School could open new specialist class for ALN pupils

A new specialist class for children with additional learning needs could be opened at Newport’s Maesglas Primary School.

The city council has proposed opening a ‘learning resource base’ for up to ten children aged between four and 11.

According to a council report, these classes “provide education places for pupils with identified additional learning needs (ALN) whose needs cannot be met in regular mainstream classes”.

Their features include smaller class sizes and a higher staff ratio – typically three members of staff for every ten children.

If the plan is approved, Maesglas Primary would become the seventeenth Newport school to open a learning resource base, where across the city 266 pupils currently receive specialist support.

Current pressures on ALN provision in Newport mean some pupils are on waiting lists for places and have to attend out-of-county classrooms.

The proposal is to open the new class at Maesglas Primary in September, following the necessary consultation processes.

It would be located in an existing classroom, and the school would also be adapted to include access to “appropriate” toilets, a sensory room, and a “dedicated outdoor learning and play area”.

The council estimates those adaptations will cost £70,000 to complete, and the hiring of new staff – a teacher and two assistants – will cost £104,000 annually.

Cllr Deb Davies, the cabinet member for education, is expected to approve the proposals later this month, and the council will then proceed to a formal consultation on the plans.