Talk to parents, teachers or support staff in Monmouthshire and a clear picture emerges: support for children with Additional Learning Needs (ALN) and autism is stronger, more consistent and more effective than it has ever been before. That didn’t happen overnight and it certainly didn’t happen by accident.

Since we were elected, your Labour-led council has made a conscious choice to put inclusion at the centre of local education. We don’t treat ALN as a problem or something to be managed elsewhere. Instead, the focus has been on helping children to thrive in their local schools, alongside their friends and peers. For many learners and their families, that change in approach has been transformative.

A crucial part of this story is Monmouthshire Autism in Schools and Settings (MASS). This programme has quietly but steadily changed how autism is understood and supported across the county. Grounded in the idea that autism is a difference, not a deficit, MASS has invested heavily in staff confidence and understanding. More than 1,300 practitioners have taken part in specialist training and every school and early years setting now has an autism champion - someone who knows the children, knows the staff and helps make inclusion really work in practice.

In day-to-day terms it means needs being spotted earlier. It means clearer, more person-centred planning. It means classrooms that adapt to children, rather than expecting children to adapt to systems. Provision for our learners with autism is now more consistent and more meaningful, helping learners to feel supported and understood.

The impact of this approach was noted in the recent local authority Estyn inspection, which recognised Monmouthshire’s leadership on ALN and the way inclusion has been embedded across our schools. That independent assessment and recognition confirms what a stellar job our education teams are doing.

Crucially, this progress reflects the direction set by your Labour-led administration. At a time when public finances are under intense pressure, we have chosen to protect investment in professional learning, back schools through partnership working and really focus on inclusion. Those priorities are paying dividends.

There is always more to do, but Monmouthshire’s experience shows what’s possible when inclusion is treated as a core value and shared responsibility. For children and families across the county, that commitment is making a real and lasting difference.

I am hugely proud of what our education team has achieved. You should be, too.