Extra funding announced to improve facilities for pupils with additional learning needs

£20 million of funding has been made available to improve classrooms and equipment for children and young people with additional learning needs (ALN).

The money will be used to create inclusive learning environments such as quiet or sensory areas, upgrade facilities to improve accessibility, and enable schools and other settings to purchase new equipment.

Last year the funding supported 249 schools in Wales to improve their facilities to support learners with ALN.

In Conwy, nearly £700,000 has already helped transform schools over the past year, including new specialist facilities at Ysgol Craig y Don, a primary school in Llandudno.

They have received £50,000 to:

upgrade their changing facilities and create new accessible toilets

install changing beds for learners who need assistance with personal care

create a sensory garden and outdoor play area, with work beginning soon on an outdoor gym

buy learning equipment

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Access

These changes will promote inclusion and access within the mainstream school.

Meeting learners and staff on a visit to see the new facilities at Ysgol Craig y Don, Lynne Neagle, Cabinet Secretary for Education, said: "Every child deserves the best possible start in education.

"I’m so pleased to see the impact the new facilities here at Ysgol Craig y Don are having on not just learners with additional learning needs, but also the whole school community.

“The £20m I’m announcing today will make a real difference to thousands of pupils with additional learning needs up and down the country, making sure they have the facilities they need to reach their full potential.”

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Distributed

The support will be distributed via local authorities. Over £80m have been provided to the sector over the last three years to transform learning spaces for learners with ALN.

This is in addition to the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme which is investing £750m over the next nine years to improve existing facilities and create new specialist provision for ALN learners.