Placements at specialist further education provision: transitional arrangements information

Arrangements for planning and securing placements at specialist further education (FE) provision, also known as Independent Special Post-16 Institutions (ISPIs) (refer to Section 56 of the ALN Act.) is changing as part of the Additional Learning Needs (ALN) reform. 

This guidance provides information for Careers Wales, specialist FE establishments, local authorities, young people and parents and (or) carers on the timeline of the decisions undertaken by the Welsh Government during the final year of ALN implementation (2024 to 2025 academic year). It also includes information on Welsh Government funded placements from September 2025.

The Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 (the ALN Act) and wider ALN reform will bring the special educational needs (SEN) and learning difficulties and (or) disabilities (LDD) systems together into one ALN system.

Welsh Government has been responsible for making decisions regarding funding placements for young people aged 16 to 25 with learning difficulties who require access to specialist FE provision. This is changing as part of the ALN system with the responsibility gradually transferring to local authorities. 

Local authorities are currently making decisions regarding placements at ISPIs for:

• young people in Year 11, 12 and 13 (2024 to 2025 academic year) in the ALN system
• from September 2025 onwards local authorities will be responsible for making decisions on ISPI placements for all young people 

This change aims to enable local authorities, who are best placed to make these decisions to work in collaboration with a range of partners to develop and strengthen further education provision for young people with ALN.

Further details about the how Education is Changing and ALN support can be found at education is changing: additional learning needs (Eduation Wales).

Young people in Year 14 and above (2024 to 2025 academic year) will not move to the ALN system until 1 September 2025, Careers Wales will continue to undertake section 140 assessments for those young people in receipt of a statement of SEN and in their final year of schooling. Should specialist FE provision be identified as part of the outcome of the assessment, Careers Wales will also continue to submit applications to the Welsh Government to make a decision.

This guidance sets out the process and timelines for receiving:

• applications for young people in Year 14 and above for a placement at specialist FE provision starting from September 2025
• other requests in relation to Welsh Government funded placements up to the end of August 2025
• other requests in relation to Welsh Government funded placements from September 2025

During the final year of ALN implementation, the Welsh Government will continue to be responsible for the following decisions:

1. a request to undertake or update a section 140 assessment
2. an application for funding for specialist FE provision
3. a request to fund an extension to an agreed programme of study
4. a request for changes within an agreed programme of study (Welsh Government agreed placements)
5. appeals

Decisions arising from point 1 to 4 are all subject to the appeals process as set out in the Funding for further education and specialist provision for learners aged 16 to 25 page.

Whilst this will be the final year the Welsh Government will be making these decisions, how these decisions will be considered will not change. Further information on how we make these decisions can be found in the Funding for further education and specialist provision for learners aged 16 to 25 and Technical Guidance for Careers Wales. We aim to make all decisions by 31 August 2025. The following information sets out how we will approach this.

1. Request to undertake or update a section 140 assessment 

Deadline: 30 April 2025

Careers Wales, as part of their engagement with a young person and (or) parent or carer, should be aware of the timescales when considering submitting a request to undertake or update a section 140 assessment. This should be considered alongside the time it would take to undertake the section 140 assessment. This may also include the need to submit an application to the Welsh Government for specialist FE provision

Therefore, all requests should be submitted to Welsh Government by 30 April 2025 to allow sufficient time, if consent is given, for the section 140 assessment to be undertaken. Should the Welsh Government consent to a section 140 assessment and for whatever reason Careers Wales cannot complete the section 140 assessment by the end of August, then Careers Wales will help support the young person and (or) the parent or carer to make a referral to the local authority to consider ongoing further education under the ALN system.

If a request is received after 30 April 2025, the Welsh Government, in liaison with Careers Wales, will consider the feasibility of successfully completing the whole process before the end of August 2025. If it is considered that the process cannot reasonably be completed by the end of August, the young person and (or) parent or carer will be supported by Careers Wales to make a referral to the local authority.

After 1 September 2025 the appropriate body to consider specialist FE provision will be the local authority and the Welsh Government will not consider an application for funding after this date. Accordingly, if a section 140 assessment is completed after 31 August 2025, there will be no further involvement from the Welsh Government. However, the young person and (or) parent or carer may wish to share any relevant information with the LA in terms of considering ongoing provision under the ALN Act.

2. Applications for funding for specialist FE provision

Deadlines:

• The deadline for placements to start in April 2025 is 31 January 2025.
• The deadline for placements to start in September 2025 is 30 April 2025.
• The deadline for placements to start in January 2026 (this only applies to applications received by 30 June 2025. It should be noted that LAs may also be responsible for considering specialist placements for January 2026.) is 30 June 2025 (please note that the deadline for January 2026 has been brought forward to allow the Welsh Government sufficient time to consider before the deadline of 31 August 2025).

For applications requiring a decision by the end of August 2025, we encourage all parties involved in the section 140 assessment and application process to ensure that information is provided to Careers Wales in a timely manner, with the aim to submit applications as soon as possible, preferably by 31 March 2025 and no later than 30 April 2025 to ensure that decisions can be made by the end of August 2025. Submitting applications early may avoid possible delays in making a decision.

We acknowledge that bringing forward the deadline for placements to start in January 2026 may mean that a small number of applications cannot be submitted by 30 June 2025. In these cases, we encourage Careers Wales to let us know at the earliest opportunity so that a way forward can be agreed. Part of the consideration will be whether it is more appropriate for the local authority to consider the application from 1 September 2025. Should an application be submitted after 30 June 2025, please also see section below on ‘outstanding decisions’.

3. Request to fund an extension to an agreed programme of study 

Deadlines: 

• The deadline for requests for an extension for placements that will end on or before July 2025 is 30 April 2025.

The Welsh Government will only consider requests for an extension to complete an agreed programme of study that ends on or before the end of July 2025. In order to allow sufficient time for the request to be considered we are asking that submissions are made by the date set out above. We aim to make timely decisions on these requests. Further information can be found in the Funding for further education and specialist provision for learners aged 16 to 25.

A request for an extension to complete an agreed programme of study that ends after October 2025 should be made to the young person’s local authority. We encourage you to start your discussions with the local authority as early as possible.

4. Request for changes within an agreed programme of study: Welsh Government agreed placements

The Welsh Government will continue to consider requests for changes to the programme of study including after 1 September 2025 until the end of the agreed programme of study. This does not apply to requests to extend the period of study beyond the agreed end date, if that agreed end date is after 1 September 2025. Further information about these types of requests can be found in the Funding for further education and specialist provision for learners aged 16 to 25.

5. Appeals 

Where a young person and (or) their parent or carer believes the Welsh Government has not made a reasonable decision in line with this policy and (or) the law, they can appeal to the Welsh Government to review the decision made. This continues to apply to all decisions made by the Welsh Government (referred to in 1 to 4 above). The policy which sets out the timescales for submitting an appeal can be found on the Funding for further education and specialist provision for learners aged 16 to 25 page.

Outstanding decisions on 31 August 2025

Whilst our aim is to process and decide on all applications and requests received in full by the above deadlines, we acknowledge that in a small number of cases (referred in 2 and 4 above) the Welsh Government may be unable to provide a decision by 31 August 2025. In these cases, the Welsh Government will complete the decision-making process for those requests received by the associated deadline and any resulting appeals.

If the Welsh Government receives an application or request after the relevant deadline, then as noted above, we will complete the decision-making process. However, it should be noted that should a young person and (or) parent or carer wish to also make a referral to the local authority for the provision be considered under the ALN Act, then the Welsh Government’s involvement in the decision-making process will stop.

Welsh Government funded placements

Any funding for placements agreed by Welsh Government before the end of the 2024 to 2025 academic year will remain available to young people until they complete their agreed programme of study. This also applies to those decisions made under the transitional arrangement.

The Welsh Government will continue to consider requests for changes to the agreed programme of study (but not requests to extend the period of study which changes the end date of the programme) until the end of the agreed programme of study. 

New requests and existing local authority funded placements 

For the following types of requests, contact should be made with the young person’s local authority:

• a new request for funding specialist FE provision
• request to extend a programme of study beyond the agreed end date (whether the placement is funded by the Welsh Government or your local authority)
• a request for an additional programme of study for a young person already accessing specialist FE provision
• changes to a placement that is currently being funded by a local authority

Queries

All queries about this guidance should be directed to:

ALNpost16implementation@gov.wales