| Description | Consultation on further education provision for young people with complex additional support needs |
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| ISBN | 0755926153 |
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| Official Print Publication Date | |
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| Website Publication Date | June 22, 2005 |
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Ministerial Foreword
Since 1999 we have had a strong focus on promoting
social justice and inclusion for those who are most
disadvantaged. Our commitment to widening access to further
education has been a key priority in recent years and we
are proud of the achievements of the sector in opening its
doors to a wide and diverse student population.
Despite this success, we are aware that a small but
significant number of young people with complex additional
support needs may be unable to access appropriate further
education provision in Scotland. Many of these young people
then apply to attend specialist further education provision
outside Scotland and seek funding from their local
authorities to do so.
We have listened to the concerns of young people with
complex additional support needs, their parents, carers and
the organisations that represent them that the current
arrangements do not provide fair access to further
education. This consultation paper provides an opportunity
for everyone with an interest in this issue - further
education colleges, local authorities, voluntary
organisations and young people themselves - to say where
the strengths and weaknesses are in the current system and
how we can improve arrangements for the future.
The Executive is committed to ensuring that everyone has
the chance to learn regardless of their background or
personal circumstances. Through the views expressed in this
consultation we will consider how best to make provision
for those with the most complex needs. Your contribution to
this exercise will help shape that provision. We look
forward to receiving your views.
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| Jim Wallace | Andy Kerr | Peter Peacock | Tom McCabe |
Introduction
1.1 This consultation paper invites comments about
provision for, and funding arrangements, for students with
complex additional support needs who choose to or believe
they need to study outside Scotland.
1.2 Following the incorporation of most of Scotland's
further education colleges in 1992, funding for students
maintenance bursaries transferred from local authority
budgets to further education colleges. At that time, local
authorities retained a discretionary power to pay bursaries
in terms of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. The sum of
£4.7 million was left in the local government finance
settlement in recognition of the continuing
responsibilities of both Orkney and Shetland Island
Councils for
FE Travel and Bursaries and all other
local authorities' cross-border cases. A proportion of
these students are those with complex additional support
needs.
1.3 The Scottish Executive is committed to ensuring that
everyone has the chance to learn regardless of their
background or current personal circumstances
1. We therefore wish to ensure that students with
complex additional support needs have the same
opportunities as their peers which may include access to
appropriate further education opportunities outside of
Scotland if required.
1.4 Inclusiveness and social justice are at the heart of
the Scottish Executive's policies. Following the
recommendations in the report of the Beattie Committee
Implementing Inclusiveness: Realising Potential
(1999), the Executive endorsed the principle that
inclusiveness should underpin all post-school education.
Inclusiveness is about providing learning opportunities
that give the best match to the needs of the individual. We
recognise that the further education sector has made
considerable progress in ensuring that young people can
access a learning environment that matches their needs,
abilities and aspirations. This consultation provides an
opportunity to build on progress to date and further
develop further education provision for young people with
the most complex needs.
1.5 The transition to post school education is a key
stage in a young person's life. As pupils approach school
leaving age, schools focus on the support that individuals
need to move from school to the placement best suited to
them. For many young people, this might be into further or
higher education, training or employment. However, for a
significant number of young people, there may be a need for
education provision not currently available in Scotland's
post-16 sector. This results in these young people applying
to attend one of a number of residential specialist
colleges in England and seeking funding from their local
authority to meet the cost of provision.
2. Background and Aims
2.1 Over the last few years, it has become clear that
Local Authorities operate different policies in relation to
funding students to attend colleges outwith Scotland. Some
have taken a decision not to fund cross border students,
others only students with additional support needs, while
others will fund as demand requires using a capped fund. In
the case of students with complex additional support needs,
lack of available funding may be a significant barrier to
accessing any further education provision.
2.2 There also appears to be varying knowledge amongst
young people and their parents and carers about the
provision currently available in Scotland.
2.3 In this consultation, we wish to find out about the
current practices of local authorities in relation to
providing funding for students with complex additional
support needs. However, we also wish to look more broadly
at the issue of supporting students with complex needs and
to consider options for the future support and funding
arrangements. The aims of this consultation are
therefore:
- To investigate the current policies and practices
of local authorities in relation to the provision of
bursaries to students with complex additional support
needs attending further education provision outside
Scotland.
- To seek the views of local authorities on their
role in relation to the provision of bursaries to
students, particularly those with complex additional
support needs, who choose, or need, to study outside
Scotland.
- To gather information about the needs of young
people that could not be supported through current
provision in Scotland
- To gather information from young people and their
parents or carers about their experiences in relation
to obtaining funding for study outside Scotland and the
impact the availability of funding has on the young
person's ability to access further education
provision.
- To measure the likely demand for places at
specialist provision that does not currently exist in
Scotland over the next 10 years and estimate the cost
of meeting that demand
- To explore options for funding the required
provision
2.4 As part of this consultation, we have asked key
stakeholders to set out their views on the arrangements for
funding and supporting students with complex additional
support needs. The views of 2 local authorities, 3 further
education colleges, Skill Scotland and a parent of a young
person with complex additional support needs are included
as annexes to this paper.
3. Arrangements for Consultation
3.1 Consultation is an essential and important aspect of
Scottish Executive working methods. Given the wide-ranging
areas of work of the Scottish Executive, there are many and
varying types of consultation. However, in general Scottish
Executive consultation exercises aim to provide
opportunities for all those who wish to express their
opinions on a proposed area of work to do so in ways which
will inform and enhance that work.
3.2 While details of particular circumstances described
in a response to a consultation exercise may usefully
inform the policy process, consultation exercises cannot
address individual concerns and comments, which should be
directed to the relevant public body. Consultation
exercises may involve seeking views in a number of
different ways, such as public meetings, focus groups or
questionnaire exercises.
3.3 Typically,
Scottish
Executive consultations involve a written paper
inviting answers to specific questions or more general
views about the material presented. Written papers are
distributed to organisations and individuals with an
interest in the area of consultation, and they are also
placed on the Scottish Executive website enabling a wider
audience to access the paper and submit their responses
1. Copies of all the responses received to consultation
exercises (except those where the individual or
organisation requested confidentiality) are placed in the
Scottish Executive library at Saughton House, Edinburgh (K
Spur, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11
3XD, telephone 0131 244 4552).
3.4 The views and suggestions detailed in consultation
responses are analysed and used as part of the decision
making process. Depending on the nature of the consultation
exercise the responses received may:
- indicate the need for policy development or
review
- inform the development of a particular policy
- help decisions to be made between alternative
policy proposals
- be used to finalise legislation before it is
implemented
3.5 The Scottish Executive now has an email alert system
for
SE consultations (
SEconsult). This system allows
stakeholder individuals and organisations to register and
receive a weekly email containing details of all new
SE consultations (including web
links).
SEconsult complements, but in no way
replaces
SE distribution lists, and is designed
to allow stakeholders to keep up to date with all
SE consultations activity, and
therefore be alerted at the earliest opportunity to those
of most interest. We would encourage you to register.
3.6 If you have any comment about how this consultation
exercise has been conducted, please send them to
Claire Keggie at the address shown below.
3.7 This consultation paper is being issued widely in
Scotland: to all local authorities, to all further
education colleges, and others who have an interest in this
issue, for example parents and carers of students with
complex needs. This paper is being distributed widely to
encourage discussion among interested parties. A full
distribution list is shown at Annex A. Additional copies of
the paper can be obtained from Frances MacMillan by
telephoning 0141 242 0108 or by writing to the address
below.
3.8 Responses to this consultation paper are requested
by 31 October 2005
Please send your response to:
Claire Keggie
Scottish Executive Enterprise Transport and Lifelong
Learning Department
Higher Education and Science Division
Europa Building
450 Argyle Street
Glasgow
G2 8LG
or
Claire.keggie@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
3.9 We would be grateful if you could clearly indicate
in your response which questions or parts of the
consultation paper you are responding to as this will aid
our analysis of the responses received.
Alternative Formats
3.10 The text of this paper will be made available, on
request, in alternative formats. Anyone who requires the
document in an alternative format should contact Claire
Keggie at the address given.
Publication of Responses
3.11 We will make all responses available to the public
in the Scottish Executive Library by 28 November 2005,
unless confidentiality is requested. We would be grateful
if you could complete and return the
Respondee Information Form found at
Annex D, indicating whether or not you
agree to your response being made available to the
public.
3.12 All responses not marked confidential will be
checked for any potentially defamatory material before
being logged in the library or placed on the website.
4. Policies and Practices of Local
Authorities
4.1 The purpose of this section is to investigate the
current policies and practices of local authorities in
relation to the provision of bursaries to students with
complex additional support needs attending further
education provision outside Scotland.
4.2 Following the incorporation of most of Scotland's
further education colleges in 1992, a sum of £4.7 million
was left with local authorities as part of the local
government finance settlement This sum was retained to
allow Orkney and Shetland Island Councils' to continue to
fund their
FE Travel and Bursaries responsibilities
and all other local authorities to manage their
discretionary power to pay bursaries to students studying
at non-incorporated colleges including cross-border
cases.
4.3 The £4.7 million Grant Aided Expenditure (
GAE) provision was distributed to local
authorities in proportion to their actual expenditure.
4.4 The
GAE which has now increased to £5.4
million in 2005-06, is available to local authorities
annually as part of local government finance settlement.
However, it has become clear in recent years that not all
local authorities use the available funding to support
students who wish to study at non-incorporated
colleges.
4.5 A small survey of local authorities, carried out in
January 2002, provided some information about the policies
and practices on bursary provision to students who wished
to study outside Scotland. At that time, just under half of
the authorities who responded stated that they had a
general policy of not funding any further education
students. From the information provided by authorities it
was not always possible to establish whether funding had
been provided for students with complex additional support
needs or whether a different policy was applied in relation
to these students. The level of demand from students with
complex additional support needs was also unclear.
4.6 The purpose of this section is to update our
baseline information and to establish a clear picture of
local authorities' current policies relating to the
provision of bursaries to students who wish to study
outside Scotland. This section provides local authorities
with the opportunity to explain their current policies and
to provide information on their rationale.
Local authorities are therefore invited to answer
the following questions:
Q1. How many applications have you had for funding in
each of the last three years?
Q2. How many of these were from students with complex
additional support needs?
Q3. Does your local authority have a policy in relation
to the provision of bursaries to students, particularly
those with complex additional support needs attending
further education establishments outside Scotland? Please
provide details.
Q4. Does your policy apply equally to students with
complex additional support needs as well as those who wish
to participate in other
FE course, for example, music
courses?
Q5. If your policy is not to fund students, particularly
those with complex additional support needs, why was that
decision taken?
Q6. If available, please could you provide copies of any
relevant policy documents used by your local authority.
Q7. If your local authority did provide bursary support
for students with complex needs, what was the maximum and
minimum payment made?
Q8. What proportion of students supported with complex
needs was jointly funded through social work services,
education and/or
NHS?
Given the specific provisions for Orkney and Shetland
Island Councils these local authorities will be invited to
answer further questions on their specific use of the
bursary/
FE travel funding. A separate letter
has been sent to both Councils
5. Role of Local Authorities
5.1 Local authorities have a discretionary power to
provide funding to students studying outside Scotland. As
stated above, we are aware that the practices of local
authorities vary across the country. This may mean that
students across Scotland are treated differently when
applying for funding to study outside Scotland.
5.2 The purpose of this section is to seek the views of
local authorities and other interested parties on what
their role should be in relation to the provision of
bursaries to students with complex additional support needs
who require to study outside Scotland.
5.3 We are aware that some local authorities fund young
people over the age of 16 to attend specialist provision in
England. We also know that a few local authorities provide
funding for young people with complex additional support
needs to attend some kind of specialist provision in
Scotland. Where provision is available, it appears to be an
extension of the school curriculum tailored to the
particular needs of the client group. Tailoring provision
to meet client needs is good practice and such provision is
very welcome. However, there are many areas of the country
where there is no such local authority provision. Indeed,
for a small but significant group of young people in
Scotland, the most appropriate further education provision
appears to be at one of a number of specialist colleges in
England.
5.4 In view of this, and our commitment to ensuring that
everyone has the chance to learn regardless of their
background or current personal circumstances, we must find
a way of supporting these students. We are therefore
seeking views from local authorities, colleges, young
people, their parents and carers on the role of local
authorities in relation to provision of this support.
All respondees are invited to answer the
following questions
Q9. Do you consider that local authorities have a role
to play in supporting students, particularly those with
complex additional support needs, who have needs that
cannot be supported by provision currently available in
Scotland?
Q10. If so, what should that role be?
Q11. If you consider that local authorities do not have
a role in supporting students with complex needs that
cannot be supported by provision currently available in
Scotland, who could more appropriately provide the
support?
6. Further Education Colleges in
Scotland
6.1 Further education colleges in Scotland play a vital
role in providing wide ranging learning opportunities for a
diverse student population. They have a long tradition of
supporting students who have additional needs and of
promoting equality of opportunity and inclusion.
6.2 In recent years the
FE sector in Scotland has made
considerable investment to ensure that the requirements of
the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 are
met. It has also implemented the recommendations from the
report of the Beattie Committee:
Implementing Inclusiveness, Realising Potential.
Colleges have taken positive steps to ensure that they are
flexible and work with a wide range of students to meet
their support needs.
6.3 It is recognised that colleges alone cannot always
provide the range of support needed by students. In some
cases, a package of support, involving local authorities,
the
NHS and other agencies is often
necessary. Partnership Matters
2, outlines the roles and responsibilities of colleges,
local authorities,
NHS Boards and other agencies in
supporting students with additional needs. It focuses on
the need for a partnership approach to providing support
for students. By adopting a partnership approach, the
Executive believes that the needs of the vast majority of
students can be met within Scotland's further education
colleges.
6.4 We realise however, that for a small number of young
people, further education colleges may currently be unable
to provide the high level of specialised support needed to
facilitate the learning opportunity. When there is no
suitable further education provision in Scotland, young
people may choose to attend more suitable, specialist
provision, usually in England. When a place at a specialist
college is unavailable, the young person may attend
provision in Scotland which is either not sufficient in
quantity or does not fully meet their needs.
6.5 We are therefore seeking the views of further
education colleges on whether opportunities within Scotland
for students with the most complex needs can be improved.
We also want to gather information on what educational
opportunities
FE colleges currently offer to students
who are at the more complex end of the spectrum of needs.
We would like to know what colleges believe assists or
prevents them offering suitable provision. This information
will assist us to make considered decisions about future
provision in Scotland for students with complex additional
support needs.
Further education colleges are invited to
answer the following questions.
Q12. How and to what extent does your college currently
offer educational opportunities to students with
significant additional support needs, particularly those
who are at the more complex end of the spectrum?
Q13. Can you identify at what point, along the continuum
of complex needs, the college would find difficulty in
making provision? It may be helpful to illustrate your
response with brief examples.
Q14. Does your college currently specialise in providing
support for a particular need e.g autism or communication
impairment?
Q15. Does demand for places by those with more complex
needs exceed supply? If so, to what extent.
Q16. What changes would allow you to better meet the
needs of more students with complex needs?
All respondees are invited to answer the
following questions
Q17. Each year, around 10-15 young people from Scotland,
with very complex needs, travel to England to residential
centres to undertake further education there. There may be
a greater number who cannot currently access provision in
either Scotland or England due to current funding
arrangements. Do you have any observations on the value or
advisability of providing a national residential centre or
centres for students with the most complex needs in
Scotland?
Q18. Do you have any observations on the value of a
small number of further education colleges across Scotland
extending their provision for students with complex
needs?
Q19. Please take the opportunity of flagging up to us
any relevant matters that would help our understanding of
the issues relating to students with complex needs.
7. Views of Young People and their Parents and
Carers
7.1 For most young people, making the transition from
school to further or higher education is a challenging
time. For those young people with complex additional
support needs, the transition process is usually more
difficult. This is particularly true if the young person is
experiencing problems in finding suitable provision to meet
their needs. We therefore wish to seek the views of young
people and their carers on the current provision and
funding arrangements in Scotland and how they can be
improved for the future.
7.2 The 2002 survey of local authorities included a
survey of students who had received funding from their
local authority to attend further education provision. A
small number of students, around 10% of whom had additional
support needs, provided information to us.
7.3 The information received indicated that young
people's experiences in applying for and receiving funding
from their local authority varied, depending on the region
in which they lived, the course they chose and if they
required additional support. This gave a very broad idea of
their experiences at that time. However, we want to have a
better understanding of experiences from a wide range of
people. We want to know about both positive and negative
experiences of applying for funding.
7.4 The purpose of this section is to gather information
from young people, their parents and carers on their
experiences of the funding process and how it has affected
access to further education provision. We are interested to
know if you were successful in obtaining funding or not and
whether the amount offered met the cost of provision. We
also seek information about the reasons local authorities
gave for not providing funding.
Young people, their parents and carers are
invited to answer the following questions
Q20. Can you tell us what kind of specialist provision
and/or support you needed
Q21. What information sources did you use to find out
about available provision in Scotland?
Q22. What information sources did you use to find out
about provision outwith Scotland?
Q23. Did your local authority provide you with
funding?
Q24. Did the funding offered meet the cost of
provision?
Q25. If not, what was the shortfall and were you able to
find alternative funding to make up the shortfall?
Q26. What was the source of alternative funding?
Q27. Was your choice of college or course taken
influenced by the availability of funding?
Q28. If you attended a specialist college, please
indicate which one.
Q29. If no funding was offered, has appropriate
alternative further education provision been found in
Scotland or elsewhere?
Q30. What reasons did your local authority give for not
providing funding?
8. Provision for the Future
8.1 Planning for the future is essential. We currently
have little indication of the likely future demand for
places at specialist provision. However, we wish to be able
to estimate demand for specialist provision and the
associated costs of these places over the next 10 years. We
know that around 700 young people leave special schools in
Scotland each year. Many of these people successfully move
on to further or higher education, employment or training,
however between 3% and 7% each year do not move on to
further education, training or employment.
8.2 We want to anticipate the future support needs of
students in Scotland with complex additional support needs.
This will help us to consider if there is a demand for
specialist provision in Scotland or whether the provision
currently available in England more appropriately meets the
needs of young people with complex additional support
needs.
Young People, their parents and carers are
invited to provide the following information
Q31. Are you or the person you care for likely to
require access to specialist further education provision in
the future?
Q32. What stage in the education system are you or the
person you care for at?
e.g. P7, S3
Q33. What level of support do you or the person you care
for require?
e.g. 24 hour one to one care, assistance with
intimate personal care and medication, physiotherapy or
hydrotherapy, etc.
Q34. Have you had any discussions with
FE colleges or other education providers
in Scotland?
9. Options for future funding
arrangements
9.1
GAE of £5.4 million is currently
available annually to local authorities for their remaining
FE Travel and Bursaries
responsibilities. However, a number of young people are
unable to access appropriate further education provision
due to lack of available funding.
9.2 The information gathered from this consultation
exercise will help us make informed judgements about future
provision. This will include decisions on the funding of
such provision. At this stage, we consider that the options
are:
- Status quo - local authorities continue to have
provision in their annual local government finance
settlements and the discretionary power to offer
bursaries
- All or part of the current £5.4 million is clawed
back from local authorities and allocated to another
body to manage on a national basis. Potential
organisations are The Student Awards Agency for
Scotland (
SAAS), a single local authority or
the Scottish Executive.
- The £5.4 million is split into 2 funds. One to be
used for cross-border study, the other to allow a
number of Scottish
FE colleges to improve their
facilities to meet the needs of more students with
complex needs in Scotland.
Your views on these potential options are sought.
10. Next Steps
10.1 Following the consultation exercise, we will
consider fully all responses and will develop plans to
implement new arrangements for young people with complex
needs accessing further education. We will consult on these
plans as appropriate.
Annex A: STAKEHOLDER PLATFORMS
A) Skill Scotland: National Bureau for Students
with Disabilities
Lifelong learning should be open to all, regardless of
needs or circumstance, as set out in the Lifelong Learning
Strategy for Scotland. However, Skill Scotland has regular
contact from learners with additional needs who cannot
access further education in Scotland, and yet they cannot
get funding to access appropriate further education
elsewhere. These people are in effect excluded from further
education because of their needs.
One important step towards ending this exclusion is to
change the current funding arrangements for places in
specialist colleges. It no longer makes sense for this
funding to come from Local Authorities, who have no similar
role in Further Education in Scotland. The discretionary
nature of this Local Authority funding also leads to a
funding postcode lottery. Instead, there should be national
funding with consistent application across Scotland. Young
people should be assured that the resources will be
available to access appropriate further education, no
matter where they live.
Recent developments have encouraged the Further
Education sector in Scotland to develop inclusive learning
provision. The Disability Discrimination Act (
DDA), which gives rights to individual
disabled learners, directs colleges to anticipate the
future adjustments that may be needed by disabled learners
so that disabled people will increasingly experience no
disadvantage in learning. The Beattie Committee report
advocates an inclusiveness approach that envisages
provision that fits the learner, and not vice versa. These
developments present a particular challenge when
considering provision for people with complex needs - how
can Scotland provide further education that is inclusive of
all, regardless of need?
Skill Scotland highlights key principles that must drive
forward the goal of lifelong learning for all:
- All learners, regardless of their level of needs,
should have an equal right to choose learning that fits
with their aspirations and life choices
- All learners, regardless of their level of needs,
should have an equal right to attend a local further
education college
- All learners, regardless of their level of needs,
should be at the centre of decisions taken about their
own learning and life
- All learners, regardless of their level of needs,
should have an equal right to engage in lifelong
learning that has value for them and enriches their
life.
Much of the expertise, facilities and resource already
exists to make fully inclusive education a reality but this
will only be achieved through a widespread commitment to
partnership working, reinforced by the resources to make
such provision sustainable and viable.
Skill Scotland welcomes this important consultation and
urges the Scottish Executive to set in place policies and
practice which ensure two things: that funding for
specialist college places outwith Scotland is
consistent and available, and that
equal provision for learners with complex
needs is part of lifelong learning in
Scotland.
B) City of Edinburgh Council
The incorporation of Further Education Colleges in 1992
led to a separation of planning and development of local
authority services and further education. Up until that
time the local authority had the opportunity to align
policy and provision for school education, Community Care,
Further Education, Housing, Bursaries and Careers.
Subsequently the combined effects of the disaggregation of
local authorities into smaller units, the increasing shift
towards housing stock transfer and the expansion of Further
Education market in terms of numbers of students, the range
of provision and the geographical catchments mean that a
national framework is now required.
Over a ten-year period of expansion in Further Education
and the significant extension of inclusive provision, the
fragmentation of the planning framework at a local level
has had a particular impact on students with complex
additional support needs. Arguably, in the case of low
incidence complex needs, the loss in local joint planning
would be more than compensated by the capacity for planning
on a regional and national basis. However, there remains a
significant gap in provision, particularly for those
students who require an integrated approach to education,
personal support, assistance with health care and
additional needs in housing and accommodation.
The local authority's residual responsibility for
Further Education bursaries is now out of step with the
financial, planning and organisational structures for
further education. The responsibility for the provision for
complex needs requires to be embedded in the mainstream of
planning and funding for further education in Scotland with
strong links with Community Care, housing and health
services.
Whilst there may be individual circumstances where
residential provision in England continues to be
appropriate, this needs to be set against the need to
develop sustainable opportunities in Further Education in
Scotland.
The development of new provision needs to take into
account the reasons why young people are pursuing provision
outwith Scotland. Key factors include:
1. The need for a full range of accessible learning
opportunities.
2. The lack of a robust framework providing clear
pathways and assured integration of learning, social and
care needs.
3. The need for the opportunity for young people to have
opportunities to experience independent living as part of
their educational experience.
4. The need to link further education with employment
and other life opportunities.
We need to raise our game in Scotland. Whilst there is
nothing inherently wrong with students attending
residential colleges in England, taken across the piece it
reflects fundamental deficiencies in our own provision.
Where, after a period in a residential college a young
adult returns and takes up further courses in local
colleges, we have to ask why that couldn't have been the
case from the outset?
As long as the responsibilities for planning and
decision making remain fragmented, we are unlikely to make
progress. Decisions about funding and support to attend
specialist residential provision in Scotland or elsewhere
need to be located within a framework which assumes a
student's entitlement, provides transparency and
accountability and an impetus to improve provision and life
opportunities within Scotland. It also needs a robust
framework for planning and accountability between Further
Education, Careers Scotland, Local Authorities and
Communities Scotland and Health Boards to ensure effective
integration of services for additional support needs.
The low incidence and specialist nature of complex needs
and the nature of the Further Education 'market' mean that
this requires to be led nationally with strong lines of
accountability across agencies. The prime aim must be to
ensure that our further education provision is open to all
young adults and provides them with high quality options to
progress their education, training, employment and life
opportunities.
C) Aberdeen College
The predecessor colleges which were to form Aberdeen
College introduced courses for students with additional
learning needs in the mid 1980s. The provision was
initially discrete, held in one room and involved very
small numbers of students. The curriculum was a
modification of the (then) school curriculum.
Services were progressively developed and extended to
include vocational experiences in construction, office and
retail, hospitality, environmental studies and information
technology, the aim being to help students towards
independence. Work experience, and personal and social
development elements were introduced to courses to improve
employability.
Over time, the numbers of students with additional
learning needs attending the College has risen and in
2003-04 the numbers stood at 1,254 on dedicated (
DPG18) programmes and 1,426 on
mainstream programmes. About 120 employers work in
partnership with the College and Careers Scotland, securing
placements and supported employment opportunities.
The growth and success of the programmes since the 1980s
have depended crucially on multi-agency collaboration,
involving partnership with local authorities, Careers
Scotland, the health services and voluntary agencies. The
effectiveness of the partnerships is demonstrated by the
progress students make in becoming full citizens who
contribute to the work and lives of their communities.
In 1990 the College formalised arrangements for learning
support for students studying courses throughout the
College in recognition of the increasing numbers of
students on mainstream courses requiring individual
support. Soon after, Aberdeen College achieved membership
of the National Federation of
ACCESS Centres, becoming I of 3 Centres
in Scotland.
Providing a positive learning environment for students
with additional learning needs requires an holistic
approach which involves: the removal of physical and
attitudinal barriers, the provision of extensive staff
development, changes to the curriculum to ensure
accessibility and extensive additional student support.
This 'whole-College' approach is now well-established at
the College where the learning environment is positive,
inclusive, and designed to help all students reach their
potential.
The College recognises that appropriate staff attitudes
are essential for effective provision for students with
additional needs. Staff development plays an important part
in embedding appropriate attitudes, behaviours and
competencies. For example, Disability Awareness training
has been in place since the early 1990s and is mandatory
for all staff. Specific staff development courses include:
Making the Curriculum More Accessible, The Disability
Discrimination Act, Supporting Students with Dyslexia,
Teaching Students with Additional Learning Needs and
Dealing with Challenging Behaviour.
The College maintains a Disability Working Group chaired
by a Vice-Principal and a Disability Forum for students
which is chaired by an Associate Principal. The Forum
provides students with an opportunity to tell the College
'how it is' and to influence provision in a meaningful way.
The Forum relays student feedback to the Disability Working
Group which takes positive and practical actions to
improve. Services and facilities.
The development of learning opportunities, provision,
and support for people with additional learning needs at
Aberdeen College rests on the principle and the
practicalities of partnership. Progress is also based on a
recognition of what the College can most usefully
contribute to the network of services and support offered
by partners. Knowing what the College should not provide is
important if clients are to be best served. The College's
Access Statement, established in concert with partners,
clearly delineates the College's role locally, and helps it
to focus on what it does best, empowering other agencies to
do the same.
D) Motherwell College
The principle of lifelong learning available to all is
well established in policy. This paper explores how
provision in the context of this policy can be made more
systematic and effective for clients with complex
needs.
The further education sector across Scotland already
meets the learning needs of a great number of clients with
complex needs. However, colleges offer different levels and
types of support in terms of staff expertise, curriculum
and 24/7 residential care.
In the ideal model, finding the correct solution for the
client involves partnerships with local authorities, social
work, health boards, schools, physiological services, local
organisations, parents and carers. Stakeholders/partners
and partnership working is essential to identifying and
meeting the needs of the clients. Individual solutions are
required for individual young adults and these young
adults, and their requirements, are at the centre of the
negotiations.
Even with the best model, not all clients' needs can be
met in Scotland and the availability of places in
specialist institutions elsewhere, is a keystone of the
current system. The current situation, as described by
Skill Scotland in their Stakeholder Platform, paragraph 1,
is one well recognised by practitioners and is at best
regrettable, at worst, a national scandal.
Motherwell College agrees that this situation is
untenable. In amending the model, we should be mindful of
the vast changes in further education since incorporation
in 1992. Developments, such as the Brite Regional
Assessment Centres and compliance with the Disability
Discrimination Act, have enabled many more students with
complex support needs to access further education in their
local community. This should be the preferred model in the
vast majority of cases.
However, there remain a number of clients with complex
needs who require support in specialist centres. These
could either be provided within Scotland, perhaps on a
regional basis, or in some cases referred to centres
elsewhere.
In essence, there would be three assessment based
models.
1. For the majority, a service provided by a local
college, supported by other partners in terms of care,
health and transport may be appropriate
2. For students with more complex needs, or those from
rural areas, a specially resourced provision/centre,
geographically based and with a residential element may be
appropriate
3. For a small number, a place at a specialist college
may be more appropriate. This specialist college would have
a central assessment, funding, referral and a quality
assurance framework established to ensure progression for
students and best value for all. Current
NFAC and
BRITE centres could have a role in this,
as could other partners as described above in paragraph 2.
An audit/assessment of current numbers, demographic trends
and geographical distribution would have to be carried out,
as well as the level of independent specialist
provision.
When a programme has a residential element, the young
adults' social and personal development needs have to be
taken into consideration in the design of the service. A
holistic approach must be taken.
E) South Lanarkshire Council
For a number of years some parents of young people with
learning disabilities who have complex needs have sought
placements in specialist colleges in England as a possible
progression from school. There may be a number of reasons
for this, including the perception that there is a lack of
facilities at a local level which can offer the same range
of care and health supports, educational activities and
opportunities. This Council, along with its partners in
Further Education and Health, is committed to addressing
these issues by developing existing services through local
joint planning and partnership working, thus increasing the
range of supports available and ultimately reducing the
need to seek resources outwith Authority boundaries.
The Best Value Review regarding day services and
residential support for adults with learning disabilities
in 1999 laid the foundations for the modernisation agenda
across the Council. The Review encouraged the integration
and mainstreaming of services to allow engagement with the
full range of Local Authority services and health partners.
Further endorsed by the Scottish Executive National Review,
"The Same As You?" (2000), South Lanarkshire commenced its
re-provisioning programme for all of its existing day
centres, and a remodelling of the accommodation and support
strategy. To date, two centres have been replaced by
integrated facilities, and plans are underway to replace
the remaining three by 2007. These purpose built facilities
are integrated with other Council resources such as
Leisure, Community and Library Services, and offer
extensive opportunities for social integration for all,
including those with complex health needs. The development
of Community Support Teams has been an essential component
to this strategy allowing for a movement away from
traditional centre based activity, thus allowing for more
person centred planning and the development of
individualised programmes.
Supported by an analysis of health needs, existing
effective links with Health services are being further
developed, at a local level for primary care, with the
backing of a range of dedicated specialist services. The
introduction of a more person centred approach to college
courses has been integral to this strategy with additional
funding having been released to support college placements,
and the proposal to form service level agreements between
local colleges and the Council, adding clarity to roles and
responsibilities.
The Additional Support for Learning (Scotland) Act 2004
offers a framework for the existing work that is ongoing to
manage the transitions phase for those with complex needs.
The Council now has a dedicated Transitions Worker which
will allow for a more focussed approach in the planning
process for those at this crucial stage in their life, and
there is a recognised need to strengthen partnership
working with Integrated Children's Services, thus allowing
for enhanced information sharing and improved individual
planning
Tapping into resources such as Direct Payments options
and the Independent Living Fund also allows for more scope
for a variety of services to be accessed over seven days
whilst retaining the young person within their local
community. Developing links with independent providers has
been an integral part of this, thus allowing for the joint
implementation of more person centred support packages.
The Councils Community Learning Plan, launched in March
2005, also has a focus on learning disability, promoting
the need to take forward a clear strategy on life-long
learning. There is a clear view that services need to work
closely with one another so that long-term outcomes are
achieved for service users. Any learning plan thus needs to
dovetail with an employment strategy. The Council has begun
this process with the introduction of Supported Employment
Advisors, whose role is to develop proper employment
opportunities, particularly for those who have made
achievements educationally, and should have the same
opportunity to demonstrate developed skills in a work
environment.
Whilst it is the Council's view that all of the above
can be developed and delivered at a local level, some
services would require to be driven by a national agenda,
for example the minority of students requiring specialist
communication support systems, .
e.g. Braille combined with a learning
disability. Such services realistically could not be
supported at a local level, and would maybe require more
regional and national planning.
F) Elmwood College
Over the last 16 years Elmwood College has developed a
range of opportunities and services for students with
complex needs.
The Student Development team offers students with
additional and complex needs an individual programme or a
place in one of its discrete groups of approximately 8 -12
students. The students can have a wide range of different
disabilities which can be physical, social/emotional and/or
complex learning needs. Programmes are built round
SQA units at access1, 2 and 3 and
intermediate 1 along with
ASDAN and locally devised units tailored
for each group. The focus of all courses is on the
development of the students as individuals, so there is a
strong emphasis on expanding life skills and social skills
in every programme. The department has students on both
full and part time courses and has good links with
SEN units at local secondary schools.
Class room assistants are provided by the college to give
additional help if required within a group setting.
Several years ago the college invested in an
Inclusiveness Coordinator to implement some of the
recommendations of the Beatie Report and to help the
college work towards compliance with
SENDA. The remit of this post has grown
over the last 5 years and it is now a middle management
post with a team of support workers who work with both
mainstream and Student Development students with complex
needs on a one-to-one basis. Through good working
relationships with social services, the college has gained
funding to secure support for these students, many of whom
are on the autistic spectrum, enabling them to access the
mainstream curriculum on a full-time or part-time basis.
This one-to-one support is provided at appropriate levels
and allows students to undertake
NC and when appropriate
HN level courses.
Demand for this service has grown and the Inclusiveness
Manager has now worked with Social Services department from
several regions. Its popularity has lead the college to
develop a Supported Accommodation option for students who
live outwith the daily travelling distance of the college
but who are interested in either studying in the Student
Development department or on a mainstream course. Students
with complex needs often do not have the independent life
skills required to live in the Student Residence so
individual houses and flats, both on and off campus have
been acquired and staffed to ensure correct levels of
support.
The success that Elmwood has experienced is not
arbitrary and there are several factors that make it ideal
for this type of provision. The location and size of the
college makes it an ideal environment for those with
complex needs. The college is situated on the outskirts of
Cupar, with a population of approximately 8,500 and has
approximately 850 full time students. The size and layout
of the campus quickly allows students to become confident
at finding their way around. It also has the advantage of
being set in its own large grounds with a residence and 3
houses which are used for Supported accommodation.
Because of the well established Student Development
department, all staff have been used to having students
with complex needs in college. This has resulted in staff
who work in the refectory or janitorial team, also having
experience in communicating and accommodating students who
have disabilities. Good working relationships between
Student Development, the support teams and curriculum teams
aids transition for students into mainstream classes.
Staff development on Inclusion has been driven by a
senior manager in the college with a great deal of support
from the Principal and there has been a change in even some
"die hard" staff on inclusion issues. The early investment
in an Inclusiveness Manager has meant that the college has
been innovative in our approach to partnerships and
funding. We have been equipped to meet demands and to
respond quickly to further demands.
Although this approach has worked well at Elmwood we do
not advocate that it could work in every college but there
will be other colleges that may also have similar benefits
of scale and culture that could be identified and developed
to bring a similar service into other regions.
G) Parent of a Young Person with Complex
Additional Support Needs
I am the parent of an 18 year old daughter with complex
learning needs. As she has no speech, my greatest concern
for her future is that she will be unable to communicate
her needs and feelings in a way recognised by carers,
friends and those who will be and are involved in her
well-being. My aim was, therefore, to continue her post
school education in a way which offered a high level of
provision in communication and self-help skills.
I started to look at the provision in Scotland 3 years
before she would leave school in 2004. It was extremely
difficult to access information regarding availability of a
course reflecting a good input in this field although some
colleges would appear, on paper, to have some provision. I
was unable to find a course which had the teaching of
communication skills as the base for all other skills on
offer and as the key subject but integrated throughout the
college day.
I did find one such course at a highly regarded
specialist college in England. It offers a high level of
expertise in this field. It was not my wish for my daughter
to spend several years so far from home but the opportunity
to acquire important skills was of greater importance for
her future in general. She was offered a place despite a
high demand for places and a large waiting list.
I applied on her behalf for funding from our local
council. They were initially unaware of the
GAE provision from the Scottish
Executive. We waited almost 5 months for a decision
regarding the application and during this time lost the
college place due the demand from already funded students.
The council felt that the local provision was adequate.
During this time I wrote and spoke to councillors, an
MSP, the Scottish Executive and many
advice and funding agencies. I was aware that there was a
need for improvement in how such applications were
addressed.
My daughter has now had 1 year of local provision. She
accesses an elaborated school curriculum at college which
is not entirely suited to her level of needs and lacks the
expertise required in the area of teaching communication
skills to make an impact on her level of ability. She
requires immersion in a communication related environment
and access to aids and technology. I have been aware of an
eagerness of staff to provide a good service but do feel
that there is a great need for specialist knowledge to be
delivered at the right level. Had she been a young person
without a disability then her post school choices would
have been varied and appropriate to her needs and
wishes.
I feel that having centres of excellence in Scotland
would be the optimum situation but, failing this, a central
funding body which provided a funding decision in a fair
and consistent way would be the best solution. It is
admirable to advocate lifelong learning for all but surely
this should be a 'meaningful' learning for all.
Annex B: Summary of Consultation
questions
We would welcome responses to all questions posed in the
paper. However, some may be appropriate only to certain
organisations or students.
- Local authorities are invited, in
particular, to answer questions 1-11.
- Further education colleges are
invited, in particular, to answer questions 12 -
19
- Young people, their parents and carers
are invited, particular, to answer questions 20 -
34
RELATED TO LOCAL AUTHORITY POLICY
Q1. How many applications have you had for funding
in each of the last three years?.
Q2. How many of these were from students with
complex additional support needs?
Q3. Does your local authority have a policy in
relation to the provision of bursaries to students,
particularly those with complex additional support
needs attending further education establishments
outside Scotland? Please provide details.
Q4. Does your policy apply equally to students with
complex additional support needs as well as those who
wish to participate in other
FE courses, for example, music
courses?
Q5. If your policy is not to fund students,
particularly those with complex additional support
needs, why was that decision taken?
Q6. If available, please could you provide copies
of any relevant policy documents used by your local
authority?
Q7. If your local authority did provide bursary
support for students with complex needs, what was the
maximum and minimum payment made?
Q8. What proportion of students supported with
complex needs was jointly funded through social work
services, education and /or
NHS?
Q9. Do you consider that local authorities have a
role to play in providing bursaries to students,
particularly those with complex additional support
needs, who require to study outside Scotland?
Q10. If so, what should that role be?
Q11. If you consider that local authorities do not
have a role in supporting students with complex needs
that cannot be supported by provision currently
available in Scotland, who could more appropriately
provide the support?
RELATED TO FURTHER EDUCATION COLLEGES
Q12. How and to what extent does your college
currently offer educational opportunities to students
with significant additional support needs, particularly
those who are at the more complex end of the
spectrum?
Q13. Can you identify at what point, along the
continuum of complex needs, the college would find
difficulty in making provision?
Q14. Does your college currently specialise in
providing support for a particular need, for example,
autism or communication impairment?
Q15. Does demand for places by those with more
complex needs exceed supply? If so, to what
extent.
Q16. What changes would allow you to better meet
the needs of more students with complex needs?
Q17. Each year, between 10-15 young people from
Scotland, with very complex needs, travel to England to
residential centres to undertake further education
there. There may be a greater number who cannot
currently access provision in either Scotland or
England due to current funding arrangements. Do you
have any observations on the value or advisability of
providing national residential centre or centres for
students with the most complex needs in Scotland?
Q18. Do you have any observations on the value of a
small number of further education colleges across
Scotland extending their provision for students with
complex needs?
Q19. Please take the opportunity of flagging up to
us any relevant matters that would help our
understanding of the issues relating to students with
very complex needs.
RELATED TO STUDENTS AND THEIR PARENTS AND
CARERS
Q20. Can you tell us what kind of specialist
provision and/or support you needed?
Q21. What information sources did you use to find
out about available provision in Scotland?
Q22. What information sources did you use to find
out about provision outwith Scotland.
Q23. Did your local authority provide you with
funding?
Q24. Did the funding offered meet the cost of
provision?
Q25. If not, what was the shortfall and were you
able to find alternative funding to make up the
shortfall?
Q26. What was the source of alternative
funding?
Q27. Was your choice of college or course taken
influenced by availability of funding?
Q28. If you attended a specialist college, please
indicate which one?
Q29. If no funding was offered, has appropriate
alternative further education provision been found in
Scotland or elsewhere?
Q30. What reasons did your local authority give for
not providing funding?
RELATED TO FUTURE NEED FOR SPECIALIST
PROVISION
Q31. Are you or the person you care for likely to
require access to specialist further education
provision in the future?
Q32. What stage in the education system are you or
the person you care for at
e.g. P7, S3
Q33. What level of support do you or the person you
care for require? e.g 24 hour one to one care,
assistance with intimate personal care and medication,
physiotherapy or hydrotherapy, etc.?
Q34. Have you had any discussions with
FE colleges or other education
providers in Scotland?
Annex C: LIST OF CONSULTEES
32 Scottish Local Authorities
45 further education colleges in Scotland
The Association of Scottish Colleges
Universities Scotland
EIS
NUS
Cosla
Skill Scotland
Lead Scotland
Head Teachers of all special schools
Head Teachers of all High Schools
UNISON
Scottish Further Education Unit
Scottish Further Education Funding Council
ENABLE
Minority Ethnic Learning Disability Initiative
Citizen's Advice Bureau
BRITE Centre
RNIB
RNID
Capability Scotland
Scottish Association for Mental Health
Inclusion Scotland
Scottish Disability Equality Forum
Equal Opportunities Commission
Equality Network
Learning and Teaching Scotland
Scottish Quality Agency
Learndirect Scotland
Scottish Qualifications Agency
Careers Scotland
Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability
Scottish Executive Education Department
Scottish Executive Enterprise Transport and Lifelong
Learning Department
Copies have also been passed to the clerks of
Enterprise and Culture, Education and Equal Opportunities
Committees of Scottish Parliament and
SPICe.
Annex D: Scottish Executive Consultation
Respondee Information Form
Please detach, complete and submit with your
consultation response. This will help to ensure that we
handle your response appropriately.
Footnotes1 Life Through Learning: Learning Through Life, Scottish
Executive February 2003
2 Scottish Executive January 2005