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One of the key elements of the ALN Transformation Programme is:
“To improve the planning and delivery of support for learners from 0 to 25 with ALN, placing learners’ needs, views, wishes and feelings at the heart of the process.”
This means that the intention of the new legislation is to provide children and young people with more of a say when it comes to meeting their ALN.
The term used in the Bill to capture this key element is ‘Person Centred Planning’.
The Bill requires that learners’ views should always be considered as part of the planning and support process, along with those of parents / carers – in other words ‘doing something with’ rather than ‘doing something do’.
What does Person Centred Planning (PCP) mean?
Person centred planning is a collection of tools and approaches based upon a set of shared values that can be used to plan with a person – not for them. These tools can be used to help the person think about what is important in their lives now and also to think about what would make a good future. Planning should build the person’s circle of support and involve all the people who are important in that person’s life.
Source – Inclusive Solutions
Despite what you may read, PCP is not a new term – it’s been around a while, so you may already be familiar with some PCP approaches, such as One Page Profiles (OPPs), MAPS and PATH, to name but a few!
The Welsh Assembly has produced a resource to support the use of PCP when conducting reviews with children and young people – Person- centred planning reviews toolkit – a guide for early years, schools and colleges in Wales
As the ALN Transformation Programme develops you’ll hear lots more about PCP. Most LA’s across Wales have already had training in PCP approaches and been provided with Innovation Funding to support this.