The Scottish Government

« Previous | Contents | Next »

Listen

Part One: Young people's views about FE

Acknowledgements

In the limited time available for this consultation exercise, we took responses from as many people as we could. We are hugely appreciative of the time the young people gave and the great efforts many went to in order to provide us with their views. We also want to extend our thanks to their parents, teachers, staff in schools, colleges and others who made the consultation possible. Below we list the names of individuals who gave permission to have their views quoted. We also note the colleges or schools attended or mentioned by students and those whose parents gave views - though we have not identified individual parents.

Individual Young People

We would like to offer grateful thanks to all of the individual young people who took time and effort to answer our questions, give us their views and tell us their stories.

Scott Barbour
Tamara Batten
Malcolm Baxter
Alexander Braithwaite
Jacqueline Brown
Zoe Campbell
Graeme Colgan
Bryn Cross
Grant Douglas
Ewen Farquharson
Danny Fleming
Gemma Graham
Sandra Harrison
Eddie Jacanelli
Alan Kay
Faizal Khan
Amanda Langford
Jenna MacaLeer
Bernard McCann
Willie Mackay
Alan McNeill (O'Neill?)
Ross McNeill
Paul Mackenzie
Christopher Marshall
Lisa Maxwell
Scott Murphy
Terry Nicol
John Reid
Shona Robertson
Daryl Sinclair
Shelley Thomson

Locations included (which individual responders attended or referred to):

Aberdeen College
Ashcraig School, Glasgow
Beechwood School, Aberdeen
Borders College, Galashiels
Carlisle College
Clackmannanshire College
Donaldsons College, Edinburgh
Dornoch College
Dumfries College
Dundee College
Fife College
Hazelwood School, Aberdeen
Henshaws College, Harrogate
Inverness Royal Academy, Inverness
Inverness College
Motherwell College
Perth College
Stevenson's College, Edinburgh
Telford College, Edinburgh

Parents of

Student at Henshaw's College, Harrogate
Student at Beaumont College, Lancaster
Student at Clackmannanshire College, Falkirk
Student at Fife College
Student at Perth College
Student at Teens+, Edinburgh
Student at Telford College, Edinburgh
School-leaver, Aberdeen
School-leaver, Edinburgh
School Leaver, Dundee

Others

Thanks to other colleagues who contributed and helped to collect information, especially Fionna Balfour ( CALL Centre), Ann Clark (Donaldson's College), Grant Douglas ( CALL Centre Steering Group), Dithe Fisher ( TASSCC), Deborah Jans (Keycomm)

Finally, we would like to thank the Scottish Executive, first for initiating a consultation exercise in this important area and, second for inviting us to consult with young people across Scotland.

The views of the young people and the views of the authors

Readers should be aware that the views expressed in Part One of this report are not necessarily the views of the authors. The views collected are just that - views (ie. not verified statements of fact). As far as possible we have tried to synthesise quotes from the various sources into a format that is readable while also preserving the integrity of the views given to us. Throughout the exercise we have been aware of the potential for reading too much into a single quote or a small number of quotes. We have tried to avoid this as far as possible by presenting a balance that reflects, proportionately, the views given to us.

In Part Two we set out a model that we hope will contribute to the Executive's decision-making on the future of FE provision for young people with complex support needs. That model is based on the variety of views expressed in the consultation as well as on a wider reading of relevant literature. While based on our interpretation of the views expressed in Part One, Part Two is nonetheless the views of the authors. As such we take full responsibility for any inaccuracies that we may have unintentionally introduced into this part of the report.

Part Three of this report describes in more detail the nature of the specialised arrangements undertaken to consult the young people. Part Four contains the various appendices referred to in the Parts One, Two and Three.

Part One A: Young People's Responses to questions directed to them

Interviews and Questions

When interviewing the young people in the course of this consultation, we concentrated on the body of questions from the original consultation document (questions 20 - 34) that young people, their parents and carers were invited to answer. Therefore we have first set out these key consultation questions (Questions 20 - 34) together with the young people's responses. However, many of the answers and discussions were relevant to questions in other sections of the consultation, (Qs1-19) so these too are included if appropriate, in the latter part of this section of the report.

In their original form, the questions as presented were not accessible to many of the young people we consulted. We therefore reworded the questions into simpler and more accessible language. We 'translated' these reworded questions into symbols (PCS ¹ supplemented by Widgit Rebus symbols ² as necessary). We also adapted and supplemented some of the core questions with follow-up questions that arose in the course of our semi-structured interviews, and with questions adapted to individuals' specific circumstances (eg when talking to school-leavers rather than FE students).

Q20. Can you tell us what kind of specialist provision and/or support you needed?

This question was interpreted very widely by the young people we spoke to, to include the practicalities of accessing colleges and courses, the kind of courses available, and specialist expertise in delivering it, as well as personal care and support.

The replies below provide examples of special support mentioned.

(Following the headings) the words in bold and italics are the actual words used, the non-bold italics are further interpretations/explanations checked and confirmed at the time by the speaker.

Transport

Practically everyone we spoke to mentioned transport to and from college as the biggest problem that they needed support and funding to overcome. With one exception - a young man with Asperger's Syndrome - nobody we consulted was able to travel independently to college on public transport, because of their disabilities. A few who might have been physically able to travel on public transport would need an escort because of learning / social difficulties, complicated changes, and waiting times etc. (In rural areas there simply was no suitable public transport anyway.) The only people who did not have a problem with transport were some of those who were attending college part-time on a 'link' from school, where transport to and from college (usually on a one day a week group basis) was provided by the school/education authority. In a few cases, a similar transport service was provided by an independent voluntary agency (eg. Capability Scotland) for older students on a link from one of their centres.

Of those we interviewed -

• A very few students live close enough to college to be brought in by car by parents.
• Most students travel in either a college bus or a taxi paid for by their local authority (or a combination of both, over the week).
• One mature student travels in a car bought from his Mobility allowance and driven by his carer.

For example:

• "Bus"; "college bus"; the students at Borders College in Galashiels were brought in by the college bus.
• "Bus 5 3 5" (one Motherwell College student from Greenock was picked up and returned home by college bus, which he was happy about, as it was the only way he could access his course. However (though he specifically did not want to complain about this, fearing this transport provision might be withdrawn) he was picked up in the morning at 5.35 am and did not get home again until after 6 pm.
• "Taxi": one student attending Perth College on a transitional programme (still attending school 2 days per week) was brought in and delivered home by taxi but has been told that this provision is likely to be cut in future and that he will probably be required to travel independently to the college if he takes up a full time course there.
• "No money":school leavers in Inverness had been given the impression that there might be no money available to pay for transport for them to attend college.
• "It costs too much money. People like us have to pay too much for things we need, so we can't get them because of cost."
• Several students had been refused funding from their local authority for transport to Elmwood College (even though the college covers half the costs of providing a bus from Perth and Dundee. There is word that these buses may be cut completely in the near future)

In some cases, transport issues tie up with residential issues. Because it might take some students so long to get to and from college day by day, and because the arrangements for transport can be so complicated, it might be easier if they could attend college on a 'block' basis, staying overnight in supported accommodation say Monday and Tuesday night, and going home Wednesday night, to complete 3 full days at college.

Elmwood and Motherwell Colleges both offer that kind of arrangement, and it might well be possible to set up also at other colleges, on a case-by-case basis, through links with other bodies providing supported residential facilities. It seems that no students or families had had that possibility suggested to them by their school or local authority (although they would hear about it if/when they visited or talked to someone at the college itself). The option is seldom taken up - again, transport costs and the difficulty of obtaining funding from local authority Social Work Depts for personal care assistance for residential students was indicated as the barrier to this.

Access

• "I had to stay in the car" (Dornoch college did not provide adequate wheelchair access so prospective student hoping to visit college to find out about catering courses could not enter the building)
• "England, wheelchair access" One young wheelchair user who had lived and been partly educated in England had the impression that access to college was better in (some?) college(s?) in England, but we were unable to clarify which particular college he was thinking of.

One physically disabled student's experiences during an otherwise generally successful time at college were that relatively basic adaptations to the environment would have made the experience much better. For example, it would be good if there were a lift restricted to use by wheelchair users only - she could often not get from floor to floor in time for classes as the lifts were full. Another problem was that although there were automatic doors, they did not stay open long enough to allow a wheelchair user to get through.

Suitable accommodation is not always made available:

• "X was suffering a lot of pain in her hip and her Mum asked for a room where she could lie out on a mat from time to time. The college were not happy about this. They said that there was nowhere suitable. Mum insisted and eventually a room was found but it was not always available. Sometimes X would have to lie down on the floor in the toilets."

Courses

A majority of the young people that we spoke to were seeking courses that were either specially tailored to their particular support needs (eg. use of communication aid) or (in the case of mainstream courses) could be adapted to accommodate their disabilities.

A number had ended up doing (or were facing) courses that were not what they had been hoping for. In many cases, this was in the context of a one or two day a week college link, where (presumably for practical and economical reasons) the students appeared to be 'packaged' as group, rather than on the basis of individual needs and abilities, or wishes.

• "I would like to do photography but I can't" (the reason given seems to be that on the school-college link photography was not offered - not considered to be 'majority interest'. It was not clear at this stage whether or not this severely physically involved student might be able to get on a photography course later, or actually whether or not he would be accepted for any local college course at all after school, because of costs of transport and personal care.)
• " I didn't want to do Art - wrong course … (the college) want me to do stuff myself but I can't do it" This student reported having been placed (through school) on a course that she couldn't cope with physically, and meeting with a lack of understanding from college staff. She was doing art, but physically couldn't manage it without considerable help. Now she was being told by staff that she wouldn't pass/ qualify unless she completed the work independently.

In other cases, students appeared to becoming to terms with limitations (either their own, or those imposed upon them?):

• "I've been at my Review Meeting about moving on to college and stuff. I said what I wanted to do but that would be really difficult to do (childcare). I want to work with children but I don't think I can do that so I need to do something else."

One young man noted that he could not do the course he wanted because it required him to first complete a communication module. Because of specific learning difficulties (in addition to sensory impairment) he could not get a certificate in that module.

• "If I was at university I could get special arrangements made and still be able to follow my choice of course."

Some did not seem to have had much luck in determining their course.

• "I want to work with animals. They said I couldn't do that because I couldn't do that (sic) because I have a language difficulty and slow to write. I can use computer - slow but can use it with that. But I am doing Art."
• ("Can you follow up trying to do something with animals?") "Good Question, don't know"

Some were not hopeful about finding any suitable FE provision. In the Inverness area in particular, the group of school-leavers' acute awareness of what had worked out (or rather, not worked out!) for a friend who had left school the previous year caused them to be pessimistic about their own futures in FE.

• "there's nothing much out there."
• "there's not a lot out there for me to do after school - it's a real shame from an educational point of view -it's starting to worry me a wee bit."
• "I feel sad"
• "I am happy to hear about it" (ie happy to hear the problems talked about openly)

In some other areas / colleges, the students we interviewed seemed very happy with their courses.

The overall pattern was quite clear - students with mild/moderate additional support needs were easy to fit into existing (or slightly adapted) courses and were apparently well served by this provision.

Students with more complex support needs found everything difficult. They were often not accepted on courses they were interested in at their local college because of their physical, sensory or communication difficulties. That left them either a course chosen for them by others (often the general 'LifeSkills' type course) or nothing.

One student with no speech who uses a voice output communication aid ( VOCA) said:

• (I would like to work more on my)"communication" (Is that available at your local college?) "No"

One school leaver, asked what she would like to study at college, said

• "Talking", " Maths"

Another student, who also uses a VOCA, had already done a 2 year full-time course at Motherwell College and then left, but was now back there doing a further part-time course (on communication) because there is no suitable provision at all for users of augmentative and alternative communication ( AAC) in his home area (Edinburgh).

What is most important to you, at college?

• "communication aid" (student eye-pointed to the voice output communication aid mounted in front of him on his wheelchair)

The aborted project at Stevenson College in Edinburgh (part of the recent Edinburgh and Lothians 15-24 Inclusiveness Project) for supporting students who use AAC underlines the difficulty FE colleges have in supporting this type of student. Although there are currently still two AAC users completing a course there, apparently there are no plans to develop any further specialised provision for this group. (This is in contrast to the more successful outcome of the part of the project that was concerned with students with Asperger Syndrome.)

Support

It was difficult to untangle answers to this question asking about 'specialist support' from answers to the similar question Q33, ie. 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. Most of the school-leavers and students we interviewed were used to having day to day support from auxiliaries and care assistants so quite a few just took it for granted that that was 'normal' and an accepted prerequisite condition of attendance at college, and did not mention it specifically. Few were able to analyse or itemise specific components of care, or estimate their 'level' of support need in relation to others. Such matters were usually left to others to sort out.

Having said that, three main categories of specialist support emerged from our interviews. These are 1) physical care and support 2) educational support 3) help with communication

1. Physical care and support

We interviewed young people with a variety of conditions. As mentioned above, all needed escorts on the transport that brought them to and from college. At least 75% of the young people we interviewed had significant physical disabilities and needed 1:1 help (in one or 2 cases, 2:1 or help from mechanical hoist etc.) with basic moving from place to place, lifting, toilet and intimate personal care, eating, drinking. Most also needed some help in class with turning pages, reading, manipulating objects, carrying things. At least 50% had little or no effective functional speech and used various forms of communication aid.

• "(I need a) helper"
• "I need help with personal care and I need help with eating, so that will be a big problem for me."
• "… don't know what will happen, I need someone with me."

Many of these young people nonetheless did not need 1:1 care all the time, and could sit unaided to participate in class for normal periods. This meant that if they each brought a support worker with them, those workers could be doing nothing for much of the day. In some settings, they also apparently might have little contact with the educational side of events, so presumably could not link very effectively with home or other settings the student visited during the week. In other cases, where the support worker stayed with the student, they could have a very important role to play outside college (eg. knowing how to set up computer software etc)

Another model was utilised in some colleges where support workers were employed by the college (albeit paid for in whole or in part by Social Work) so that if they were not needed at some times by individual students they could be redirected to help with work to support the college lecturers and tutors (ie. like classroom assistants in schools). This could theoretically be very useful for eg. making materials in symbols (although we saw no evidence of this on our limited visits) or other things that lecturers do not have time to do - ie offer educational support as well as physical care.

Across different settings, the way such support workers are deployed seemed rather random; we came across no evidence of a systematic effort to train and utilise these workers strategically within the FE context (although of course it may exist somewhere). Having a Keyworker (cf. Edinburgh and Lothians 15-24 Inclusiveness Project) - so long as other support is not simultaneously withdrawn - seems to be a good way of addressing efficient and effective deployment of support staff.

One student, who had enjoyed her college experience overall and found staff helpful, nonetheless had had bad experiences relating to physical care and support (and access)

• "X had to be hoisted every time she was taken out of her chair, whether to stretch out or to go to the toilet. A hoist was provided (? By Social Services) but College insisted that it was kept locked in a cupboard the whole time. To make matters worse, they insisted that the cupboard key should be kept at Reception. The College is a vast building, X worked in a variety of different rooms. When she needed to go to the toilet, her carers had to trail off to Reception, then to the cupboard, drag the hoist to where X was, take her to the toilet…and then repeat the process in reverse. College would not compromise, for example by letting Carers collect the key on arrival and return it at the end of the day. Nor would they explain why things had to be like this (Health and Safety? Security?). Another problem was the toilet itself; the seat was unsuitable but it took a very long time for College to buy what was required."

In our interviews and discussion, lots of 'administrative' issues came out that might at one level seem like details, but in practice could blight a young person's attendance at college. For example, in one case a student was prevented from starting her course because her support workers were not employed until the very beginning of the course, but then the college insisted that the student could not attend college at all until the support workers had a manual handling certificate (they had been trained but not certificated). The Brokerage service had to fund this and a delay was caused so that the young person did not start her course along with all the other students.

We also spoke to parents of young people with more complex difficulties who had various degrees of physical disability, all of whom had severe learning and communication difficulties. Many also have a need for support with behaviour. These young people were not able to tell us directly about their support needs, but these essentially amounted to 24 hour 1:1 support (or more than 1:1).

2. Educational Support

• "I need a lot of help because I can't write. I need help to write."

Educational support primarily took the form of carrying materials, manipulating books or other materials and reading and / or scribing for students.

Two school-leavers who use AAC expressed (quite independently of each other) a preference about class size: "small".

We were expecting to find out about educational support in the form of differentiation and adaptation of mainstream courses, to make them more accessible to students with, say, sensory physical or communication disabilities. However, we found little evidence of this; most colleges appear to pursue a 'one size fits all' ethos as regards their courses. If students cannot access mainstream courses they often seem to be 'steered' into the special courses devised for students with learning difficulties even though they may not have learning difficulties as such.

• "They said I should go with the others" (Student who ignored this advice and eventually did a degree.)

Some school staff were outspoken about the poor quality of education and support provided at FE colleges.

• "Apart from the obvious - access, toilets, eating arrangements, helpers etc. they need a much more varied programme of programmes, and they need much more expertise in working with young people with a variety of special needs. They need training!"

These teachers identified major training needs for FE staff. All FE staff are generally now expected to have or to get a teaching qualification as well as their academic/ professional qualification or skill/experience. FE staff who work with students with additional support needs should be expected to have at least the same level of training and qualifications as other FE staff and should also have training and qualification in additional support needs. School staff complained that FE staff work with students with additional support needs without any specialist training and without even having been exposed to examples of good practice. Specifically, FE staff were criticised for a failure to understand progression, in an educational sense.

• "They 'tweak' the courses slightly and give them different names, but they are willing to continue year after year with the same old stuff, with no progression".

School staff felt frustrated and angry that nobody - and especially not FE colleges - seemed to have the high standards and the high expectations that they had, in school, of their students (and that they tried to instil in school-leavers to have of themselves).

More than one parent said that their young person spent most of their college time in the company of a support worker (rather than a lecturer) and that because such staff were not trained educationalists many potentially productive educational opportunities were lost / wasted.

One parent summed up the message that we heard from many, when she said that her child is "capable of so much more than 'Playschool for grownups'."

One parent said that her child (on the autistic spectrum and with learning difficulties) did not need any special adaptations to the environment or special equipment as such, but suggested that it would help if the college would link with an OT to help FE staff how to teach independence skills eg. in the context of cooking as part of the LifeSkills course

One parent of a physically - disabled student using AAC who is studying Biology pointed out that the person accompanying her child was employed to provide personal care and might not be well-equipped (or even willing) to scribe effectively in science classes.

3. Communication Support (including technical support)

In the course of this consultation, we spoke to a number of school-leavers and students with complex physical disabilities such that they needed specialised access systems in order to access the curriculum and/or write (on computer). We interviewed a number of young people who use augmentative and alternative communication ( AAC) in the form of voice output communication aids ( VOCAs). We also consulted young people (and parents and staff) where deafness and use of sign language is a key issue. We also consulted with parents of young people who have complex learning and communication difficulties who use Makaton or Signalong signs at a basic level, and also communication symbols.

Provision and support for students with such complex access and communication needs seems to be extremely poor across the country. These students are not well served, and the situation does not appear to be getting significantly better as time goes on.

It is difficult to include many 'quotes' here from school-leavers and students on these matters because in many cases these are, precisely the students who find it hardest to understand questioning and to communicate their responses directly. The video clips that accompany this report should help by demonstrating some of the communication issues.

Technical Support

Any technical failure can be frustrating and time-consuming; physically disabled students who rely on technology for communication and / or writing are very vulnerable and need good technical support. This can apparently often hang on the time, helpfulness and skills (or lack of these!) of individual technicians, rather than on established policy and practice in colleges. We heard tales of woe about computers that didn't work, technicians who moved on, and cases where technical staff at colleges were unable or unwilling to make special arrangements to interface a student's own special access system to the college's equipment (eg. one student who writes by using his communication aid as a keyboard emulator, another who had used an effective morse code input system but was put back by college staff on to a less efficient system) and to provide ongoing technical support for such a system throughout the course. The most common story was the one where "nobody seemed to be prepared to take responsibility" for a student's technical support needs.

In other cases, we heard of young people who had been refused places at college because (amongst other reasons perhaps) their technical support needs were perceived as being too complicated for the college to support (eg. use of one or two switches to access a scanning system with auditory prompting, for a visually impaired, physically disabled student).

AAC Support

Similarly to the education support issue mentioned above, it was pointed out that care workers provided (although most seem to do a good job for low pay and with no training) might not have any knowledge of how to act as a communication support worker for a student using AAC. A parent said

• "College have been very good, but do not see it as their place to provide communication partner for X ( name of student ). Social Worker has an organisation called Xxxxxxxxx in mind for this role. I don't think it's appropriate. (it's personal care they deal with mainly)."

We heard several reports of AAC users who were leaving school and moving to local colleges with their voice output communication aids but were not only not being provided with specialist education on communication and communication aid use, but were being told by lecturers to put their aids aside as "we don't use those things here". On the other hand we did hear one positive report about a young person being encouraged and supported in using a Spokesman device on her catering course at Telford College.

There is a generally held view that FE staff generally do not have the experience that would allow them to support AAC users let alone help them to progress with communication skills using their specialist systems. The exception to this would be the Communication First course staff at Motherwell College.

One ex Motherwell student described how communication support was not just an aspect but the core of his education:

• "I started to get my education when I received my voice which was a definite change I my life and has helped me ever since."
• What is most important to you?
• " LLL" (this student went to Motherwell College specifically for the specialist teaching and practice in the Minspeak vocabulary Pack Language, Learning and Living)
• What was good about Motherwell, for you?
• "They have good teachers"(do you mean experienced, specialist?)"Yes"
• What advice would you give to a young person with a communication aid?
• "I would say, go to Motherwell"

(This was at the end of a discussion in which this student advised a young AAC user to stay at school as long as they could IF they had good AAC teachers (if not - leave))

Every single school leaver who used AAC that we asked said "Yes" to the following question.

Would you like to get more training on using your communication aid, at college?

Is this being offered to you, at your college?

• "No"
• "No"
• "No"
• "Don't know"

One student had had a series of technical problems with his communication aid; he needed specialist help from both manufacturer/supplier and a specialist communication aids centre. Motherwell College had to request and coordinate this help and support him through it.

• "Communication aid" (eye pointed to device)

On the other hand, while Motherwell students have high tech VOCAs, a parent who had visited both Motherwell and Beaumont (and had chosen Beaumont) felt that Motherwell was not so experienced in supporting AAC users with more complex difficulties, working at a lower level.

Sign Language Support

Deaf students who use British Sign Language ( BSL) as their primary method of communication may also experience disappointments and problems. The major issues were represented to us as follows:

a) Disabled Students Allowance or other funding for Communication Support / BSL Interpretation

The Disabled Students Allowance, which could fund the employment of deaf sign interpreters, is only available to students who are on full-time courses, HNC level and above. Therefore the most vulnerable students, ie those with deafness and additional difficulties (perhaps following lower academic level and part-time courses) are those who receive no financial help to fund communication support. They and their families, or the college have to fund communication support. A number of colleges in the Central Belt have established a service, but some problems with these have been reported, see below.

b) Inadequate BSL skills

Some students have complained that interpreters provided by colleges sometimes have only BSL Stage 1 skills / qualifications whereas they really need support from very skilled BSL Stage 2+ qualified interpreters.

c) Incomplete BSL Support

Some students have complained that funding is only available to provide interpretation for parts of their course, not all.

d) Inappropriate Signing Support

Staff and parents have complained that the communication support provided for students with deafness with additional learning difficulties, or for students with specific language impairment is inappropriate. Straightforward BSL interpretation is not what's needed. Such students may understand and use only a restricted form of BSL or Sign Supported English. Interpreters need to be aware of the need for language adaptation (ie shorter simpler sentences, restricted vocabulary etc.) and the need to checking comprehension, provide explanations etc.,

Other students with more complex support needs still may use even more simplified communication systems such as Makaton or Signalong. Rather than 'interpretation', the form of communication support required in these cases is likely to be ongoing training and support for all college staff working with such students. It may be that BSL interpreters are not the appropriate people to be undertaking this form of communication support.

The issues raised particularly in a) b) and c) above are also discussed more in Part Two of this report, in the light of the illumination cast on them by the 15-24 Donaldsons Project, where the KeyWorker role was found to be very supportive.

Symbol Support

Many students with complex additional support have poor auditory and language processing skills and therefore find to difficult to understand and to learn through the auditory channel / oral language alone. They benefit greatly from a 'visual environment' ie the systematic use of pictures and symbols to represent key aspects of their daily schedule and their educational programme. Young people, particularly but not exclusively those with autistic spectrum disorders, will, increasing, Many will be leaving school used to seeking and taking in information, and in some cases controlling their own behaviour, through use of 'visuals', and to communicating expressively with Picture Exchange Communication System ( PECS) books, or symbol communication boards or books. Has FE provision kept up with the developments in schools to meet these additional communication support needs?

Our interviews revealed a view that the majority of FE colleges are apparently largely unable to satisfactorily provide all/any of the above kinds of support, currently.

A parent noted:

• "An ideal course would have a strong base in communication skills running through it. This would be person-centred and involve signing, symbols, communication aids, the computer as a teaching tool, learning to choose and express preferences etc. and with the opportunity to express these preferences and feelings through music, film, arts and crafts."

Q21. What information sources did you use to find out about available provision in Scotland?

Many of the young people we consulted found it quite difficult to answer this question and tended to be quite vague. We got the impression that few if any had been proactive in seeking out information for themselves - hardly surprising given the degree of communication difficulties involved and the complexity of the situation. Overall awareness and knowledge was low. It seems that the flow of information about FE provision is carefully controlled and managed from an early stage. Young people and their families are rarely told at schools run by local authorities about provision that exists other than that designated by the local authority. Information seems to be supplied sequentially

Most young people we spoke to eventually either said that "school" had helped them with information or indicated a specific person who had helped them, usually someone at school. Many indicated that information had emerged through the series of review and transition meetings that had been held throughout their final years at school.

One group of young people indicated frustration at the number of meetings and the number of people who attended them, and how little that was satisfactory came out of them

A teacher summed up some of these frustrations, for a group of school-leavers

• "People don't realise how long it takes to put things in place for these guys. Even though the transition process is started very early (14) and there is 4 or 5 years to set something up, nothing gets done in time. The people who come to the meetings do not understand how small details can make all the difference to them getting to college or not, like wheelchair clamps on the transport."

Some school leavers were more specific as to the source of information in their schools

• "Library. Got Careers and can go any time and find out"
• "lady came in to school (Library)"
• "Library"
• "Internet in library"

School leavers on link schemes are rarely in a position to have their individual wishes and requirements met. As above, one school leaver explained that although she had been consulted about what she wanted to do at college, nobody seemed to have taken account of her answers. She was now attending college on a link basis from school and seemed to be on an unsuitable course. She also seemed to be having trouble finding anyone to give more information and help her sort out the problem of changing to a better course for her, which she expressed with some anxiety.

• "Teacher in college asked what I would like to do, gave me a choice…
• "School decided - …didn't give us a chance - they put us in Art but not much good 'cos I need help, (the college) want me to do stuff myself but I can't do it - need to talk to college about that."
• "- I am finding it quite hard - the lecturer wants me to do it myself but I don't know how to find out about courses I want to do myself."

One parent expressed frustration that the college insisted on passing information only to her son (treating him as an adult) - that he might find difficult to understand, retain and/or pass on - which made it very difficult for parents and school link to keep track of what was going on and help appropriately.

More than one student/parent said that when they had visited the college beforehand to discuss provision, they were assured that all that was required could and would be provided - only to discover a very different story 'on the ground' when they actually arrived there to start their course.

There was relatively little awareness of the more specialised colleges that take students from outside their local area. If people had heard of them, they had generally not been told about them by people from their own school or authority. Some users of augmentative and alternative communication ( AAC) had heard about Motherwell College as the only college that has a communication course for AAC users, they may have been invited to join the 'Chatterbox' society of AAC users that is hosted and meets there twice a year, or they may have met students from there at other AAC events (cf. Augmentative Communication in Practice: Scotland, www.acipscotland.org.uk/). Elmwood College did not seem to be well-known generally, although parents seem now to be gradually passing the word around amongst themselves.

(It has to be said that these colleges themselves do not make it particularly easy to find out about their specialist provision - they will pass on leaflets or information by word of mouth to enquirers and visitors / potential applicants, but an Internet or college web site search will not provide any clues about provision for students with particular complex support needs.)

Q22. What information sources did you use to find out about provision outwith Scotland?

As above, it seems that young people and their families are seldom if ever told about provision outwith Scotland by their schools or authorities ie their main source of information.

Schools themselves do not seem to be particularly well informed about provision outside their immediate sphere of experience.

• "They are very helpful but they only know about what they know about"(parent)

Pupils at non-local authority schools, and their families, may be better informed.

Most of the parents we spoke to were aware of specialist colleges in England - primarily Beaumont College and Henshaws College. Some parents had visited one or more of the colleges, on fact-finding and reconnaissance missions. They couldn't always remember where and how they first heard about a certain college - probably not from any identifiable single source or sources of information. They already had highly developed awareness and knowledge of provision 'across the board'. Often the original source of information seemed rather arbitrary. Parents who had active contact (meetings, newsletters) with voluntary or religious organisations and parents groups gained access to information about specialised provision largely by 'word of mouth' information from other parents.

The Internet was cited as a useful source of information once they had already know what they wanted to look up, but not so much for primary source of information.

Some families and staff working with augmentative and alternative communication ( AAC) users had heard of Portland College in Mansfield and Lord Mayor Treloar in Hampshire, usually, as far as can be ascertained, through the route of conference presentations, contacts and articles from Communication Matters (the UK Chapter of the International Association for Augmentative and Alternative Communication) gleaned by therapists. Some AAC specialists had also heard of the Bridge College in Stockport simply because a well-known AAC practitioner had taken a job there!

One school leaver did mention the Internet as a possible source of information (but did not appear to have used it, to search for information about college provision outwith Scotland).

• "can log on to Internet and find out"

With one exception (a mature student), none of the young people we spoke to we spoke to had dreamed of finding out about provision outwith Scotland themselves, or had proactively (ie. off their own bat) sought any information about colleges outwith Scotland.

With the exception of the mature student mentioned above and one school leaver who had lived in England previously, the idea of going away to a residential college outwith Scotland seemed to come as quite a shock to many, and there was almost unanimous lack of enthusiasm.

• "It's too far away. It's a long journey to go home."
• "My brother is at Edinburgh University. He can't come home, it's too far away." (ie I know what you mean …and I'm not keen on that)
• "I would not want to go away from home."
• "No (I'd want to stay at home)"

This is perhaps a natural response partly based in lack of experience and fear of the unknown. The brother of a Beaumont college student was unconcerned at the thought of following his sister there, because it was already a familiar idea and place to him.

Two of the young people we consulted directly did express interest in going to such a college - one who was half English anyway and one who was desperate to get away from home:

• "I haven't heard of any special colleges. I would like that but I can't. My ideal would be to go away from home - but I can't."

A parent of a school-leaver made the point that it wasn't the residential aspect per se that was necessarily the problem (her child currently copes fine with respite breaks) but the transition to residential. She thought the best way would be to 'build up very gradually' to full time residential provision (though obviously, the nearer the college the better, for this - a difficulty about cross-border provision and inflexible funding packages).

One young person was angry about the idea:

• " Why should we be sent away from home? We are not treated equally with other people. I'd like to stay at home (and have special courses available at home)"

Q23. Did your local authority provide you with funding?

We interviewed one young person who had attended Henshaws, and parents of four young people who have successfully obtained funding (we did not speak to the young people themselves as they could not be contacted at the time of the consultation) for Henshaws and Beaumont College. All are three-year residential courses although funding is usually confirmed by authorities on a yearly basis, which can be stressful.

A parent whose children either attended, or now attends, Beaumont described having only obtained funding for this after fighting for it really hard with the help of her Councillors, MP, MSP and others. For the first student who went to Beaumont (1998), all of the funding was provided straightforwardly by Education (the way having been paved by a Careers Officer). For the second student (2003), the fight for funding was "much more desperate"; funding was eventually put together with a '3-way split' amongst Education, Social Work and Health ( NHS Lothian). She told us of 3 possibly 4 other young people from Edinburgh who had also managed to have places at Beaumont funded - at least one of them she knew to have been provided for with the same 3-way split.

Other parents coming later may apparently not be so successful (we heard of one who has had the NHS Lothian part the funding needed for Beaumont approved, but not the other parts (from the authority).

One parent had had her application for funding for her child to attend Beaumont College (which had offered a place) refused by Stirling District Council.

The young man who attended Henshaws for 3 years was given funding by his local authority having first visited Motherwell College where his brother attended two years previously. Parents of the second young person, currently at Henshaws, describe the fight they had to persuade her local authority for her to attend. They had first been shown round Motherwell College and James Watt College but both parents and young person described the provision was inappropriate. When they visited Henshaws they realised it was most appropriate. They found it extremely difficult to persuade the authority to put together the funding package that would allow her to attend. They note that there is absolutely no guarantee that a place will be funded in Year 2 (or Year 3).

The majority of our interviewees were much more interested in funding - or lack of it - for their attendance at their local colleges. A 'post-code lottery' currently seems to apply in Scotland, as to whether a particular local authority funds or does not fund attendance at colleges and support - and at what level - for particular students with complex support needs.

Students with moderate learning difficulties attending Scottish Borders seemed to be quite well supported in general in that they get a carefully staged and well managed transition programme from school to college via, part-time, the 'sheltered' IVth form college type transition unit at Howdenburn in Jedburgh, with funding provided for all transport and personal care. Nonetheless, the parents of one student who is deafblind and has additional physical and health needs felt the course did not suit her needs. As in many other locations we visited, some staff in Borders College believe the time in college is still too short for these students - they are just getting to grips with their course when it is over (1 year full-time, may be leaving college again by 19 or 20 years).

We asked the students if they would like to stay longer at college if they could

• "Yes" (1 ) "Maybe" (1) "No" (1) (5 were unsure or didn't answer)

It seems that funding and special arrangements for a longer time in college can possibly be worked out for occasional students with more complex needs or special circumstances, at Borders.

In contrast, students with physical disabilities and communication support needs in Highland were apparently having difficulties in obtaining college provision after their school-based 'taster' transition day programmes (for which transport and personal care are provided by school) on the grounds that no funding was available for transport and personal care and / or no suitable courses or staff were available for them.

• "No money" (accompanied by angry face, banging on communication aid)

Some young people (in Glasgow) were only offered 2 years at college in place of their last two years at school (rather than after completing their Vth and IVth Form at school). And yet it is well known that young people with complex support needs, particularly communication support needs, are still learning at that age, indeed often have a 'learning spurt' exactly then, and really need all the time they can possibly working on an elaborated curriculum with a personalised IEP.

Some were offered only minimal attendance (eg. 1 day per week, little choice of course) because of costs. One disillusioned school-leaver said

• "Everything is down to money - there's nothing much out there".
• "Money, money - why does it always come down to money".

Q24. Did the funding offered meet the cost of provision?

As above, only 66% of the funding for Beaumont College for recent students from Edinburgh has been provided by the local authority, the rest being provided by NHS Lothian. Parents of the student currently attending Henshaws note that they are unable to get transport costs paid.

For Scottish local colleges we were unable to get many details about funding from the young people we interviewed.

Parents reported distress at the fact that funding and provision that had apparently been agreed tended to be for short periods only (eg. 1 year or less) and could suddenly be taken away again by local authorities just when the student was just getting settled in. One 19 year old student with complex learning and communication difficulties had had a 5 day a week package arranged (that included 3 days per week at college, 1 day at a facility provided by a voluntary agency, and one day of supported individual activities), and then this had been reduced by 1.5 days, against the wishes of parents and without any alternative being provided, other than staying at home.

One parent with a young person at Beaumont is currently being threatened with a 'clawback' of a percentage of promised funding, by the Social Work Dept.

Other parents described "living on a knife-edge" as regards funding and arrangements for transport to college that, it seemed, could be cut or changed with little or no warning.

Two parents told us that they felt local authorities should not compare directly the cost of a young person attending a college outwith Scotland to the fees for attending a college in Scotland. They noted that when other costs which would have been incurred are included in a Scottish placement - providing personal care (sometimes by two people), respite, transport and health care - the funding for attending a cross-border college becomes more attractive. The difficulty is that the authority will often compare against only one element of the funding.

Q25. If not, what was the shortfall and were you able to find alternative funding to make up the shortfall?

As above, some individual students with complex support needs in Edinburgh had been awarded funding for 50 % of their Beaumont College costs from Health ( NHS Lothian)

Q26. What was the source of alternative funding?

NHS Lothian as above.

One young person we spoke to had been awarded the Disabled Students Allowance.

Some students in the past have been subsidised by Capability Scotland in the sense that they had not lost their places in a residential home in Perth, while attending Motherwell College on a residential basis (ie double funding) however this arrangement has not been continued in the longer-term as far as we know.

We heard that parents who were able to were supplementing transport funding shortfalls by transporting their young people themselves

Q27. Was your choice of college or course taken influenced by the availability of funding?

Although the young people themselves were not always fully aware of it, the answer to this was inevitably YES.

There seemed to be a general perception amongst most of the students that if they did what they were 'steered' into by their school and other advisors, funding would be provided. If they tried to do anything different, it might not be. (While we cannot verify this impression, the Executive will no doubt compare responses to the consultation from local authorities and colleges.)

Q28. If you attended a specialist college, please indicate which one.

One young person interviewed had attended Henshaws College in Harrogate in the past, we interviewed the parents of another young person currently attending.

We spoke to parents of students that had attended Beaumont College in Lancaster.

We interviewed 5 students currently attending the Motherwell College 'Communication First' course (part-time).

We interviewed two mature students currently at local colleges who had attended the Motherwell College 'Communication First' course in the past.

Q29. If no funding was offered, has appropriate alternative further education provision been found in Scotland or elsewhere?

We only identified one person who had asked for funding to attend a specialist college in England (Beaumont College, which had offered a place) but had been refused (by Stirling District Council). Alternative provision had been made locally but the parent was very dissatisfied with it (very part-time, time at college subsequently cut, transport cut, provision reportedly more like 'baby-sitting' than education). This parent had been advised to visit Elmwood.

Note though that this finding does not include people who had applied but been refused such placements, only to obtain agreement after intense lobbying. Evidence of refusal would suggest that other examples exist where requests were refused but further parental representation was unsuccessful. The nature of the consultation meant that it was unlikely to reach such young people.

Another two parents in Edinburgh had been offered places at Beaumont College for their young people ( AAC users) and were currently trying to get funding put in place to fund this. The alternative is likely to be a local 'package' of care and activity that does not include a college placement (since no local colleges appear to be willing to take on this type of student).

From time to time in the past, a weekly group for AAC users has been run at Queen Margaret University College in Edinburgh, as part of the clinical training for speech and language therapy students there, jointly with Edinburgh and Lothians specialist AAC Centre KeyComm. If and when it is run in the future, attendance at this group might be part of such a 'package'

Others had explored the possibility of funding to attend Elmwood College. One parent had been told by their local council (Perth and Kinross) that this would be impossible, on grounds of both policy and cost. Not only was there no funding for residential stay, there would be no funding made available for transport to and from the college. Taxi costs between home and Perth college could not be redirected to cover taxi from home to Perth Station - and in any case, the bus that used to run between Perth station and Elmwood, part-funded by P & K and part by Elmwood, was about to be cut.

Another family we heard of (but did not interview) actually resorted to moving house from Perth and Kinross, to Fife, in order to be nearer Elmwood College and make transport there feasible and affordable, for their son with autistic spectrum disorder.

Q30. What reasons did your local authority give for not providing funding?

We failed to collect any very illuminating responses to this question. None of the young people we spoke to had detailed knowledge of this, or were able to communicate it.

A lot of staff and parents present during discussions seemed to assume automatically that funding would not be forthcoming for cross-border provision - based on the fact that they had already been told that funding support even for local provision, transport, personal care etc. was extremely limited. With the exception of two parents, nobody we spoke to knew anything about the £5.4M designated for the purpose of cross-border provision.

We did speak to parents who had explored the possibility of funding for college provision outwith Scotland. Some authorities were reported to have simply stated that they 'had a policy' of not funding FE provision apart from local provision. Others had apparently simply said there was 'no money available'.

The parents of the young person currently attending Henshaws said that the local authority had told them that provision in either Motherwell or James Watt Colleges was appropriate and there was no funding for places outwith Scotland.

We only heard about one authority (Stirling District Council) that had been challenged directly by a parent as to why they couldn't spend the money from the Executive designated for cross-border provision on sending their child to college in England (a place having been offered). Reportedly, this council took many months to investigate and eventually respond that they did not know what that money had been spent on but it was not now available.

Q31. Are you or the person you care for likely to require access to specialist further education provision in the future?

In a word, from all of the people we spoke to - "Yes"

Q32. What stage in the education system are you or the person you care for at? e.g. P7, S3

In the course of this consultation, we spoke to young people from various age groups, and at various stages of the educational process. Broadly speaking, these included:

Some young people who were still at school (but launched on the transition planning process and in most cases preparing to go to college or already engaged on some kind of part-time link programme with a college). Of these, the youngest was 14, the oldest was 19.

Some young people currently attending a college, full or part-time, straight from school

Some adults attending college full or part-time as more mature 'lifelong learners', having either missed out on college earlier in life, or having attended / completed other courses earlier on.

Some young and older adults who had attended college in the past but was no longer doing so, currently.

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.

Amongst the young people that we consulted, there were various levels of personal care required. To cut down on detail, many would require 24 hour 1:1 care, help with toilet, medication, eating and drinking etc., see also answer to Q20 above.

One of the arguments for part-time (rather than full-time) college attendance, put forward both by FE staff and by parents, was that this allowed the young person other time in their week to fit in therapy appointments and other activities relating to physical well-being (eg. hydrotherapy, other forms of exercise) and, potentially, hospital appointments etc.

One of the arguments put forward against going away to a residential college was that that might cause a break in these very important links with local Health and therapy services that might be low or difficult to re- establish again (eg. in holiday period or after leaving college and returning home again).

Q34. Have you had any discussions with FE colleges or other education providers in Scotland?

• "Yes"for all of the people we spoke to. Most of the young people we spoke to had at least some chance to make their views known, but had not personally been party to all of the discussions about funding; they tended to simply know what the final decisions and outcomes were.

Parents reported having to act as 'agents' for their young people and noted how stressful and time-consuming this was (even when also receiving good support from school). One parent had decided to take a year or so off work in order to have the time and energy to attend all of the various transition meetings and deal with all the telephone calls, visits and letters etc. She wondered how parents managed that could not afford this 'luxury', or who had difficulty with voluminous and complicated paperwork….

Another parent complained that parents were often the last not the first people to be consulted about dates and times for meetings, which often meant that at least one of them could not attend due to work commitments.

Part One B: Young people's responses to other questions in the report

The section above refers to the questions in the consultation document that were aimed specifically at young people and their parents and Carers.

Other questions were aimed at Further Education Colleges, Local Authorities and others. Therefore we did not pose these questions to the young people or parents that we interviewed in the course of this consultation. However, many of the comments made during their answers to other questions, and the scenarios described, raised points that legitimately fit under some of these local authority questions, so they have been included here to provide as complete a picture as possible. (We have omitted questions to which we have no relevant response.)

Questions aimed at Local Authorities

Q2. How many of these (applications for funding) were from students with complex additional support needs?

All of the people we consulted had what we would term complex additional support needs, in that they all had severe sensory, physical and/ or communication impairments. Having said that, there is a difficulty in agreeing the criteria to define 'complex additional support needs'.

Without wishing to discount the challenges faced by all students with additional support needs, on an anecdotal level, we were struck by how what some FE colleges term 'complex needs' (and for which they aim to make provision) seems to be less 'complex' than how schools and parents might describe 'complex'.

This vagueness in terminology inevitably raises issues about the suitability of courses offered.

See also Q 12 below. The discussion and the planning frameworks we introduce in Part 2 below, aims to clarify understanding and planning around the terms 'complex needs' (as used in the consultation) or 'complex support needs', the term that conveys what the response should be to individual 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.

No details were available to us, or could be verified with the authorities, but a number of responses mentioned that their local authority apparently had a policy that everyone should go to their local college.

If pushed, authorities were reported to suggest to young people and parents that they visit designated FE colleges in Scotland, which have had extra capacity, built, eg Motherwell College, or James Watt College, Elmwood College. In many cases only when extreme pressure was exerted, if then, would authorities agree to cross-border FE provision it seems - and only those whose parents fight hard seemed likely to get this, so provision is not equitable.

Q5. If your policy is not to fund students, particularly those with complex additional support needs, why was that decision taken?

It was experienced as distressing by many of the parents school-leavers and students we spoke to that they were being refused appropriate provision without being given access to any written policy or valid explanation as to why this was. Even professionals attending transition planning meetings for school-leavers, representing various arms of the authority, were apparently often unable to explain why certain conditions applied or decisions were taken.

People felt that colleges and local authorities should be more transparent about their policies and decisions.

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?

The young people that we spoke to were largely unaware of any provision outside Scotland.

Some of the parents that we spoke to were clear that their local authority should be providing funding for students to study outside Scotland. One or two were already aware of cross-border arrangements. Others were not. Several made the point that once you took into account the saving to the local authority on care costs and the whole 'package' of funding and provision surrounding the young person, the cost of cross-border provision was not unduly high relatively. Parents found it difficult to see why education and social work and health cannot more easily agree funding on an inter-agency basis.

Q10. If so, what should that role be?

Q11 Or who could more appropriately provide the support

The people we spoke to who were aware of the funding made available by the Executive to local authorities for cross-border cases (a small number) were frankly suspicious as to whether it was being spent appropriately. There was a general feeling that unless funding for complex support needs was tightly ring-fenced it would not be used effectively nor reach the people who needed it.

A majority believed that the funding should be held back centrally by the Executive rather than disbursed to local authorities, as a way of ensuring ring fencing.

Many of the young people, parents, and school staff that we spoke to felt very strongly that instead of leaving funding for this student group in the hands of local authorities there should be some independent body administering funding for FE provision for students with complex support needs.

Most were unaware of the Learning and Skills Council model operated in England and Wales but were actually describing an imaginary body that might look something like it.

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?

Across the various colleges in different parts of Scotland that we have been focusing on, there appears to be huge diversity in what is on offer to students with complex support needs. To make matters more complicated, some colleges say (and presumably think) that what they are offering to provide is suited to students with complex support needs, whereas on closer inspection and definition of terms it is not.

Other colleges do indeed offer comprehensive and flexible packages based around individual needs. Motherwell College stands out in this regard, as do the other colleges in the consortium, providing BSL support to deaf and hearing impaired students.

Other colleges are investigating a variety of support options including for example supported signing.

Q13. Can you identify at what point, along the continuum of complex needs, the college would find difficulty in making provision?

Some colleges and courses are relatively up front in saying that they will only take on students if they are capable of independent learning and study. Essentially this means that students must be literate and have in place, full time, aids or support services (eg. personal care, interpreters, readers, scribes, technology etc.) that allow them to access the mainstream provision. This excludes a majority of the young people we interviewed and collected responses from, in this consultation. However, at least you know where you are with such a position.

Many other colleges are reported as seeming to 'fudge' on this issue, which can sometimes confuse prospective students and lead to long delays and unsatisfactory situations where hopes and expectations may be raised only to be disappointed later.

There are probably all sorts of reasons for this and we could not really find clear evidence to support or rule out any of the various possibilities. Reasons given to us included, for example:

• A college has no experience of 'really' complex support needs and uses the term loosely simply to refer to students with more complex needs than they are used to. They are not fully aware themselves of what they can offer and what kind of students they can and can't cater for (or are unwilling to admit it).
• Colleges are aware of the very highly individualised profile of needs and support required by each student and prefer to wait until there has been extended liaison (eg with school), a visit, an information collection period, an assessment period of part-time attendance, 'foundation' modules etc. etc. before committing themselves to taking on a student and designing an appropriate package. (This means they cannot 'advertise' clearly what they do and don't offer to particular students, up front.)
• College is happy to agree to make appropriate provision on the basis of the individual's educational needs but has no control over the funding and arrangements made for transport and personal care (college staff can spend an enormous amount of time and effort trying to liaise with other agencies to help students get these arrangements in place).

Amongst the young people that we spoke with, there was actually no such thing as a 'continuum of complex needs'. Most students had high support needs in one or more areas but possibly medium or low support needs in others, creating a highly individualised pattern of ability and support need.

For example, we talked to students who, respectively, wished to study catering, horticulture, and working with animals. They all needed support with transport, physical access and personal care, and with communication and writing, due to physical disability and motor speech impairment, and yet were cognitively well able to access the course content in other respects. In this last respect, they were perhaps more able - cognitively / educationally than the 'typical' student with additional support needs on such courses who might have mild or moderate to severe learning disabilities (but mobile and relatively independent physically). The young people we consulted can more accurately be referred to as 'complex' but they are not 'more severe'.

The matrix of support needs outlined in Part Two and appendices referred to from there highlight this paradox clearly and shows how it only makes sense to look at the issue on a personalised basis and from the point of view of individual support needs, rather than that of 'severity of disability'.

Q16. What changes would allow you to better meet the needs of more students with complex needs?

• Funding packages to allow money to follow the student and meet their needs in an integrated way - care, education communication.

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?

As Part Two of this report highlights, the needs of the different groups of students with complex support needs are so different, that it would not be one specialist residential Centre but at least two or three if not several, that were needed. The Executive will wish to consider how realistic this could be. Or, if choosing to develop one speciality at the expense of the others, the criteria that would be used to determine priorities.

Planning to upskill EVERY college is likely to be an inappropriate and ineffective strategy, even though the majority of the young people we spoke to did not want to go away from home to college - they felt that they should be able to get what they wanted / needed locally.

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?

This could be helpful but it would only be a partial solution to the difficulties. There would still be major concerns about funding for transport and personal care and/or residential provision made somewhere, especially for students from distant areas, that was more of an integrated college experience than 'hostel' type accommodation.

There would also still need to be funding for some students to go to more specialist colleges, cross border, or to be looked after outside the family home while completing their education, for various reasons.

Having said that, the issue that stood out for us, when discussing the needs for provision for young people who use augmentative communication, particularly, is the role of Motherwell College.

Motherwell is apparently relocating to a new site in 2008 - new build at Ravenscraig - so there is strong potential to review and plan for more coordinated residential provision for AAC users.

Everyone in the AAC field remembers with satisfaction 'the golden days' when there was a full time residential course for AAC users in Scotland at Motherwell. Because the course was full the residence was functioning like a 'proper college' with a peer group and social activities etc. The Executive may wish to revisit this option, as it would be part of a strategic development that is taking place in any case.

To ensure that the residence and specialist teaching capacity is fully used, Motherwell might consider running specialised 'summer schools' for AAC users (which could also serve as assessment periods for prospective students thus cutting down on waste of term / course time, for this purpose)?

Another option would be for Motherwell to develop and market (eg to the young people who are reluctant to leave home) part-time residential courses (eg Monday - Wednesday - 2 or 3 nights in residence).

To be effective, these would need to be 'full on' specialist courses in AAC albeit part-time, rather than just one part of a 'jigsaw' made up of pick and mix and match 'bits' of this course and that course, as it seems to have dwindled to, at present. Students would come to Motherwell to work on communication primarily and it would be up to them to arrange for additional education the other part of the week, whether also at Motherwell or at another more local college. If necessary, specialist AAC therapy input could be bought in to supplement the current FE staff input, and consideration could be given to arranging formal outreach work on the AAC specialism with students' home areas.

To be feasible, there would be major extra funding implications. AAC users take so long to communicate that everything takes twice as long to do. Classes need to be very small - maximum approximately 5 or 6. The implication could be that the SUM formula would need to be doubled. (8 -16)

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.

A number of such points are included elsewhere in this report of the views of young people and their families.

Part One C: Case Studies

Beginning over the page we set out a selection of case studies taken from the young people consulted. These are used to illustrate the range of issues that need to be taken into account and provide points of reference for Part Two.

Case study (i): 31 year old man who attended Stevenson College then Napier University

This young man with cerebral palsy was a pupil at a special school in Glasgow. He had a specialist CALL Centre assessment and support while at school to help him to use computer for accessing the curriculum, writing, and recording work. Coming up to school leaving, in spite of sitting Highers, S grades and a ScotVec Module, he was advised by school to go on to Motherwell College to do the 'LifeSkills - type' course, which most of his classmates were also being 'steered' into, possibly with 'pick and mix' access to other courses. The school had a long-established and good working link with Motherwell.

"I felt there was little or no choice offered"

He felt this advice was not appropriate either for his abilities (he was intellectually able, and keen to pursue higher level academic studies) nor well-suited to his circumstances (he was by then resident in Edinburgh), nor did it take account of his own wishes. He felt insulted and let down by the suggestion.

'One size definitely does not fit all' in education.

In the end, through a lucky 'family friend' connection, he was put forward and accepted as a student at Stevenson College in Edinburgh and successfully completed a 2 year full time course leading to a HND qualification in Computing. He was assessed by the Access Centre there, and was provided with funding through the Disabled Students Allowance to buy a laptop computer.

He experienced no problems accessing a 100% mainstream curriculum, although he said that he felt that being part of a relatively small class (16) was a help.

Edinburgh City provided funding for transport between his home and the college.

After that, he went on to complete a 3 year full time degree course at Napier University, coming out with a BSc in Computer Studies and a silver Medal for 'Outstanding Academic Achievement'. Since then he has been employed in a number of posts that he has been successful in obtaining in open competition with non-disabled applicants.

*******

This young man believes that people should have the right to an appropriate course in their own local area.

He feels that FE college is primarily for externally assessed national award bearing courses - eg. HNC, HND or above.

Case study (ii): 25 year old now attending Telford College part-time after a 3 year course at Beaumont College

This young person with no functional speech attended a special school in Edinburgh and worked intensively while at school on communication. When she left school, she used a mixture of low tech methods of communication and a TouchTalker (voice output communication aid). Her parent felt that Further Education for this girl primarily needed to build on the communication work and help her to become as independent as possible.

"They tried to steer us to Motherwell College."

" They do not have the expertise with really complex ( AAC) users."

A visit to Motherwell College did not convince the parent that the provision there was suitable for the very complex needs of her daughter. Additionally, although supported accommodation was available, this was more along the lines of 'hostel' accommodation; the college could not provide a peer group for the young person, could not guarantee any social interaction after College hours, and would lay on no extra curricular activities.

"They couldn't offer the social aspect of college life."

Furthermore by the time the cost of travelling to and fro between Edinburgh and Motherwell each day, with a paid escort, was counted in, or occasional stays in the supported accommodation, it seemed to the parent that the cost would not add up to be significantly lower than Beaumont College anyway.

In contrast, at Beaumont College, social contact with a peer group was assured so that she had a real experience of 'college life'. Fun activities were arranged for evenings and weekends, all of which tied in closely with the educational and 24/7 communication curriculum. (A busy social life is extremely difficult for parents to arrange, when students live at home -poignantly, the one thing you cannot do / get for your child is friends!)

"It's all there - computer club, going out for meals, there is always something on"

Portland College in Mansfield was also considered, and a visit was made there, but the parent did not find it as suitable for her daughter, and the college itself did not offer a place as they see their strength as in working with AAC users with less complex needs. Having had the way paved by a Careers Officer, the local authority Education Department in due course agreed to fund the place at Beaumont. Reaching agreement on this and managing the funding arrangements all went extremely smoothly - in stark contrast to a later struggle to obtain funding for her second child.

Asked what she felt was special about Beaumont college, this parent said "

"Total Communication expertise"

"They get young people to communicate in whatever way they possibly can." Everything about the place is geared to getting the young person to communicate their choices, express their feelings, tell you things, have something to say."

"The total living experience is about communication."

The young person very much enjoyed her time at Beaumont and made good progress with communication and independent living skills. With support from KeyComm, she now uses a Spokesman communication aid in place of the TouchTalker and this seems to suit her better.

She is now back home, and has a 4 day a week 'package' that involves 1 day at a an Adult Resource Centre, 2 days preparing food and 'waitressing' on a catering programme at Telford College Café, during which she is encouraged to use her communication aid, and 1 day attending a 'low tech' communication group at Queen Margaret University College Speech and Language Therapy Dept., plus some opportunities for computer work and sports.

Arguably, she might not have had the communication skills, independence skills and self-confidence to take up and benefit so successfully from these later activities, if she had not had the positive educational experience at Beaumont.

Case study (iii): A 45-year-old who attended a non-specialist college in England for 4 years. On return to Scotland he attended college there too. He wrote this letter at the end of the year (the names of both colleges have been withheld)

Mr. A has cerebral palsy, is dependent for all activities of daily living and has no speech. When he left school at 16 there was no question of going to college. He left home and went to live in a large institution near his family. He moved twice to other institutions within Scotland.

Later, he attended Motherwell College for 2 years, in order to learn to use a DeltaTalker communication aid with LLL. Mr. A was happy at Motherwell, enjoyed the course and received a certificate on completion.

He later attended another local College to learn computing and Internet skills. This was not a positive experience. The equipment did not work reliably and he did not find the staff helpful.

Mr. A's family now moved to Norwich. Mr. A found a promising course at Norwich college, a possible place to live and went down to visit. He was impressed and decided to make the move.

The B.E.S.T course at Norwich was excellent. The staff had a very positive attitude. Most of the equipment he needed was already in place and the college paid for a cable to link his Delta Talker to the PC. There was a technician on staff who dealt with the occasional glitch. Mr. A was particularly impressed that the Technician was sent on specific training to be able to support the Delta Talker. At college he had someone to take notes and provide practical help but does not know how this was funded. Mr. A was very happy in the college environment. He met a lot of people who could tell him what was going on socially and he enjoyed a busy social life. He completed the B.E.S.T. course and received a certificate of achievement. He began to feel ready for independent living, and got his name down for a flat.

At this point, his family moved back north. Mr. A was torn between staying where he was settled, or following his family. He decided to visit the local college in Scotland, and to assess the opportunities there. He brought with him examples of the work he had done at Norwich College, plus information about the course he had followed and the equipment he had used. The college told him there would be no problem about him coming and doing what he wanted.

When Mr. A went to the college he was given no say in the course he should follow. The course he was told to do meant going over much of the material he had already covered in Norwich. He was told that he needed to do this to allow them to assess his abilities. Mr. A was very disappointed, and found the course work boring, but he attended all the sessions and completed assignments dutifully, in the belief that this was a stage to be completed in order to go on to study something more rewarding.

It took a long time for the college to get his Delta Talker connected, and even then it did not work all the time. No-one seemed to take responsibility for maintaining it.

Towards the end of the year , Mr. A was told there was no suitable course for him to progress on to. He was bitterly disappointed and wrote to complain. There was no reply to this, so he wrote a second letter. ( This letter is reproduced below.) The response repeated the message that there was nothing suitable for him to study at the college.

Since leaving that college a year ago, Mr. A has searched out opportunities to develop his skills, and has taken up whatever was available. Thus he now goes to Adult Literacy at a local community centre, for a couple of hours a week. The tutor has been helpful, and contacted the communication aid supplier to find out about connecting the DeltaTalker, but the course is really below his level, and it is often cancelled at short notice. Mr. A also attends a history group at a Day Centre, one after noon a week. Again, this is pitched below his abilities. Mr. A feels that his city provides well for people with learning disability, but not for people with physical disability. He thinks there may be things going on that he does not know about. He misses the networking opportunities he found at Norwich College.

Mr. A's dream; Mr. A would like to go to a special college, in order to meet new people and to learn history, computer skills, art and money skills.

COPY of Mr. A's 2 ^nd letter to the Principal of his local college.

To: Principal And Chief Executive: xxx yyyy
xxx College
xxxxxx
xxxxxxx
xxxx xxxx.

Dear Sir,

I am writing to you with reference to the FEO desktop publishing course which I attended from 2003-04, also in response to the letter you sent dated 14th July. In this letter I would like to raise a number of issues that have been encountered during my time at xxx College.

Of the issues I would like to raise, the first is that on introduction to xxx College I was advised to do an FEO course and see how I get on. They said that it was the appropriate course for me. On doing the FEO course I found that the other students had somewhat different disabilities to myself, which I found very inappropriate. Each disability has a different level of ability and this is where I feel it is an inappropriate course due to the fact that my abilities do not match those of the other fellow FEO course students. In addition, I also think the course was more like something you would do at school rather than at college as for example each lesson would start and finish with computer games which I felt was unproductive and wasteful of time.

The next issue is that in your letter you said that staff found me getting tired in class and that when this happened my carer was doing the work on my behalf This is not true by any means. The times I may have become tired are normally due to becoming bored through inability to access the college PCs because of faults. Also my carer only helped me with my work when either the PCs weren't working properly, when my Delta talker did not perform the command(s) needed or simply didn't work and when there was an operation to perform that I could not do myself such as multiple PC usage.

This leads me to my Delta talker that you mentioned in your letter dated 14th July saying that my Delta talker was the root cause of many of the problems encountered with the PCs in class. I appreciate the fact that my Delta talker had to be sent off on one occasion to be fixed. But apart from this my Delta talker worked fine for the duration of the entire year therefore could not account for the numerable occasions when problems were encountered with the PCs. A few of the numerable problems were such as a virus on the college systems, the changing of the computer operating systems, which resulted in a separate PC having to be built for me so that the Delta talker would work as it wouldn't with the new operating system. The PC that was built took several weeks which lost the equivalent time in work and study. The engineer that initially set my Delta talker up in the college had apparently left prematurely and had not left any details of the setup process. As a result, when other problems arose there were no records to assist in its setup and therefore took even more time to get it up and running again. I was at Norwich College for four years where initially we had teething problems getting the Delta talker setup with the PCs. In response to this issue YYYY College sent one of their engineers on a course by Liberator to learn how to work and setup my Delta talker. The result being that I was able to continue studying at college under supportive, qualified and experienced staff. Whereas at xxx College I did not find this the case. At this point I draw your attention to the fact that I am typing this letter to you from my own PC at home which was set up by my carers who may I also point out, are not computer engineers yet have still managed to get my Delta talker operational which makes it hard to understand how your so called team of qualified and experienced staff had so many problems themselves.

I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that so much of my years course work had been lost through no fault of my own. For instance when the viruses hit college I not only lost work through the virus itself but also through the PC operating system changes and faulty software which the college could not explain which also had nothing to do with my Delta talker.

During the FEO course I attended at xxx College, I had two reviews. At both of these reviews there was no mention of any problems with the amount of work done and that I should pass the course. Yet, in your letter you mention that there have been problems. Why were these not brought up at the reviews when it would have been a more appropriate time to address such issues, where they could have been discussed and resolved rather than bringing it up at such a late date?

As you can see in my letter I am unsatisfied with the level of cooperation from xxx College and that the letter you replied to me in July has issues in it that are very much untrue. You say that you rely on the judgment of a team of qualified and experienced staff. I find this hard to believe as they not only seem to manipulate and lie about students and events they also seem to have no appreciation or understanding of disability so much so to the point that I feel very much discriminated against. I also feel that the college as a whole is quite discriminatory against disabled people in the way services and education is provided. In essence I feel as if the college is unable and unprepared to cater to my needs and aspirations, and as a result are trying to fob me off so that they do not have to accommodate for my education. I feel like xxx doesn't want people like me.

If possible I would like a further opportunity to discuss the above with you in person and explain more in full the issues I have brought up.

Yours Sincerely,

Mr. A XXXXXXXX

Case study (iv): 24 year old man who is blind and deaf and attended specialist college in England for 3 years

I went to Henshaws to develop my independence skills in such as household skills, food preparation, computer skills. Mobility training was another area that was good as the people were always patient. Sometime it felt when I was at school that mobility support was rushed. In computer skills I learned how to transfer stuff from the computer to be Braille embossed. I was able to learn on exactly the same system I now use. Although I got this type of work at school the system used was much older and I would have had to re-learn everything.

One example of how useful the courses were to me is that I was able to make up a folder of Braille recipes to take away; and have taped recipes as I preferred that. I was there a few years ago and I am still using these now.

I also found that there was a fair amount of one-on-one input which was vital for me.

I did go to other colleges in Scotland for assessment (them of me and me of them), Motherwell College (which my brother had gone to before) and Jewel & Esk Valley College. At first I really wanted to stay in Scotland rather than go to England. However, when I found out what the (Henshaws) college could offer I thought that it sounded really good.

The other colleges were able to offer me a lot of academic qualifications, but not so much in the way of independence skills. Henshaws had lots of activities, eg at weekends, whereas at Motherwell nothing was going on at weekends for me.

At Jewel my father had to come with me so that I would have support at residences. Any other students I did meet were also quite a bit older.

At Henshaws there was always someone on sleepover. I could call on them whenever I needed something. When you go to the college each student is given a key worker so if any problems I could just get in touch with them.

How I found out about Henshaws

Staff in the support unit at my school helped me to phone up to get the various Prospectuses about places in Scotland. Also they encouraged me to visit places. But the school staff didn't mention Henshaws to me.

My social work care manager at that time told me and my mum & dad about Henshaws and that it was outside Scotland. I went to the college for 3 years, the third year was first offered to me by the staff there.

Funding arrangements

I don't know anything about who funded the place or how it was all put together.

Case study (v): 17 year old youth. Left school after 4 ^th year now attending local college

In his 4 ^th year at school Danny attended college one day per week. He travelled on regular college bus with other students. At first he was nervous about going to college as he didn't know a lot of people and nobody accompanied him on the journey between home and college, or in college.

He was given a Prospectus for each of the two nearest colleges, but was not given information about a college across the border which may have been more appropriate.

As part of a group of five other students, his mornings were spent filling out a diary of what he had been doing during the previous week. He enjoyed this part and would often fill pages on what he had been up to. Afternoons were spent doing either PE or Arts. On leaving school at 16, after his placement year, he was offered a SkillStart ( NSK1), full-time attendance. The course covered:

• Numeracy at work
• Communication at work
• Computers at work
• Directed study
• One day per week was spent attending other classes such as cookery, Art and electronics

He found much of this work boring and a repeat of what he had done, in more advanced form, at school. He was however interested when they covered plumbing, cooking, home decorating, safety and some of electronics.

Currently in his third year he feels he is now doing something more interesting, Computing Access to Business. He finds this more challenging work and reflects more what he can do and his interests. It covers word processing, he will soon start spreadsheets and areas such as databases. He attends 3.5 days per week whereas other students attend 5 days pw as they have time for work placements.

Danny feels that throughout both school and at college he has been prevented from doing the things others were offered, for example woodwork, science and home economics. Often, health and safety grounds were quoted without school or college actually attempting to find ways around difficulties that he experienced.

He feels that he could have gone straight into his current course from school but the way the courses were designed he had to first do NSK1 before being allowed to do NSK2, even though NSK1 required skills and knowledge that he already had gained at school.

Both his mother and social worker felt that whenever they tried to raise concerns that subjects and courses were inappropriate, they felt they were 'stonewalled'.

Case study (vi): 34 year old man who had no communication system until into his twenties. He went to Motherwell College to attend a specialist AAC course

Mr. B has cerebral palsy, with severe physical disabilities and no speech. He is cognitively able and thoughtful. He lives independently in the community in Fife, with his wife (also disabled) and 24 hour care worker support.

Mr. B left his residential special school back in the 1980s with only a very limited communication system (eye pointing to a small number of Bliss symbols on a chart), unable to read and write, and with no effective access to technology. He can tell us now of how frustrated he felt then, without an effective means of communication.

At the age of 24, he was introduced to computer technology (but only 2 hours per day, 2 days per week) at his local day centre, and then was provided with a voice output communication aid (LightTalker) by the newly established FACCT Centre. He now uses a complex communication aid (PathFinder with LLL) with scanning and a single switch, operated by his right knee.

Mr. B had no opportunity of FE at school-leaving, but many years later, once he had a working communication system, he did get the opportunity to go, funded by his local council (Brechin). He attended Motherwell College for 2 years full-time, living in the adjacent residential unit Stewart House. He describes this as "a good time in my life". He followed a personalised curriculum built around the 'Communication First' module aiming to increase his knowledge of the vocabulary and sentence capability of his communication aid, and to improve his functional communicative competence, " so that I can confidently interact with people every day".

He says that he could not have done this locally, in Angus or Fife, The special feature of Motherwell, he says is "They have good teachers" (ie, in this case, teachers specialised in use of communication aids).

The outcome was not only improved communication skills but also greatly increased assurance. Mr. B continued development of his communication skills, becoming a 'Gold Ambassador' for the Minspeak systems, and winning a 'Distinguished User' Award from Communication Matters, the UK branch of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. He gives many talks and would like to have more opportunities to help to teach others, especially children, to use their communication aids more effectively, and to help with trouble shooting when frustrating technical problems arise.

Mr. B now attends Fife College 2 days per week studying English and Maths and in the process working on his ICT skills. The Learning Support Department there called in an external expert in assistive technology (Assist- IT) to assess Mr. B and provide advice and support with his use of technology. Mr. B now has his own laptop that he can use to continue his studies both at college and at home.

Mr. B's advice to a young person with his type of disability is to stay on at school for as long as possible - until 19 - if their "teachers know' (ie about communication aids) - if not, then he or she should leave school earlier. Then they should go to Motherwell College (or similar - if there were anywhere with a similar course, he doesn't know of any) and work more on their communication aid use.

Case study (vii): Parents of an 18 year old girl who is deafblind and uses a wheelchair. She attends a grant-maintained school

"I find it REALLY SCARY. We might decry education but what comes after is problematic. There is nobody to coordinate, no one in adult services."

"We are not going to warehouse our daughter in local adult resource centre."

"There needs to be a coordinator with status."

Our daughter attends a special school 4 days pw and now attends a college in the borders area 1 day pw. It isn't a specialist college but does offer independent living skills for a number of disabled students. The college doesn't go back until September so longer summer breaks need to be covered than when at school. This is at a time when there is less support available, no paediatric support, no physio, no access to speech and language therapy.

Difficulties experienced

The college phoned the night before her first day to say that they couldn't get support for the next day and could we arrange anything. First day, she was a bit distressed and ramming her wheelchair into doors. We felt that in part better preparation would have helped as they had known since January that she would be coming.

Previous college experience

Previous experience at a different college was not great. She was to be introduced to cooking and baking. However she is coeliac and highly allergic to flour. One day she was scheduled go, they were due to make scones and college weren't able to offer an alternative. The only option was to reduce her time to half a day instead of the full day.

Timing of placement

The college offered a placement on a Wednesday, however Wednesday was the only day she could get physiotherapy at school. Physiotherapy is essential to sustain her mobility - if her mobility deteriorates she will then be dependent on two carers rather than one.

Programme on placement

Typical day

• Going to cooking classes which she has been doing since she was in nursery; of the one day per week she attends she goes to cooking for most of morning.
• Recipes use special software package to print out symbol with word below
• Drawing of bowl of knife etc.
• Went round taking photos, and sticking them in a book.

What she wants to be able to do

She wants to be able to practise using a laptop / computer to:

• Send attachments and emails, so that when she is away she can still keep in touch with family.
• Chance to manage coinage, know how to use chip and pin cards;
• Order food on her own
• Shop a little and be able to go on the internet.

Programme desired to achieve this:

• More opportunity to use laptop to use ICT
• To practise communication with ICT so she can keep in touch.
• More inclusive things (not specified).

Personal care

Our daughter has complex health needs:

• Infusions every third week which she receives through a private nursing service which has branches across the UK. Because of the branch network she would be able to receive her infusion wherever she is in the UK.
• Complex dietary needs have to be met
• Sustaining her mobility. (If this doesn't happen she will need two people rather than one in the future. Whatever college or placement she attends it will be important to sustain her mobility. To do this physiotherapy input is needed on regular basis.

On specialist input

Two years ago she went to W. Lothian College every day for a week to undertake a wheelchair course run by an ex-athlete who is now a wheelchair user. It was the very first time she had been taught how to flick her chair back so she could go backward up a kerb; and bump up and down stairs and down an escalator!

These have proved to be vital skills because to be safe she needs to hit kerbs at 90 degrees not at a slant. With her visual impairment, it is easy to get this wrong. With these skills in place, she returned to school. We then received a letter saying they had had to reprimand our daughter for bumping up kerbs in her chair!

We feel that this course was so important it should be available across the country, not only for those who use wheelchairs but for non-disabled people to try out and give insights into the access issues people face at college.

We had heard from other parents about residential specialist college provision and at first rejected it, as we want our daughter to be in her own community. However, we now feel that this may be the only way for her to acquire skills. Perhaps we should resign ourselves to thinking that the level of support she needs can best be delivered by her being in a physical resource/ institution rather than in her community and near to home.

Case study (viii): Parents of 18 year old girl who is blind and has additional physical disabilities. Attends Henshaws College

Parental quotes:

"Other young people have the chance to go on to university and to shine. This is [our daughter's] university, it's her chance to shine."

"Our daughter has a lot to learn and a lot to learn about how to do things, it takes her longer. She isn't at a level to stop being educated."

"We must understand that Inclusion means different things to different people."

"Our daughter's disabilities are so precise and individual to her that when it comes to her being lumped in with others it makes her feel so inadequate and disabled."

Daughter attended a grant-aided school, located out of authority. In her final year the school suggested Henshaws as a possible suitable post-school placement.

Eventually, after much representation the authority agreed to her attending Henshaws. No money is provided for transport and the parents have to make their own way down there. As the authority refused to pay travel expenses for the educational psychologist, who had been link person throughout the transition, the psychologist would park her car at the family house, and the mother would take her car to drive to Henshaws.

When they enquired about their daughter going to Henshaws the authority said that "under no circumstances would they fund a placement outwith [the authority] never mind Scotland". The authority said that provision was adequate in the authority and that there was no need to go outwith. After first suggesting a local college Careers Scotland recommended another which has a RNIB unit attached

Information giving:

The authority did not volunteer any information, no options were made available. The only option given to them at first was located in the authority and they felt was unsuitable. Only later were two other colleges in West of Scotland suggested (both out of authority). One had a RNIB office on campus. At first they felt the college could be good and that the timetabling could work out very well. They visited and were told that their daughter would be the next preferred candidate.

Then whilst interviewing their daughter the lecturer asked about her doing aromatherapy. Their daughter, who is serious about her education, said "Do you realise I've only got the use of one hand."

After initially feeling that the second out-of-authority college appeared suitable, a particular experience made them feel facilities and resources there would not be suitable. (While on a site visit they observed four disabled students in supervised area. The lecturer allegedly slept the whole time they observed while the students were doing nothing.)

Throughout the time of schooling the authority did not offer information, did not engage in constructive conversations. "The process always seemed designed to put you off." They felt that the whole Future Needs Assessment process was at least in the early meetings simply going through the motions. Although there were Minutes, with action points at the next meeting half of the action points had not been carried out.

[The parents noted that they had had to make strong representation to the authority in order to secure a final year at the grant-aided school, the authority did not want her to attend. They said school leaving age was 16 years and she should not be staying on for a sixth year.]

Quality of provision

Until their daughter went to a grant-aided school they felt they couldn't really gauge the difference in quality. Then they understood. When they went to visit Henshaws they again saw the difference and that staff are dedicated to children with additional support needs.

If peer group and sees someone doing it then easy to say I can do that. But if others are sighted and you are blind then you can't.

For example, since going there she has decided she wanted a mobile phone 360 (speaking text too). Because another lad has it it's now cool.

Henshaws:

The parents noted that at Henshaws she can access any course specific elements as well as being clued up on access elements eg independent living and personal care. They feel that specifically they offer commitment, rather than bolt-on or unit. It has been designed for them. They are encouraged to achieve, whereas colleges she visited in Scotland say "Yes we cater for special needs kids", but they don't specialise.

Case study (ix): Carlisle College

A number of young people attend Carlisle College, travelling from Annan, Langholm & Gretna areas of Dumfries & Galloway as the college is closer to travel to than Dumfries. Students are funded through the Learning Skills Council (presumably the Scottish Executive pays?) Generally students with high support needs do not attend because of difficulties in securing social work support cross-border. They can also access Additional Support Fund (via Learning Skills Council) which allows group sizes of eight, one-to-one where necessary and individual tutors.

« Previous | Contents | Next »