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Working for a change? The same as you?
Leadership and co-ordination of individualised, person-centred support
National leadership
Employment for people with a learning disability inevitably crosses traditional boundaries between employment, benefits, careers, disability, health, education and equality. There is added complexity in Scotland as employment, equality legislation and benefits are reserved powers. As a result, there is currently no clear lead agency for the issue at Scottish Executive level.
Whilst delivery of supported employment services has to be co-ordinated at local level, legislation and policy requires a national lead. Additionally, many of the agencies who play a part at local level are organised at Scottish or UK level - Department for Work and Pensions, Jobcentre Plus, Careers Scotland, Disability Rights Commission. With an issue of exclusion as deep as this one, local agencies deserve national support and co-ordination.
The case could be made for any one of several different Executive departments to lead on supported employment in Scotland. But, at heart, this is an employment issue. To maximise the chances of successful ordinary employment for people with learning disabilities, to ensure that supported employment is being delivered locally, and to check that Community Plans are successfully engaging with business needs, the promotion of employment of people with learning disabilities needs to be led by the Department that will most powerfully influence ordinary business culture. Therefore the Department of Transport, Enterprise and Life Long Learning is best placed to lead on strategy and funding for supported employment for people with learning disabilities at a national level in Scotland.
Recommendation 6: Providing leadership on the development and implementation of policies which enable people with learning disabilities to achieve their potential for employment
We recommend that Transport, Enterprise and Life Long Learning be the lead department for the Scottish Executive on employment for people with learning disabilities. As part of this leadership it should work closely with other departments, in particular with the areas of education, social justice and local government. It should establish and chair a cross-cutting
national steering group including business representatives, health and local authority Partnership in Practice representatives, supported employment agencies, Local Area Co-ordinators, Disability Rights Commission, Education, Jobcentre Plus, Department for Work and Pensions, Careers Scotland, people with learning disabilities and families to oversee and drive the implementation of this report.
Local planning and co-ordination
There are challenges in ensuring that everyone with a learning disability who wants to work gets the person-centred support they need to co-ordinate and sustain that work. Too often at present, people are not getting the chance to work simply because it is no-one's responsibility to keep things moving along for them.
We have made it explicit that we want to see mainstream services and mechanisms taking far clearer responsibility for serving everyone in their community. Currently, voluntary sector agencies and social work departments have more expertise and experience in working with people who have a learning disability than either Jobcentre Plus or Careers Scotland. However, unless the efforts of different agencies are co-ordinated, there is fragmentation and wasting of time and effort. Worst of all there is discontinuity for the person at the centre - the person with learning disabilities.
We recommend that if mainstreaming is to be made locally meaningful a new piece of law can be well used. The Local Government in Scotland Act (2003) gives local authorities new powers to advance well being and provide a statutory basis to the community planning process whereby the local authority and other agencies work together to meet the needs of communities. These powers have the potential to make a key, dramatic difference to co-ordination of and the priority given to the employment for people with learning disabilities.
It makes sense for local authorities to integrate the type of co-ordinated arrangements between Jobcentre Plus, supported employment agencies and others outlined above into their Community Plans, so that the diversity duties of local employers (including the local authority itself) and the right to work of people with learning disabilities are never forgotten. Success can then be measured through comparisons on an authority-by-authority basis. In some areas, several local authorities may want to jointly plan a regional approach, to take account of 'travel to work' areas or the boundaries of other existing agencies.
Recommendation 7: Joining it all up locally
Local authorities are best placed to devise effective local arrangements for planning, delivery and monitoring of employment services for people with learning disabilities. We recommend that in this community planning process, they work with other key local agencies including their local Scottish Enterprise company, local Careers Scotland and link Department for Work and Pensions staff, along with supported employment agencies, other relevant voluntary sector providers, local employers, schools, colleges, people with learning disabilities and families.
We also recommend that local authorities demonstrate leadership by example by employing a locally proportionate number of people with learning disabilities within the local authority itself.
As at national level, it is important that responsibility at local authority level is not marginalised, for example in social work departments, but that economic development and education departments realign resources to achieve the social inclusion of people with learning disabilities.
A Life-Long Challenge
Starting young
However well these arrangements may improve finding, getting and keeping a job for adults, it will not work unless planning and preparation for work starts at school. Our evidence shows that there is great variation in the experience of young people with a learning disability and their families.
For some young people the Future Needs Assessment is a positive experience which uses a person-centred approach and considers employment options - while for others these meetings are dominated by professionals, and are discouraging and unproductive.
Stevenson College Inclusiveness Project works to support the mainstream inclusion of students with severe communication problems. Below they describe the type of person-centred work, carefully supporting a person through transitions from school to college and beyond, that can make all the difference between inclusion and exclusion for young people with complex needs. It is a good example of co-ordinated support.
Julie's school had referred her to a Careers Scotland keyworker who accompanied her to interview at the College of her choice. Unfortunately, Julie felt her interviewer did not understand her condition, so Julie tried Stevenson College instead. I met with Julie and her keyworker, and showed them around the building. I explained the pattern of the room numbers, and about the layout of the building, which is an area that can be very worrying to someone with a fear of new environments. I gave Julie my email address and invited her to look around the college as many times as she wished to help her with her fear. Julie came back for another visit with her keyworker prior to starting where I learned what she felt her difficulties were and what information she wanted passed onto lecturers. Julie only understands literal language, she doesn't understand or recognise body language, she has problems with imagination, she doesn't understand appropriate social interaction and because of this misreads social interactions. When she started as a full-time mainstream higher-level student it was decided, with Julie's permission, that I should take on the role of supporting her, and her keyworker would withdraw to avoid any confusion. Like all students Julie was assigned a personal tutor whose role it is to offer guidance and educational support. Neither her tutor nor her other lecturers had taught a student with Asperger's Syndrome before. Therefore, I met the whole staff team where I informed them in a general sense what Asperger's Syndrome was and the specific features associated with it. I also informed all Julie's lecturers of her particular difficulties. In addition to this I met with her tutor frequently to support her to manage different situations. Julie's disability proved challenging to her tutor, lecturers and peers. Because of difficulties with her peers Julie decided to tell her class she had Asperger's Syndrome and we met with her tutor to discuss the best way to do this and offer Julie support. After this, Julie felt her peers were more sympathetic to her behaviour, and she managed to make some friends. As Julie came to the end of her course she and I discussed employment and put together a personal passport for her to use in employment. Julie finds it difficult to take learning experiences from one setting to another; the passport consisted of information to remind her how to cope in certain situations. With Julie's permission I re-referred her to her original Career Scotland keyworker who would assist her in gaining employment. Julie attended a hand-over meeting with myself and her keyworker, to ensure we were all clear what needed to be done and who would do what. I would remain available for Julie to contact for as long as she wishes. This case illustrates the importance of the keyworker role at each stage of the transition, and how it can be appropriate to have keyworkers from different agencies at different stages. This can be achieved effectively if keyworkers communicate with each other and to the person at the centre to ensure that all parties are clear about roles and responsibilities. In this case, Julie's tutor also reported that she had found my input invaluable, and wondered if she would have been able to help Julie without it. |
This case illustrates the importance of the keyworker role at each stage of the transition, and how it can be appropriate to have keyworkers from different agencies at different stages. This can be achieved effectively if keyworkers communicate with each other and to the person at the centre to ensure that all parties are clear about roles and responsibilities. In this case, Julie's tutor also reported that she had found my input invaluable, and wondered if she would have been able to help Julie without it.
All schools and colleges should expect that all their young people will work, But whilst there are examples of excellent preparation in education for work and enterprise, we also heard of pupils with learning disabilities being given work experience cleaning the special school staff room, and about very poor management of transitions. It is unacceptable for schools to arrange for some pupils not to have work experience of a similar quality to that of other children.
The draft Education (Additional Support for Learning)(Scotland) Bill proposes to discontinue the current statutory Future Needs Assessment, replacing it with a more general expectation that the school will help the young person prepare for life after school. The Bill also introduces a 'co-ordinated support plan' for children and young people who need support from different agencies in order to benefit fully from education.
If pursued, it will be essential both that this 'co-ordinated support plan' starts to consider employment options early in their secondary school career to enable time for thinking through, exploring options, planning transitions, arranging work tasters and so on. It is also vital that the local authority - not just the education authority - holds clear responsibility for following through with the plan after school leaving age. The Bill will also need to consider the role of Careers Scotland in putting together and following up this plan with the young person.
In addition, each young person with a learning disability should be assisted to maintain a portfolio of achievements from their first work experience onwards. This would show employers the strengths and capacities which the young person can transfer to employment settings. This is particularly important when someone may not have any formal qualifications and is otherwise disadvantaged in 'selling' his or her own skills and experience.
We also propose that a person-centred planning approach is used in schools to help people think about career aspirations. Person-centred planning helps focus on the person's aspirations and gifts rather than on their deficits, and creates a shared commitment to putting the plan into practice. By bringing together different people who know and like the person, person-centred planning generates imaginative options and creates a shared commitment to make something happen.
Some other positive current initiatives could also be specifically extended to include young people with a learning disability - for example the vocational options programme now being offered to S3/S4 students in many areas of Scotland, and the Modern Apprenticeship scheme.
Overall, we consider that the institutionalised unemployment of people with learning disabilities is so serious that it merits a far firmer Scottish commitment to young adults, in the form of a national guarantee for school-leavers with a learning disability.
Recommendation 8: A step change in mainstream opportunities for young people with learning disabilities
We recommend that local education authorities should work with relevant agencies, such as Careers Scotland, further education colleges, and health and social work agencies, in order to plan and manage the transitions process effectively. School-leavers with a learning disability should have access to a personal key worker to assist them through the transition process from school to post-school employment, education and training.
In order to further establish equal opportunities for young people with learning disabilities, personal keyworkers should be able to access financial resources to assist young people with learning disabilities, where needed, with a positive post-school option. Options for school-leavers should be as varied as people's needs and aspirations, but would be expected to include:
Paid work.
'Gap year' opportunities to pair up with another young person to travel, live and work internationally.
Leadership opportunities like the Princes Trust or Fairbridge.
Mainstream training for work opportunities.
Volunteering opportunities.
An integrated college course.
Colleges
Many school-leavers with a learning disability go on to a college of further education. While there are examples of good practice, we saw examples at our focus groups of people getting 'stuck' in segregated classes, doing non-vocational courses. Sometimes it is not clear who is expected to keep in touch with the young person, the college and the family to make sure that the college course leads on to something.
People with a learning disability should, the same as anyone, have opportunities for adult education and for taking non-vocational courses based on their personal interests. However, colleges should be clear when a course is designed to have a vocational outcome and should build in additional support so that a person with a learning disability can get the most out of a course specifically intended to lead to a transition into work.
This report cannot make specific recommendations for the further education sector. However, we would like to see consideration of a review of the sector to examine how it could make a more effective contribution to supporting the vocational aspirations of people with a learning disability. This review would include consideration of the current funding formula and how it balances support for segregated provision with support for inclusion in the mainstream, and consideration of how colleges can best ensure that non-vocational courses complement rather than substitute for vocational courses. If people with learning disabilities are
'the same as you' they should be taking non-vocational courses in their leisure time as everyone else does, rather than taking non-vocational courses as a substitute for work.
Day services
Historically, day centres have provided the alternative to employment for people with a learning disability - and in Scotland around 8,000 adults with a learning disability attend a day centre for some or all of their week.
In recent years, the emphasis has shifted from day centres to day services and some people now have a more individualised service which is not focused around a specific building. However, traditional day centres - and the specialist transport to take people to and from centres - still represent a significant element of local authority budgets for services to people with a learning disability.
Improving the arrangements for supported employment is likely to mean some disinvestment in existing patterns of day service provision. If people have jobs they will spend less time in day centres, and some money therefore needs to be moved from day centre budgets to supported employment budgets.
However, this can only be one part of the funding mix for supported employment. Money from reshaping day services must be complemented by money from other mainstream budgets if supported employment is to become an effective mainstream option.
Money also needs to be moved from segregated day centres into other services which help people have full lives as part of their community - personal assistance, family support, access to inclusive leisure, arts, adult education. Work is one key to inclusion, but not the only one.
The experience of North Lanarkshire in managing these types of resource shifts demonstrates the significant role of leadership from the very top in enabling services to transform in this way.
Scotland is fortunate in having an all-age careers service. Careers Scotland potentially has a valuable outreach role in relation to day centres, working with day centre managers to help people think about careers opportunities - perhaps developing accessible materials to engage people who have had very little exposure to the world of work.
Most local authorities are addressing the issue of day centre change as part of their implementation of
The same as you? It would be helpful to see specific national support for these change efforts. This might include for example national guidance, training and research initiatives and opportunities for individual day centres and local authorities to exchange good practice.
The role of other professionals
Professional attitudes were identified as one of the main barriers to people with a learning disability considering employment. Care managers, Local Area Co-ordinators, occupational therapists, supported living agencies and day centre staff all need to 'think employment first'. The key responsibility of these workers as 'gate keepers' to employment for people receiving residential or other professional care and support is vital. Employment aspirations should always be included as part of Single Shared Assessments, person-centred planning, and any other processes for individual planning, assessment and review.
Research and development
It is clear that while some agencies have been providing supported employment services in Scotland for more than fifteen years, the sector as a whole is still fragmented. Despite the valuable efforts of SUSE (the Scottish Union for Supported Employment) the sector does not share a common language; roles, qualifications and career pathways in the sector are not well defined; and there are relatively few opportunities for people to share expertise systematically. Little research on supported employment has been undertaken with a Scottish focus. There is no agreed method for evaluating supported employment practice. Planners and policymakers have limited access to advice on good practice or to existing research evidence from across the world.
Over the next few years, there needs to be a conscious effort to support and develop the supported employment 'community of practice' in Scotland.
Recommendation 9: Filling the knowledge gap
We recommend that the Scottish Executive commissions a coherent three-year programme of research and development activities to inform policy which supports the employment of people with learning disabilities.
This should take account of the research into supported employment for people with learning disabilities in Scotland due to be commissioned in late 2003. We recommend the following areas for action.
Research for, and production of, a series of guides to good practice in supported employment for different audiences, including community planning teams, health and social work professionals, agencies in the employment field (mainstream and specialist), employers, and people with learning disabilities and their families.
Development of proposals for professionals working in supported employment, including role definitions, salaries and rewards, and qualifications.
Development, in consultation with the supported employment sector, of responsive monitoring and evaluation methods.
Development with relevant partners of a national approach to marketing inclusive employment to employers; Promoting first level mainstream competence in service provision for people with learning disabilities across a range of agencies by making sure that good quality training is provided (for example across all Jobcentre Plus staff, local authority front-line staff, schools and colleges).
Research into achieving the mainstreaming of, and sustainability of, funding for supported employment (i.e. research to overcome short-term, project-based funding), and into best practice models of change to achieve the shift from care-based to employment-based lives for people with learning disabilities.
Research that provides cost and benefit analyses of employment versus non-employment for people with learning disabilities over people's lifetimes.
We recommend that any research programme should include employment-related participatory action research programme run by and for people with learning disabilities.
This programme of work would build on existing initiatives such as EQUAL and would involve working closely with all the different stakeholders, including employers, Jobcentre Plus, Careers Scotland, the supported employment agencies and the Scottish Executive. It would be likely to be delivered through partnerships with one or more universities and other agencies with relevant expertise.
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