To find out more about the work our audit teams are conducting on public bodies’ understanding of ALN, please read this overview.

What is ALN?

As defined by the Welsh Government, ALN relates to the needs of people living with learning difficulties or disabilities, particularly relating to the educational needs of children and young people. In 2018, the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal Act was introduced in Wales. This replaced existing legislation related to Special Educational Needs (SEN).

My experience

Throughout my time in mainstream education, I benefited from SEN provision. Having been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as my condition is now known, I count myself incredibly lucky to have received support throughout education. Throughout primary and secondary education, I often had support workers. I also received a lot of help from the National Autistic Society during university, including one-to-one mentoring. These forms of support helped me to overcome issues of anxiety, and limited confidence that arose from being in an environment that often felt overwhelming.

Mencap Cymru estimates there are about 70,000 people with a learning disability in Wales. People can display a variety of different needs and experiences with ALN support. Therefore, something to bear in mind when reading this blog, is that my experience of ALN is in no way the same as that of all disabled people. Several factors such as the early stage in life at which I was diagnosed, and revisions to the Diagnostic Manual of Mental Conditions which re-classified Asperger Syndrome as ASD, mean that my experience of support has been heavily dependent on the circumstances surrounding my diagnosis and education. That is to say, being diagnosed very early in life meant that I was able to receive educational support that I may not have received had I been diagnosed later. Among autistic friends and family members, individual journeys to access support and understand their conditions have been wildly different from mine. I am not raising this to convey an opinion, but simply to highlight that ALN and its provision is a complex issue, with many different angles and many defining characteristics.

What is our work on ALN looking at?

Our final report will mostly focus on public bodies’ understanding of the cost, performance and sustainability of the ALN system in Wales. According to the Welsh Government’s School Census data, as of January 2025, there were 43,885 pupils with ALN or SEN in maintained schools (9.5% of all pupils in maintained schools). This helps to show the scale of the demand on public bodies related to ALN, as well as highlighting the importance of the ALN system.

I was keen to take part in this piece of audit work, in part because of my experiences as an autistic person, but also because of my interest in the Welsh public sector’s understanding of disability. Much of my prior work to do with autism has involved speaking to organisations from the public and private sector about the social model of disability – the idea that people should be enabled, not disabled, by their material surroundings.

I have highlighted here how my personal experiences of receiving support during education, have shaped my life, and informed who I am today. I seek to learn more about how the ALN system in Wales is set up, and how equipped that system is to deal with challenges posed by demand, and society’s evolving understanding of disability.

About the author

Alex Swift is an employee of the Good Practice Exchange, and Communications teams at Audit Wales. Owing to his interest in neurodiversity and disability, Alex is currently working with Audit colleagues, exploring the subject of Additional Learning Needs (ALN)