Laura Doel, national secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT Cymru, said:

“The review of the ALNET legislation confirms what school leaders have been telling us from across Wales – inconsistency of approach, capacity and clarity has caused continual problems for schools to deliver for their children and young people with additional learning needs.

“While we should not lose sight of the incredible support being delivered to learners by schools and in particular our ALNcos, this is carried out against a backdrop of uncertainty and lack of resources in many cases.

“The Cabinet Secretary Lynne Neagle was clear in her statement that there are five key areas to focus on in terms of next steps – clarity for the sector on what ALN is and how it is defined; national consistency of delivery; the correct information and support for families; strengthening of multi-agency integration to define the roles and responsibilities of schools, Local Authorities and health services; developing a fully bilingual system. We urge the government to move at pace on these next steps to help tackle the challenges faced.

“While we welcome the additional £8.2m announced today to support frontline delivery in schools, we also need to remember that even though the next steps outlined are the right ones, none of this will be possible without ensuring schools and Local Authorities have a fair, equitable and sustainable model of ALN funding.

“We cannot continue to rely on additional money being announced to plug the gaps in the funding crisis and we will continue to urge the government to make fair and equitable funding a key priority.”