This page was updated in April 2026 to add ALN supplementary guides published by the Welsh government in relation to elective home education and to EOTAS.
This page deals with elective home education in Wales where a child has special educational needs and has an Individual Development Plan. This page refers to the ALN Act; the ALN Code; the Pupil Registration Regulations Wales; and the Elective Home Education Guidance Wales (all linked at the foot of the page)
In Wales, statements of special educational needs have been replaced by Individual Development Plans or IDPs. Special educational needs [SEN] is now called Additional Learning Needs or ALN. Section 10 of the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 has a summary of IDPs.
School IDP
The biggest difference between the previous statement system in Wales (or EHCPs in England) is that most IDPs are created and maintained by schools, rather than the local authority.
In most cases it is the school which will initially decide whether a pupil has ALN and hence whether an IDP is required. The school then creates an IDP for the child. The local authority will not necessarily have a copy of the school IDP; paragraph 11.27 of the ALN Code suggests that there have to be particular circumstances before the LA would keep a copy of an Individual Development Plan – “11.27 The consequence of the local authority being required to maintain the IDP is that the local authority will need to keep a copy of it”
EOTAS With IDP
At the end of March 2026 the Welsh government published non-statutory guidance on EOTAS and ALN which can be read here It states that “For children and young people with ALN who receive EOTAS provision, either the management committee of the PRU or the local authority will have duties and responsibilities in relation the ALN system.”
The guidance goes on to say that “Learners receiving EOTAS may be unable to attend or engage in education for reasons related to their ALN. These learners should continue to have an IDP maintained for them. This will likely require an early review to ensure that its contents, in particular the ALP that it contains, are appropriate in the context of the child or young person’s new circumstances.”
Deregistering From School
The rules governing deregistration from school are the Pupil Registration Regulations Wales 2010 [LINK] Regulation 8. (1) (d) says
” … that the pupil has ceased to attend the school and the proprietor has received written notification from the parent that the pupil is receiving education otherwise than at school.” [Pupil Registration Regulations]
This is not affected by the child’s having an IDP (or a statement of SEN) unless the school is a special school where consent is required as per paragraph 8. (2) below
” … the name of a child who has under arrangements made by a local authority become a registered pupil at a special school must not be removed from the admission register of that school without the consent of that authority or, if that authority refuse to give consent, without a direction of the Welsh Ministers.” [Pupil Registration Regulations]
IN FUTURE, DEREGISTRATION FROM SPECIAL SCHOOL IN WALES WILL BE DIFFERENT BECAUSE OF THE CHILDREN’S WELLBEING AND SCHOOLS BILL AND THE NEW “BEST INTERESTS” TEST.
EHE With IDP
Crucially for home educators, school IDPs no longer exist if the child stops being a pupil at the school (see paragraph 29.3 (c) of the ALN Code) and responsibility does not automatically transfer to the local authority in the same way as it might if the LA had to arrange EOTAS [Education Otherwise Than In School] (See chapter 28 of the ALN Code )
At the end of March 2026 the Welsh government published non-statutory guidance on elective home education and ALN which can be read here. It states that “IDPs are statutory plans of support for learners with ALN. This legal protection must not be removed when a child becomes home-educated. The IDP can only be ceased if the responsible body makes an informed decision and follows the appropriate procedures, as set in the ALN code.”
The guide goes on to say “When a local authority takes over responsibility for maintaining an IDP from a school (for example when a learner becomes home educated), the annual review period remains in place. It is important that the school informs the local authority of the IDP annual review date when responsibility transfers to the local authority.”
The ALN Code also says that in certain circumstances local authorities have a duty to decide whether a child has ALN.
“13.3. Where it is brought to its attention, or otherwise appears to a local authority, that a child for whom it is responsible may have ALN, the local authority must decide whether or not the child has ALN …
13.4. The possibility that a child may have ALN might be brought to the attention of a local authority in a number of ways. There might be a direct approach from the child, their parent or other family member …” [ALN Code]
This is echoed in the Elective Home Education Guidance Wales 2023
“2.13 Where it is brought to its attention or otherwise appears to a local authority that a home educated child (other than a looked after child) for whom it is responsible, may have ALN, the local authority must decide whether or not the child has ALN and, if it decides that the child has ALN, prepare and maintain an IDP and secure the additional learning provision (ALP) described in that plan (section 18.21 of the Additional Learning Needs Code (ALN Code).” [EHE Guidance]
The Parents Handbook page has a model letter for requesting an ALN assessment; Annex B link HERE via THIS PAGE.
Local Authority Monitoring
The ALN Code has more to say about LA IDPs, seeming to suggest firstly that the local authority might provide extras but also ultimately that a child might have to go to school to receive the ALP.
“18.23 A local authority preparing or reviewing an IDP for a home educated child, should work with the child and child’s parent to identify the appropriate ALP and then secure it. This involves identifying the type of ALP called for by the child’s needs and whether the parent will be able to deliver it (either directly or by arranging for someone else to deliver it). Subsequently, if the parent is to deliver it as part of the child’s home education, in order to secure the ALP set out in the IDP, the local authority will need to satisfy itself that it is being delivered. Where parents are not able to provide all of the ALP called for by the child’s needs, the local authority will need to consider how the ALP can be secured. There may be various ways of doing this. For example, in some instances, it could be through extra provision arranged by the local authority to supplement the education being provided by the parent at home, or it could be the provision of training to help the parent deliver the required ALP at home. In other cases, the local authority may need to exercise its education functions to secure education for the child at a particular school” [ALN Code]
The above paragraph from the ALN Code appears again in the Elective Home Education Guidance Wales paragraph 2.14.