ALN Refusal Wales: What to Do When Your Child Is Refused an IDP

A school in Wales has two possible responses when you request an ALN assessment or IDP: they either identify your child as having ALN and prepare an Individual Development Plan, or they issue a formal "No ALN" decision. If you've received the latter — or if the school is simply dragging its feet and not making any decision at all — your rights under the ALN Act 2018 give you concrete routes to challenge this.

What Counts as a Refusal?

A formal refusal is different from being stonewalled. Under the ALN system:

• A "No ALN" notice means the school has formally decided your child does not meet the legal threshold for Additional Learning Needs. This triggers a formal process you can challenge.
• A "No IDP" notice means the school has decided that, even if your child has ALN, their needs can be met within universal classroom provision without a statutory plan.
• A school that fails to make any decision within 35 school days of being notified that your child may have ALN is in breach of its statutory duty. That inaction is itself challengeable.

The Legal Threshold the School Must Apply

The ALN legal test under Section 2 of the ALN Act 2018 is that a person has ALN if they have "a learning difficulty or disability which calls for Additional Learning Provision." ALP is defined as provision that is "additional to, or different from, that made generally for others of the same age in mainstream maintained schools in Wales."

Two points here that schools regularly get wrong:

A diagnosis is not required. If your child's presentation requires provision that goes beyond what a typical classroom offers — regardless of whether there's a clinical label — the ALN threshold can be met.

Universal provision cannot cover everything. Schools commonly defend "No ALN" decisions by claiming their existing differentiated teaching meets the child's needs. This defense fails when you can demonstrate that those strategies have been tried over a sustained period and the child has not made expected progress.

Step 1: Request the LA Reconsideration

If a school issues a "No ALN" or "No IDP" decision, you cannot appeal directly to the Education Tribunal for Wales. You must first formally request that the local authority reconsider the school's decision. This is the mandatory pre-appeal step required under Section 32 of the ALN Act.

Your letter to the LA should:

• State clearly that you are requesting a reconsideration under Section 32 of the ALN Act 2018
• Explain specifically why you believe the school's decision is wrong — reference the legal definition of ALN and the failure of universal strategies to produce progress
• Attach evidence: GP letters, private assessments, school communications, attendance records, teacher observations, and any records of strategies already tried

The LA has 7 weeks to respond with a formal written decision. Note this deadline when you send the letter and follow up in writing if the deadline approaches without a response.

Step 2: What the LA Can Do

After reconsideration, the LA has three options:

1. Agree with the school — uphold the refusal and issue a written decision saying so. This unlocks your right to appeal the ETW.
2. Disagree with the school — take over responsibility for the case and prepare or revise the IDP themselves.
3. Direct the school to revise — require the school to produce or revise the IDP.

If the LA upholds the school's refusal, or produces an IDP you are still unhappy with, the next step is the ETW appeal.

Step 3: ETW Appeal

The Education Tribunal for Wales is an independent judicial body. It can overturn LA decisions on whether a child has ALN and whether an IDP is required.

You have 8 weeks from the date of the LA's final decision to submit your appeal form (ETW03) and case statement. If you formally engaged SNAP Cymru's Disagreement Resolution Service before appealing, this extends to 16 weeks.

For a refusal-to-assess case, ETW hearings are often decided "on paper" — the panel reviews written documents without an oral hearing. You still need a strong case statement with specific evidence.

Challenging a School That Refuses to Assess

"School refusing aln assessment wales" is slightly different from a formal refusal — it's the situation where the school simply isn't making a decision. Schools have 35 school days to make an ALN determination once they are on notice your child may have ALN.

If the school is past this deadline without making any decision:

1. Write formally to the ALNCo noting the statutory 35-day window has passed, citing the relevant sections of the ALN Act
2. Copy the letter to the LA's ALN team
3. Request an immediate written decision within 5 working days

This letter on its own often forces action. Schools frequently delay because no one has made them aware that a formal statutory clock is running.

Building the Evidence to Overcome a Refusal

The "universal provision" defense — the school arguing your child's needs can be met in a normal classroom — is most effectively defeated by a chronological evidence record showing:

• What universal strategies were put in place and when
• The attainment and progress data before and after those strategies
• Communications with teachers documenting that strategies were tried and failed
• Any independent professional reports (EP, SaLT, OT, CAMHS) that use specific, quantifiable language about what provision is needed

An independent Educational Psychologist report that uses clear quantified language ("requires 4 hours per week of specialist reading intervention delivered by a dyslexia-trained teacher") is significantly more persuasive to a tribunal than a school-commissioned report that uses hedged language.

The Wales ALN Dispute Playbook includes template letters for requesting LA reconsideration after a refusal, along with guidance on structuring your evidence to meet the legal threshold. Access it at /uk/wales/advocacy/.

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