeted provision for children with ALN;

·         supporting schools to set in place early intervention and staged approaches in a timely manner;

·         enabling schools to meet their statutory duties to make decisions relating to Additional Learning Provision;

·         building confidence of parents/carers that needs can be met promptly without unnecessary process or dispute;

·         promptly resourcing pupils at School Action Plus;

·         reducing the requirement for statutory assessment and Statementing processes to direct funding for low incidence high need ALN pupils;

·         central pot for complex medical needs;

·         giving schools financial flexibility, enabling schools to access timely external support for children, ensuring that schools have the flexibility to meet children’s needs, and better involving schools in decisions relating to ALN.

The Group had regard to the Council’s current delegated funding model. For most children in mainstream schools, including those with ALNs and disabilities, funding is allocated to them through the school budget and is known as the per pupil funding.  This funding supports all learning and is used for staff salaries, including the ALNCO, facilities and ALN resources.  A percentage of the total amount of per pupil funding received by a school should be spent on providing for pupils with ALN.  In Carmarthenshire, schools are expected to allocate at least 5% of their per pupil funding to their ALN budget.

A series of workshops with headteachers considered various funding models.  It was agreed during these workshops that any new formula funding mechanism needed to support ALN Transformation that will reform the way in which children with ALN are identified, assessed and supported.  Previous categories of ALN- school action, school action + and statements will cease, and schools will be required to make statutory Additional Learning Provision through Individual Development Plans (IDPs).

Following input from the task and finish the LA in consultation with headteachers concluded and agreed to the following principles of funding:-

·         £1,000 per LAC pupil

·         Remainder split 25% FSM, 25% school action, 50% school action +

With the intention that, as statements reduce, funding will transfer to the ALN supplement to allow schools greater flexibility in meeting the needs of pupils with ALN.

In consultation with Headteachers the formula going forward considered a range of proxy indicators which reflected the contextual nature of schools:-

·         Social deprivation

·         Pupil numbers

·         Free School Meals

·         Looked After Children

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED

8.1       to note the conclusion of the Task & Finish Group review on ALN        Formula Funding;

8.2       that the final report of the Task & Finish Group on ALN Formula           Funding be endorsed;