'Autistic children are being failed. My son is traumatised by his school experience'
A dad has accused Conwy Council and the Welsh Government of failing autistic pupils, claiming vulnerable children and teenagers are being left without a good enough education across the county. Chris Bryant claims his 16-year-old son, who attends the Pontio unit for autistic children at Ysgol Aberconwy in Conwy, has faced repeated bullying and assaults on school buses.
Chris, 53, and his wife Sarah have four children aged five, ten, 14, and 16 and live in Old Colwyn after moving from London. Chris' oldest child has been diagnosed with both autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but is academically able.
Ysgol Aberconwy provides the main provision for autism in Conwy county, with its Pontio and Tegfan units – although Ysgol Gogarth in Llandudno also provides education for children with even greater needs. But Chris said Conwy Council initially refused to provide dedicated school transport from Old Colwyn to the Conwy school for Chris' son, who wants to return for his A-levels in September. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox.
Chris says the family had to fight Conwy Council before it agreed to provide school transport, as Welsh Government legislation only requires councils to provide this up to age 16 - unlike in England, where it continues until 18.
Conwy Council says it funds a relatively wide and extensive range of Additional Learning Provision, and said Ysgol Aberconwy works extremely hard to meet the needs of all students. The Welsh Government said they have significantly increased investment to support children with additional learning needs.
Chris said he believed education specialists should set quantifiable goals that are 'specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and targeted' in an autistic child's individual development plan so their needs can be met, which he claims hasn't happened in the case of his son.
'You never get that with the council. They don't say, for instance, the child will have 20 hours of one-to-one care at school, or they will be taken to the Pontio unit if they are having a meltdown or if the child asks, which can be measured,' said Chris.
'Because Conwy are not specific and don't do things in a measurable way, we get incidents happening, attacks, fights, broken glasses, and then we have to have a return-to-school meeting with the headteacher and talk to the council, and it uses up so much time for everybody, not to get the results and keep the children in school.
'There are thousands of children in Wales who are not in school because their needs are not being met, and these are the most vulnerable kids, the ones with disabilities. If the (required) provisions were written down in the child's individual development plan - for instance that the children must have a teaching assistant to escort them to lunch - then if that's not happening because the school didn't have staff, and it went to a tribunal, then it's law.
'The council is deliberately making out that they are helping the parents, but they are not being specific about the provision they are giving the children. They are kicking the can down the road. I would like them to say they will follow the individual development plan and actually follow it until the age of 25 and really commit to doing that."
Chris claims his son has faced suspension from school after defending himself from bullies and also criticised the school for asking his son to take part in team sports, which he said don't suit his needs.
'The council or Welsh Government aren't providing for children with special needs especially those with ADHD and autism. This combined type is particularly hard to provide for,' said Chris. 'Why should children in Wales only have support until 16 when they get it in England until 18? I'm from London. We moved here for my wife's job. Why should people be penalised in that way for moving across the border? Education is worse here."
He added: 'My son is traumatised by the experience he's had, and he has shown such staying power to even want to go back there (Ysgol Aberconwy). The man who cracked the German code during the Second World War, they reckon he was autistic; some of the people who built the first computers were too. So we are wasting a lot of the special talents these kids have. If they are good at these things and get praised at school, that is very helpful to their self-esteem for their development and for a future job.'
A spokeswoman for Conwy Council's Education Service said: "Over a third of the Council's budget is spent on Education and Schools, and we fund a relatively wide and extensive range of Additional Learning Provision (ALP). All placements in Conwy's Additional Learning Provision are agreed by a multi-agency Moderation Panel, using the relevant ALP Access Criteria. Details are available in the Conwy Additional Learning Needs Principles document, which is available on the Conwy website here.
"Free home-to-school transport in Wales is determined by the Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008, which sets out the law on travel and transport for learners. Post-16 transport can be provided at the discretion of the local authority. Conwy County Borough Council chooses to support eligible post-16 learners so that they can continue their education, and transport is provided for learners with additional learning needs if they meet the eligibility criteria set out in Conwy's Home-to-School Transport policy, which is available on the Conwy website at: School transport: free school / college transport - Conwy County Borough Council.
"Ysgol Aberconwy works extremely hard to meet the needs of all students and is proud of their achievements at GCSE, A Level, and beyond. Ysgol Aberconwy adheres to all relevant and appropriate legislation and is always pleased to talk to families about their experiences in the school to ensure that appropriate support is in place. The headteacher says that students are very positive about their time at school and noted that in a recent survey 93% of parents said they would recommend the school to friends and 92% said their children feel safe in school."
She added: "It should be noted the Pontio is provided by the school; Tegfan is Local Authority Provision, and there is further Additional Learning Provision across the county."
A Welsh Government spokeswoman said: 'Our national mission commits to breaking down barriers for all learners. Since 2020, we have significantly increased investment with more than £150m to support ALN implementation as well as providing £80m capital funding to local authorities to improve facilities and infrastructure for learners with ALN.
'Local authorities are responsible for delivering learner transport provision in Wales. All children and young people with ALN regardless of their level of need, are entitled to a statutory plan called an Individual Development Plan (IDP) in which their transport requirements can be set out.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wales Online
7 hours ago
- Wales Online
Welsh Government advises less frequent black bag rubbish collection by councils
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info The Welsh Government has recommended that black bag waste collection from households should occur only once every three to four weeks. In newly issued guidance for councils, the government states that "collection once every three to four weeks is sufficient and more frequent collection should be avoided so that it does not undermine the effectiveness of the recycling service provided". According to the Collections Blueprint 2025, a weekly limit of 60 litres of black waste per household is deemed "sufficient", noting that a standard wheelie bin has a capacity of 240 litres. The document outlines the Welsh Government's preferred strategy, which is "for all aspects of collection (household recycling and waste collections, reuse and recycling centres, bring sites, bulky collections, non-household recycling and waste collections, and litter collections) to be managed in an integrated way to deliver high-quality resource and management services at the lowest practicable unit costs". Regarding residual waste – the black bag waste – the document indicates that "with increased recycling and less material going into disposal significantly less residual capacity is needed", reports Wales Online. It also says that Wales' 22 councils should consider weighing waste "for data collection for residual collections". It also says black waste policies should be "actively enforced" and there should be "clear policies in place for households that require additional capacity". There are differences across Wales, as it stands, in terms of black waste. In Cardiff it is collected every two weeks, but in Newport, the Vale, and Rhondda Cynon Taf it is every three weeks. In Conwy black waste is collected every four weeks. The document lays out the suggestions to councils for nappy collections, garden waste, bulky collections, and food waste. It says there should be weekly food collections and waste bags for food should be given for free. In terms of "dry recycling" – paper and cardboard; plastic bottles, pots, tubs, and trays; metal tins, cans, aerosols, and foil; cartons and other paper-based composite products; and glass jars and bottles – its preference is for things to be sorted at the kerbside rather than mixed together. These should be collected weekly. The items should be checked when being loaded to ensure the "lowest possible contamination". That would mean items which aren't suitable or are dirty would be rejected immediately and residents told there and then. They say three or more "preferably reusable, dry recycling containers" should be given to each household to keep items separate. Councils should set up repair and reuse shops to encourage recycling, they add, while council recycling centres, the document says, should have "at least 85% recycling and reuse". Wales has a strong recycling performance and is top of the UK charts and second in the world behind Austria. "An increasing proportion of waste managed by local authorities in Wales is being sent for preparing for reuse, recycling, or composting," the document says. The document says that 15 of Wales' 22 councils offers the collection recommended and two more are changing to it. The document also says that councils should provide segregated litter bins to help people recycle when out and about and give appropriate signs to show what goes where. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox Find out what's happening near you
North Wales Live
10 hours ago
- North Wales Live
Welsh Government advises less frequent black bag rubbish collection by councils
The Welsh Government has recommended that black bag waste collection from households should occur only once every three to four weeks. In newly issued guidance for councils, the government states that "collection once every three to four weeks is sufficient and more frequent collection should be avoided so that it does not undermine the effectiveness of the recycling service provided". According to the Collections Blueprint 2025, a weekly limit of 60 litres of black waste per household is deemed "sufficient", noting that a standard wheelie bin has a capacity of 240 litres. The document outlines the Welsh Government's preferred strategy, which is "for all aspects of collection (household recycling and waste collections, reuse and recycling centres, bring sites, bulky collections, non-household recycling and waste collections, and litter collections) to be managed in an integrated way to deliver high-quality resource and management services at the lowest practicable unit costs". Regarding residual waste – the black bag waste – the document indicates that "with increased recycling and less material going into disposal significantly less residual capacity is needed", reports Wales Online. It also says that Wales' 22 councils should consider weighing waste "for data collection for residual collections". It also says black waste policies should be "actively enforced" and there should be "clear policies in place for households that require additional capacity". There are differences across Wales, as it stands, in terms of black waste. In Cardiff it is collected every two weeks, but in Newport, the Vale, and Rhondda Cynon Taf it is every three weeks. In Conwy black waste is collected every four weeks. The document lays out the suggestions to councils for nappy collections, garden waste, bulky collections, and food waste. It says there should be weekly food collections and waste bags for food should be given for free. In terms of "dry recycling" – paper and cardboard; plastic bottles, pots, tubs, and trays; metal tins, cans, aerosols, and foil; cartons and other paper-based composite products; and glass jars and bottles – its preference is for things to be sorted at the kerbside rather than mixed together. These should be collected weekly. The items should be checked when being loaded to ensure the "lowest possible contamination". That would mean items which aren't suitable or are dirty would be rejected immediately and residents told there and then. They say three or more "preferably reusable, dry recycling containers" should be given to each household to keep items separate. Councils should set up repair and reuse shops to encourage recycling, they add, while council recycling centres, the document says, should have "at least 85% recycling and reuse". Wales has a strong recycling performance and is top of the UK charts and second in the world behind Austria. "An increasing proportion of waste managed by local authorities in Wales is being sent for preparing for reuse, recycling, or composting," the document says. The document says that 15 of Wales' 22 councils offers the collection recommended and two more are changing to it. The document also says that councils should provide segregated litter bins to help people recycle when out and about and give appropriate signs to show what goes where.
Wales Online
a day ago
- Wales Online
Welsh councils told to only collect rubbish every three or four weeks
Welsh councils told to only collect rubbish every three or four weeks The Welsh Government has told local authorities a collection every three to four weeks is 'sufficient' The Welsh Government has said black bag waste should only be collected from homes every three to four weeks. In new guidance published to advise councils the government say "collection once every three to four weeks is sufficient and more frequent collection should be avoided so that it does not undermine the effectiveness of the recycling service provided". The Collections Blueprint 2025 document says that a limit of 60l of black waste a week is "sufficient". A standard wheelie bin is 240l. The document says that the recommended Welsh Government approach is "for all aspects of collection (household recycling and waste collections, reuse and recycling centres, bring sites, bulky collections, non-household recycling and waste collections, and litter collections) to be managed in an integrated way to deliver high-quality resource and management services at the lowest practicable unit costs". In terms of residual waste – black bag waste – "with increased recycling and less material going into disposal significantly less residual capacity is needed". It also says that Wales' 22 councils should consider weighing waste "for data collection for residual collections". It also says black waste policies should be "actively enforced" and there should be "clear policies in place for households that require additional capacity". Article continues below There are differences across Wales, as it stands, in terms of black waste. In Cardiff it is collected every two weeks, but in Newport, the Vale, and Rhondda Cynon Taf it is every three weeks. In Conwy black waste is collected every four weeks. You can read the differences between councils here. The document lays out the suggestions to councils for nappy collections, garden waste, bulky collections, and food waste. It says there should be weekly food collections and waste bags for food should be given for free. In terms of "dry recycling" – paper and cardboard; plastic bottles, pots, tubs, and trays; metal tins, cans, aerosols, and foil; cartons and other paper-based composite products; and glass jars and bottles – its preference is for things to be sorted at the kerbside rather than mixed together. These should be collected weekly. The items should be checked when being loaded to ensure the "lowest possible contamination". That would mean items which aren't suitable or are dirty would be rejected immediately and residents told there and then. They say three or more "preferably reusable, dry recycling containers" should be given to each household to keep items separate. Councils should set up repair and reuse shops to encourage recycling, they add, while council recycling centres, the document says, should have "at least 85% recycling and reuse". Wales has a strong recycling performance and is top of the UK charts and second in the world behind Austria. Article continues below "An increasing proportion of waste managed by local authorities in Wales is being sent for preparing for reuse, recycling, or composting," the document says. The document says that 15 of Wales' 22 councils offers the collection recommended and two more are changing to it. The document also says that councils should provide segregated litter bins to help people recycle when out and about and give appropriate signs to show what goes where.
