Issue - meetings

To commission the Head of Education Department to plan to establish a new Additional Learning Needs Service by September 2026, to meet the needs of Gwynedd pupils in the future and consequently revoke the historical collaboration arrangement with the Isle of Anglesey Council. 

The report was presented by Cllr Dewi Jones. 

DECISION

To accept the report.

DISCUSSION

It was revealed that Gwynedd and Anglesey had been sharing one ALN service since 2017 and while there were strengths to this, it was noted that the ALN service was not managing to meet the needs of every child.

It was explained that the number of these needs had increased significantly and had changed in nature over the last few years. He added that there had been a 37% increase in the demand for this ALN team between 2022 and 2024.

He indicated that Gwynedd and Anglesey had gone in slightly different directions since 2017, which therefore made this service more difficult to run.

He emphasised that the priority in the wake of this proposal was to ensure that a better service is offered to the people of Gwynedd. It was proposed that a smaller service would be better for children and families, as well as being easier for staff to work within.

He said that this proposal was about a joint ALN and inclusion service. He confirmed that this was not a proposal to separate the ALN Service from Anglesey immediately, but an opportunity for discussions with the Head and staff of the Anglesey Education department in order to propose possible ideas for moving forward.

Observations arising from the discussion:

·       A member asked why choose to address this now? It was highlighted that what lay behind this was the need to listen to the voice of schools and the residents of Gwynedd, and the need to improve the service and provision offered.