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Research Service children ALN report

Service children ALN report

Commissioned by SSCE Cymru and conducted by the University of South Wales and Arad Research, this research explores the challenges of identifying, assessing and implementing support for Service children with Additional Learning Needs (ALN) in Wales. It also examines the potential impact of the new ALN Code for Wales.

Alun Davies AM, Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services, officially launched the report at the SSCE Cymru conference in June 2018.

Key findings

“…the percentage of Service children (6.1%) being supported at School action level is considerably lower than the percentage of all pupils (11.17%) from across our sample. One explanation for this may be that the transient nature of this population may make it less likely for any initial differentiated learning approaches to be evaluated and, in turn, progressed onto support through School Action.”

Report overview film

Full report

The report includes the following:

  • Policy context
  • Literature review
  • Feedback from the SSCE Cymru Conference 2017
  • Analysis of survey data from schools
  • Key stakeholder interviews
  • Areas for further consideration.

Download the full report

Service children’s quotes

"As soon as we get used to a house, you get moved - I’ve been to four schools and moved six times."

Aiden

"I lived in Nepal, then we went to Brunei, then Malaysia."

Ashim

"In my eyes, you have hundreds of friends in different places."

Chloe

"I’m used to moving now and mixing with the children... I’ve done it so many times, it’s just a normal thing now."

Chloe

"It's ok talking over skype and that, but sometimes you just want a hug when Dad is away."

Georgia

"I’ve enjoyed going around to lots of places around the world, it's adventurous and exciting."

Harry

"In my eyes, you have hundreds of friends in different places."

Ieuan

"My mum got a chalk board and it says how many sleeps on it with chalk, every minute it’s getting closer for him coming home."

Mia

"I don’t want him to get promoted... I want him to get promoted but I don’t want to leave."

Oliver

"I might be going to boarding school so that I don’t change schools every few years."

Ryan

"I've been to seven different schools; I’ve not stayed put in one school long enough."

Shana

"He has been away for six months and he is back for two weeks, then he goes away again."

Sianed

"My parents were in the Army. My mum is a like a nurse and my dad went to the war in Afghanistan. I actually didn’t really know what he was doing so I was like, ‘Cool Dad, go there,’ but then I found out and thought, 'Thank God he came back alive.'"

Sanjog

"He signed off last week, so he will be done by the end of this year. He’s done 24 years. I find that better because he will be around a lot. He likes watching us playing rugby, so he will get to see us more."

Lewis

"I’m going to a new place entirely. They don’t know anything about me and that’s a big restart and that’s really good for me."

Piaras

"I moved to Wales because my dad was posted in the Army. I thought I would get bullied and I was shy when you meet new people, but I made some friends."

Dan