BPS gives evidence to Senedd committee on education and childcare experiences of disabled and neurodivergent children

The society appeared alongside witnesses from the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Occupational Therapists to give oral evidence to the Senedd's Children, Young People and Education Committee, as part of its inquiry into whether disabled and neurodivergent children have difficulty accessing education and childcare.

Sharon Davis, BPS Welsh Branch Chair, said:

"We were very pleased to have this opportunity to highlight some key messages and concerns. Psychologists take a holistic approach and have the skills to bring about meaningful change for children and their families.

"That's why we've called for more educational psychologists to be employed by local authorities because they have the ability, through involvement and collaboration with many professionals, to make a difference for a wide range of children."

Abigail Wright, Senior Specialist Early Years Educational Psychologist and BPS Education Psychology Lead for Wales, represented the BPS at the inquiry.

She said: "It was great to have the opportunity to expand on the points we made in our written evidence to the committee and the concerns we raised.

"In particular, we were able to focus on the growing need in our population for specialist assessments and also the increased demand on capacity for individual assessments."

Dr Wright told the committee that we "need to be better at putting more capacity within the schools, families and communities that know the children best."

She also urged that 'relationships for learning' and 'wellbeing for learning' be prioritised.

In its written response to the inquiry, submitted in September, the BPS signalled its support for the Additional Learning Needs (ALN) reforms in Wales. However, the society raised concerns about the lack of adequate funding for the reforms.

The BPS has called for a joined-up approach by education, health, social services, and community services to ensure that we are speaking a common language, particularly around 'equity' and 'inclusion'.

The society wants schools to adopt a needs-led, child-centred approach, arguing that schools need resources and support that will allow them to enable creativity in ensuring that all children's individual needs are met.

The committee will produce a report to the Welsh government, which will be debated in the Senedd.

Read the society's full written evidence.