Five-year review of Welsh-medium additional learning provision: summary

This report outlines findings from the first Quinquennial Review of Welsh medium Additional Learning Provision (ALP) undertaken between October 2025 and May 2026.

The Additional Learning Needs (ALN) system in Wales supports children and young people aged 0 to 25 and is underpinned by the ALN Act 2018, the ALN Code 2021 and associated regulations. It replaces the former Special Educational Needs (SEN) system and was phased in from 2021 to 2025. A central aim of the reform is to create a bilingual ALN system in which learners can access ALP in Welsh where required.

The ALN Act establishes statutory definitions of ALN and ALP, requires all learners with ALN to have an Individual Development Plan (IDP). The Act places duties to consider whether ALP should be delivered in Welsh on:

• maintained schools
• local authorities
• further education institutions (FEIs)
• local health boards (LHBs)

These bodies must take “all reasonable steps” to secure Welsh-medium ALP.

Section 89 of the ALN Act requires a national review of the sufficiency of Welsh-medium ALP every 5 years. This first quinquennial review aims to establish a baseline understanding of the current level of sufficiency in Welsh-Medium ALP by assessing how provisions in the ALN Act are being implemented in practice. It explores processes involved in understanding and applying these duties and the extent to which learners’ linguistic needs are appropriately identified and recorded. It also considers the availability and accessibility of Welsh-medium provision and whether the systems in place, including workforce and other resources, can deliver the support to which learners are entitled.

Evidence to inform the findings of this review was gathered via a proforma distributed to all local authorities requesting data on:

• Welsh medium ALP need
• workforce
• training
• duties
• sufficiency reviews
• progress to date

Evidence was also gathered from interviews with local authority and LHB representatives, practitioners within 16 case study education settings across Wales including:

• primary schools
• secondary schools
• FEIs
• special schools
• Pupil Referral Units (PRUs)
• sample of parents and learners with ALN
• Welsh Government officials
• wider stakeholders

The research also examined data relevant to WM-ALP including:

• the Pupil level Annual School Census (PLASC)
• the Educated otherwise than at school (EOTAS) Census
• the Schools Workforce Annual Census (SWAC)
• Welsh in Education Strategic Plans (WESPs)

Gaining an understanding of the level of need for Welsh medium ALP

Assessing the overall level of need for Welsh medium ALP using currently recorded data is challenging. PLASC data provides the most reliable national overview for learners in mainstream schools who have ALN, but it does not record how many require or receive Welsh medium ALP. However, analysis of previously unpublished data from PLASC provides proxy indicators, which shows that 6,835 learners with ALN/SEN were being taught Welsh as a first language, and offers a reasonable estimate of the potential level of need for Welsh medium ALP at an all Wales level.

For post 16 learners, data available in the Lifelong Learning Wales Record (LLWR) shows that up to 4% of those in FEIs studying at least 1 activity with 50% or more of their assessment through the medium of Welsh have ALN (145 learners). This suggests that up to 145 learners in FEIs could potentially require Welsh medium ALP. However, the 2 FEIs interviewed noted that none of their current learners with ALN have an IDP specifying a need for Welsh medium ALP.

For learners educated otherwise than at school (EOTAS), the EOTAS census collects data on the number of learners who have ALN. However, this data does not specify the language needs or language spoken by these learners and therefore does not offer an indication of the likely need for Welsh medium ALP.

There is currently no robust way of assessing the level of need for Welsh medium ALP at local level. Proxy indicators that are based on PLASC data are less robust at local level due to small numbers in some areas. The extent to which local authorities centrally collect information on whether maintained school IDPs specify a requirement for Welsh medium ALP to be delivered varies between local authorities, largely due to the use of different data management systems.

Data relating to the need for Welsh medium ALP for other learners including the ALNLO cohort and post 16 learners is also inconsistent across local authorities.

The limitations on data capable of providing an accurate understanding of need has implications for determining and monitoring the sufficiency of Welsh-medium ALP.

Duties and decisions relating to whether ALP should be delivered in Welsh

The duty to consider whether ALP should be delivered in Welsh is well understood by local authorities and governing bodies and decisions relating to whether this provision is required are included as an integral part of the person centred approach for each individual learner.

Within this approach there is a general assumption that statutory school-aged learners with ALN within maintained mainstream schools, receive ALP according to the language of the setting. ALP is assumed to be delivered in Welsh within Welsh medium schools and in English in English medium schools. ALP is also assumed to be delivered in the language of the stream learners attend in dual language schools. However, some IDPs include multiple elements of ALP, not all of which can be delivered by the school. In these cases, ALP must be secured from external providers through the local authority or LHB.

It is less clear how decisions are made about whether Welsh medium ALP is required for learners in education settings where the language of the setting is not defined, such as FEIs and PRUs. However, FEI and PRU representatives noted that very few of the learners within their institution have IDPs that include a requirement for Welsh medium ALP. It is uncertain why this may occur, but it was suggested by staff that there is an assumption amongst learners that PRUs, as with FEIs, are English-medium institutions and therefore learners may expect all ALP will be delivered in English.

Decisions relating to ALP in special schools and Specialist Resource Bases (SRB) extend beyond considering whether this should be delivered in Welsh or English as some learners require provision to be delivered through signing or other modes of communication. Representatives from special schools noted that learners often do not have IDPs that outline a requirement for Welsh medium ALP. However, where it was known that the learner was a Welsh-speaker or came from a Welsh speaking home, efforts were made to ensure that learner was supported in Welsh, or at least bilingually, where possible.

Generally, decisions relating to whether ALP should be delivered in Welsh are often dependent on several factors including:

• the availability of language of provision within the learner’s education setting
• the known availability of staff and resources able to deliver ALP in Welsh
• families’ perceptions as to whether ALP will be available in Welsh

Delivery of Welsh medium ALP

Most education settings reported that they are able to deliver ALP in the learners’ preferred language. In some cases, learners require ALP that involves input or support from external providers from the local authority, or NHS bodies in response to a Section 20 referral.

Evidence from this review indicates that such provision is not always available in Welsh, even where the learner is receiving Welsh medium ALP within their school. A lack of specialist ALN workforce capacity and appropriate Welsh medium resources were cited as the main reasons for this. Even where provision is available, access may involve long travel distances or extended waiting times. As a result, the language specified for ALP within IDPs often reflects not only the learner’s needs or preferences, but also the elements of provision that can be delivered in Welsh.

LHB representatives noted that only a very small proportion of referrals are identified as requiring Welsh medium delivery. The reasons for this low demand are unclear and may include:

• assumptions that NHS services or some clinical pathways are predominantly delivered in English
• parental preferences
• uncertainty about the availability of Welsh-medium services

The number of referrals that include a requirement for Welsh medium delivery may therefore not reflect the full scale of need.

Evidence on the ability of NHS bodies to deliver Welsh medium ALP is limited by gaps in workforce and monitoring data. The review findings indicate that while Designated Education Clinical Lead Officers (DECLOs) noted that they were not aware of any notable gaps in the provision of Welsh-medium ALP, some schools and parents were of the view that the availability of Welsh-medium ALP to be secured by NHS bodies did not always meet their needs.

Approaches to reviewing the sufficiency of Welsh medium ALP

Local authorities are required under Section 63 of the ALN Act to review the sufficiency of Welsh medium ALP in their area. WESP regulations require local authorities to report the steps they are taking to review the sufficiency of Welsh-medium provision.

Across Wales, local authorities generally adopt a demand led, reactive approach to their sufficiency reviews. If specialist Welsh medium ALP is required over and above what can be delivered within the education settings (for example, provision delivered by a specialist teacher), efforts are made by local authorities to provide it. If the provision available meets the level required or if no referrals for Welsh-medium ALP of this nature are made, provision is assumed to be sufficient. This raises questions as to whether unmet need may go unrecognised, particularly where families may assume Welsh medium ALP is unavailable or requires their child to travel a long distance or incur longer waiting times in order to access it. This again suggests that recorded demand may not fully reflect underlying need.

Local authority reviews of the sufficiency of Welsh medium ALP are typically ongoing and embedded within wider ALN planning. Some examples were offered across local authorities where this process takes into consideration how the need for, or ability to deliver, Welsh medium ALP might change over time. However, these proactive approaches do not appear to be widely adopted.

Workforce capacity to deliver Welsh medium ALP

This review assessed the extent to which the workforce available to deliver Welsh medium ALP where required is sufficient. Some local authorities reported having adequate capacity within their workforce to deliver Welsh-medium ALP, while others highlighted significant gaps along with variation by specialist role.

Almost half of the local authorities reported shortages of Welsh speaking specialist teachers for visual impairment, hearing impairment and autism, while many also noted a shortage of educational psychologists (EPs). These gaps stem from a combination of factors, including overall shortages regardless of the language of their provision and difficulties recruiting staff with both the ALN expertise and Welsh language skills required. Gaps are also influenced by the fragility of very small teams where the loss of 1 Welsh speaking member of staff from a specialist ALN team can have a significant impact on the availability of Welsh medium provision in that area.

Variations in reported workforce sufficiency also reflect differences in how local authorities assess it. Some local authorities assess sufficiency by comparing the proportion of Welsh speaking staff with the proportion of Welsh medium schools in their area. local authorities that have relatively few Welsh medium schools therefore require relatively few Welsh speaking specialist staff to support these schools. However, in geographically large authorities, these small teams often need to travel long distances to provide support, limiting their availability in practice. As a result, workforce sufficiency that appears adequate on paper may be less sufficient when considered in operational terms.

The review findings indicate that across LHBs, Welsh speaking clinicians are unevenly distributed, with limited availability in specialist areas such as SLT, developmental language disorder (DLD) and complex needs. However, the recorded demand for Welsh medium ALP to be delivered by LHBs is very low, and gaps in the availability of workforce and monitoring data, makes it difficult to assess the actual capacity across the LHBs to deliver Welsh medium ALP.

Recruitment and retention

Even in cases where local authorities reported that they currently had sufficient Welsh speaking specialist ALN staff, almost all outlined that recruiting individuals into these roles can be challenging. Alongside the challenges associated with the relatively small number of Welsh speaking specialists that are available to recruit into these posts, attracting staff to rural areas can be an additional challenge for some local authorities.

The findings also indicate that many Welsh medium schools, particularly those located in predominantly English speaking areas, find it challenging to recruit Welsh speaking Teaching Assistants (TAs) who can offer in class support to learners with ALN. TA roles are often low paid and can be highly demanding and, as such, retaining these staff members can also be a challenge.

The findings show that recruitment and retention difficulties, combined with the impact of staff changes within small teams, mean that workforce availability and therefore sufficiency, can change quickly over short periods of time.

To address some of these workforce gaps, the Welsh Government has introduced measures to increase the supply of Welsh speaking EPs through additional funded training places, though this will take time to materialise.

Professional development

Local authorities and schools reported limited Welsh medium specialist ALN training opportunities. Most external courses are English medium, requiring practitioners to translate or adapt content to use with learners or share with colleagues. Some specialist training (for example, for SLTs) is unavailable in Wales or the content may not adequately reflect the context of Welsh medium education.

Resources

The availability of Welsh medium learning and diagnostic resources to support ALP remains below the availability of English medium equivalents. Most schools reported gaps, often because many specialist or commercial resources are developed outside Wales and exist only in English. As a result, ALNCos in Welsh medium settings frequently translate materials themselves, increasing workload and raising concerns about standardisation and consistency. Some resources, especially those based on English phonics or containing untranslatable terminology, cannot be adapted, leaving practitioners without suitable Welsh medium alternatives.

Many digital intervention programmes are also English only and have licensing restrictions preventing translation. Special schools noted that digital resources for learners with complex needs are almost exclusively English medium, limiting continuity of Welsh medium provision.

Over half of local authorities reported insufficient Welsh medium resources, especially diagnostic tools. No fully standardised Welsh medium assessments exist for key areas such as dyslexia, DLD, receptive/expressive language or early years language development. Where English tools are translated, standardised scores cannot be generated. Some progress is underway, including Welsh medium literacy assessments being developed by Cardiff Metropolitan University.

Shortages are also acute in literacy and numeracy resources to support the delivery of Welsh-medium ALP. For example, schools highlighted a lack of age appropriate Welsh medium reading materials, social stories and resources for older learners with ALN. Adnodd is addressing these gaps through a new reading series, improved braille and large print materials, and simultaneous commissioning of Welsh and English resources. Numeracy resources show similar disparities.

School-designated special classes in mainstream schools and Specialist Resource Bases

The number of school-designated special classes in mainstream settings that offer Welsh medium provision has increased in recent years. These provide dedicated spaces for targeted support and helping more learners with ALN remain in Welsh medium education.

Local authorities have also expanded centrally funded Welsh medium SRBs for learners with more complex ALN. Some of these serve large geographical areas, which extend the reach of provision, but also create some travel related access barriers and reduce opportunities for learners to participate in extracurricular activities.

Overall, the growth of both school designated special classes and SRBs has helped more learners with ALN to remain in Welsh medium education. However, it is not yet clear whether access to these facilities and the extent to which they are resourced offer the same level of Welsh medium specialist support compared to that available through the medium of English.

Parent/carer and learner experiences of Welsh medium ALP

The small number of parents interviewed generally reported positive experiences of Welsh medium support within schools. Their main challenges related to external specialist services, such as SLT, only being available through the medium of English and to delays in accessing external services delivered by NHS bodies through the medium of Welsh. Some parents noted long waiting times for assessments but felt schools provided strong Welsh medium support in the meantime. Parents also observed that staff often translate or create Welsh medium resources themselves due to gaps in available materials.

In Welsh medium primary schools, parents described Welsh medium support as routine and embedded, with no need to request it. However, most parents of children in special schools reported that ALP was usually delivered in English, reflecting their child’s communication preferences, though Welsh was often used informally. One parent reported that the special school their child attended offered full Welsh medium ALP within a bilingual environment.

Learners themselves tended not to distinguish between Welsh and English medium support. Welsh medium primary pupils were comfortable receiving help in Welsh or bilingually, while learners in English medium secondary settings appreciated having bilingual staff even though ALP was delivered in English.

Stakeholders reported that families sometimes lack clear information about their rights to Welsh medium ALP. Inconsistent information across Wales and uncertainty about what support should reasonably be available in Welsh can lead some parents to rely on informal advice or seek private assessments to navigate the ALN system.

Progress made and remaining challenges

Progress has been made over the past 5 years towards developing a bilingual ALN system and increasing availability of Welsh medium ALP.

Areas of progress include increased specialist Welsh medium ALP, notably new SRBs in Welsh medium schools, and the commissioning of Welsh medium learning, assessment and digital resources. Availability of Welsh medium specialist training has improved, including EP training routes. The National Implementation Lead, active between April 2024 and March 2026, has strengthened collaboration, evidence sharing and resource development.

While progress has been made, a fully bilingual system has not yet been achieved, and the availability and delivery of Welsh-medium ALP cannot yet be considered to be sufficient in all cases. Several notable challenges also remain in ensuring equitable access. Alongside workforce and resource constraints, perceptions about the suitability and availability of Welsh medium support continue to influence some learners and families to choose English medium provision over Welsh medium provision.

While the review found evidence and examples of strengthening the availability of Welsh-medium ALP, most local authorities indicated that delivering Welsh-medium ALP as an absolute duty would be challenging under current conditions, with only 2 of the 20 local authorities who responded noting that it would be feasible to do so with no changes.

Overall, the findings point to the need for continued development of Welsh medium ALP, including:

• a better understanding of the level of need
• strengthening workforce capacity
• improving the availability and sharing of Welsh medium resources
• better alignment of the delivery of Welsh medium ALP between the education and health sector
• addressing perceptions and information gaps that influence decision making

The following recommendations have been developed with a view to securing progress made towards strengthening Welsh-medium ALP and addressing the challenges identified (see the report for more detailed recommendations).

Data

The Welsh Government should continue to assess the availability of data at both local and national levels relating to the need for Welsh medium ALP.

The Welsh Government should continue to assess the availability of data relating to the delivery of Welsh medium ALP.

There is a need to address a lack of data in relation to the outcomes for children and young people who require and receive Welsh medium ALP.

Delivery of Welsh-medium ALP

Schools and local authorities need to be encouraged and supported to ensure that the basis upon which decisions relating to the language of ALP delivered to learners are clearly recorded and reviewed.

There is a need to strengthen the alignment between the Welsh medium ALP delivered by all education sectors and that delivered by NHS bodies.

Undertaking future sufficiency reviews

There is a need to strengthen local Welsh medium ALP sufficiency assessments to enable local authorities to fulfil the duties set out under Section 63 of the ALN Act.

Workforce

There is a need to strengthen the Welsh speaking ALN workforce by supporting more Welsh speakers into specialist ALN roles across local authorities and LHBs.

Resources

Current activities to develop additional Welsh medium ALN resources need to be continued and where possible accelerated.

Information and awareness

There is a need to raise awareness amongst parents, learners and some ALN practitioners that learners with ALN do not necessarily need to move from Welsh medium to English medium education provision in order to receive the ALP they need.

Report author: Harries, S., Lewis, S., Thomas, H., Lane, J. and Williams, A. (2026).

Views expressed in this report are those of the researchers and not necessarily those of the Welsh Government.

For further information please contact:

Schools Research Branch
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ

Email: schoolsresearch@gov.wales 

Social research number: 78/2026
Digital ISBN: 978-1-80853-052-4