What are additional learning needs (ALN) in Wales?
In Wales, a child or young person has additional learning needs (ALN) when they have a learning difficulty or disability that calls for additional learning provision (ALP). The focus is on the learner’s needs and the extra or different educational support required, not simply on a diagnosis.
Wales has its own ALN framework. England EHCP guidance does not apply to learners educated in Wales.
What this means
Wales now uses the ALN system as its statutory framework for learners aged 0 to 25. Since September 2025, the former SEN system has been replaced by the ALN framework. The legal test asks first whether the learner has a learning difficulty or disability and then whether that difficulty or disability calls for ALP.
What to do today
- Write down the learning barriers you are seeing and when they happen.
- Ask the class teacher or ALNCo what support is already being provided.
- Ask the school to consider formally whether the child has ALN if this has not already been decided.
- Keep copies of school messages, plans and relevant professional reports.
ALN is not the same as a medical diagnosis
A diagnosis may be useful evidence, but it is not a legal requirement for a learner to be identified as having ALN. The decision is about the learning difficulty or disability and whether additional or different educational provision is required.
What happens if ALN is identified
If ALN is identified, an individual development plan (IDP) must be prepared and maintained. The IDP records the learner’s ALN and the ALP required to meet those needs.
Official and authoritative sources
Welsh Government — ALN parent and carer toolkit
Welsh Government — ALN system: your rights
Welsh Government — decision-making and communication
Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018
Community
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