North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called on the Cabinet Secretary for Education to consider a more flexible attitude to learning for people with Additional Learning Needs, after concerns were raised with him by constituents that their son had been offered a place on a BTEC course ‘on the proviso that he could cope with the Welsh Baccalaureate’.
Speaking in the Chamber last week, Mr Isherwood said he has been told of young people who are struggling to cope with aspects of the Welsh Bac because of their Additional Learning Needs and asked what action she is taking to address this.
He said:
“I've been contacted by the mother of a young man on the autism spectrum. They've looked at the Welsh Bac at level 3 and have doubts about their son's ability to cope with aspects of the Welsh Bac, particularly the Maths skills needed for the level 3 Welsh Bac, and where there's a need for a lot of executive functioning skills, and collaborative and social skills, that are likely to cause stress for their son and prevent him from coping with the course.
“How, therefore, will you address the barriers to achievement presented by the compulsion of the Welsh Bac for all learners, and in particular learners with Additional Learning Needs, on a level 3 course? And, what consideration will you give to a more flexible attitude that allows for learners with 'spiky profiles' to achieve. For some it would mean doing the Baccalaureate, for others that would be too much, but nonetheless they need the opportunity to achieve with the great skills that they have?”
The Cabinet Secretary, Kirst Williams, replied : “I start from the basis that all qualifications should be available to all of our cohort, and I don't think any of us would want to start from the provision of saying that there are certain groups of learners who cannot access a certain qualification. We have to start on the basis of equity.
“However, I would expect headteachers to use their professional judgment in determining which learners should be undertaking the Welsh Baccalaureate at the relevant level, according to the individual learning pathway, and what support individual learners may need to allow them to access a qualification that could be of benefit to them. But it has to be down to the professional judgment of those teachers who work with individuals and families.”
Mr Isherwood added: “My constituents told me that the current provision presented too great a barrier for their son and that wider participation for learners with Additional Learning Needs would not be achieved unless the Welsh Government requires a more flexible approach that allows gifted learners with ‘spiky profiles’ to exploit the skills they have and achieve”.