Family Pathway

18/10/2026

𝐈𝐃𝐏, 𝐈𝐁𝐏 𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐒𝐏 – 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫?

These plans cannot be confused or treated as interchangeable. Each serves a different purpose, and the distinction matters for learners’ rights, access to education and the support they receive.

One of my greatest concerns is when the focus shifts towards managing behaviour, improving attendance or securing compliance, without sufficiently exploring why a learner is struggling in the first place.

Behaviour and attendance difficulties may be indicators of unmet needs, inaccessible learning environments or barriers to participation. Yet too often, the response focuses on what the learner is doing rather than what they are experiencing.
An Individual Development Plan (IDP) carries statutory responsibilities to identify additional learning needs and specify the additional learning provision required. An Individual Behaviour Plan (IBP) or Pastoral Support Plan (PSP) cannot replace or dilute that entitlement.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

We need to be careful that the systems designed to support learners do not inadvertently shift responsibility onto the very children and young people whose needs are not being adequately met.

𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐫.

18/10/2026

The childhood lottery is real in Wales.

Where a child is born and the circumstances they grow up in continue to shape their opportunities.

We must look beyond attendance, behaviours and labels to understand the barriers children face.

Every child deserves to feel safe, included and able to thrive — regardless of their postcode.

17/10/2026

17/10/2026

A strong sense of self can change how a young person sees their future. 💛

At Family Pathway, our specialist one-to-one coaching helps young people understand their strengths and needs, build a positive identity and find confidence in their voice.

Together, we develop practical tools to manage overwhelm, communicate needs and navigate the environments they want to access—whether in learning, work or everyday life. We also help identify adaptations and support that make participation possible.

Visit our website to read young people’s and parents’ feedback about the difference this support has made to their lived experiences.

🌐 www.familypathway.co.uk
Get in touch to explore how we can support you.

11/10/2026

Emotional regulation is not something children simply “have” or “do not have”. It is a set of skills that develops over time — and those skills can be taught.

Before expecting a child to regulate big emotions, we need to help them understand what emotions are, recognise their own triggers and notice the early signals their body is sending.

Then we can build a toolkit of strategies that actually work for that child.

And importantly, most of this teaching needs to happen when the child is calm. The middle of dysregulation is rarely the best time for a lesson.

Regulate first. Reflect afterwards. Practise for next time.

We are not teaching children never to have big emotions. We are helping them understand what is happening inside them and gradually develop the skills to navigate those emotions safely.

11/10/2026

Feeling unheard or unsure whether your child’s support is meeting their needs?

At Family Pathway CIC, we help families in Wales make sense of the ALN process, prepare for meetings and seek clear, specific support. We bring specialist knowledge and a person-centred approach, keeping your child’s experiences and your family’s voice at the heart of planning.

Let’s talk about the next steps for your child.
📩 [email protected]

08/10/2026

🎧 Highly recommended listening – Kimberley Wilson, Complex on BBC Sounds.

If you work with children and young people, whether in education, health, social care or family support, I would really encourage you to explore Kimberley Wilson's work.

As a chartered psychologist, Kimberley brings together psychology, neuroscience and research to help us better understand mental health, the developing brain and human behaviour.

The more we understand about how the brain develops, the better equipped we are to recognise and respond to children's needs.

Understanding the relationship between brain development, emotional regulation, stress, trauma, attention, sensory processing and behaviour is essential to developing genuinely inclusive and responsive practice.

Too often, we focus on the behaviour we can see without sufficiently exploring the needs, experiences and underlying processes that may be influencing it.

Why might a child struggle to regulate their emotions?

Why might everyday expectations feel overwhelming?

Why might a young person withdraw, disconnect or find it difficult to engage?

And how might our environments, relationships and expectations influence those responses?
Understanding behaviour is not simply about managing behaviour. It is about understanding the developing person.

That understanding should inform how we teach, how we support, how we communicate and how we create environments in which children and young people feel safe, understood and able to participate.

Kimberley's podcast is a valuable opportunity to deepen our understanding, challenge assumptions and reflect on our own practice.

🎧 Listen to Complex with Kimberley Wilson:
BBC Sounds – How to stop dissociating:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0p65g5p

Or explore the full podcast series:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/complex-with-kimberley-wilson/id1850425272
Well worth making time for!

06/10/2026

What will this course help my young person do next?

That is a question every parent should feel able to ask.

Welsh Government estimates that 17% of young people aged 16–24 in Wales were not in education, employment or training in the year ending December 2025.*

But we also need to ask about young people who are attending college or training. Is their course helping them build towards a future they want?

If a young person moves from one course or qualification to another, we should understand what they are gaining along the way.

Essential Skills Wales qualifications cover communication, using numbers, digital skills and employability. These skills can make a real difference to everyday life, further learning and work.

However, another certificate does not tell us the whole story.

A young person might gain a qualification at the same level as one they already hold. That can still be valuable—for example, if they become more confident using money, communicating at work or completing tasks independently.

We need to ask what they have learned and what opportunities it creates.

Work is already underway to improve things. Medr, the body overseeing further and higher education and training in Wales, has committed to clearer routes between learning and work. Qualifications Wales is also reforming Essential Skills Wales.

As parents, carers and professionals, we can help keep young people’s experiences at the centre of these changes.

Here are some questions to ask a college or training provider:

• Why is this course right for my young person, given what they already know and can do?

• What new skills will they learn?

• How will the teaching and assessment meet their learning needs?

• How does the course connect with their interests and hopes for the future?

• What could they move on to afterwards—another course, an apprenticeship, paid work or greater independence?

• Who will help them take that next step?

• How will we know whether the course is helping them move towards their goals?

Young people will progress in different ways and at different speeds. They deserve support and ambition throughout.

We should be able to see how each course helps them move towards a future they have helped choose.

Have you found it easy to understand where your young person’s course could lead?

*Source: Welsh Government, “Young people not in education, employment or training (NEET): 2025”. This is a survey estimate, and Welsh Government advises caution because of increased uncertainty.