Partnership Matters: A Guide to Local Authorities, NHS Boards and Voluntary Organisations on Supporting Students with Additional Needs in Further Education

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PARTNERSHIP MATTERS

A Guide to Local Authorities, NHS Boards and Voluntary Organisations on Supporting Students with Additional Needs in Further Education

Jim Wallace

Andy Kerr

Peter Peacock

Malcolm Chisholm

MINISTERIAL FOREWORD

The Scottish Executive believes that everyone should have the chance to learn regardless of their background or current personal circumstances. Inclusiveness and social justice sit at the heart of this Executive and we are committed to widening access to further education. Without fair access to learning opportunities for all who can benefit, Scotland's full social and economic potential will not be fulfilled.

Over the last 5 years, there have been a number of changes to legislation and policy as well as practices and attitudes in relation to supporting people with additional needs. We recognise that for many people with additional support needs, participation in further education depends on a package of support being put in place. Identifying the right support and making it available at the right time, requires a genuine cross-agency approach from further education colleges, local authorities, NHS Boards and other agencies, who must all have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities.

We have listened to the views of students, parents and practitioners who all recognise that the boundaries of responsibilities between the supporting agencies are currently unclear. This guidance sets out the roles and responsibilities of all the agencies involved and encourages a genuine partnership approach to cross-agency working. Only by working together can we be confident that the best possible support arrangements are put in place to meet the needs of each individual learner.

We expect this new guidance to encourage the development of greater and more effective partnership working at a local level.
We expect the development of multi-agency partnerships which deliver positive outcomes for those people who need additional support to learn.
We expect those who are currently isolated to have the same opportunities as their peers to achieve their full potential.
We recognise that it is only through the hard work and sterling efforts of all the practitioners involved that this will happen.

We commend this guidance to all of you. We are confident that you will embrace this opportunity to work together to develop new and innovative ways to support learners.

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