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SECTION 2: RESEARCH AIMS AND STRATEGY

Research Questions

As stated above, this report presents findings on stakeholders' views of existing advice and information services and ideas for the future shape of advice and information services in Scotland. Research questions addressed include the following:

• How are current advice and information services perceived by a range of stakeholders, including parents and carers, children and young people, voluntary sector providers and professionals?
• What are the implications of the additional support for learning legislation for the future provision of information and advice to a range of stakeholders?
• What formats and modes of delivery are currently being used and what do particular groups of stakeholders indicate would be the most effective form and content of future services?

The following methods were used to address the above questions:

Key informant interviews

Face-to-face interviews were conducted with members of the Enquire team, the Enquire management committee and the Director of Children in Scotland to discuss how the various aspects of the national advice and information service are currently being delivered and to consider ideas for the future development of the service. Interviews conducted with ENQUIRE and Children in Scotland staff were as follows:

Director, Children in Scotland
Policy Officer, Children in Scotland
Manager, Enquire
Helpline Development Officer, Enquire
Helpline Assistant, Enquire
Management Committee member, Enquire
Information and Development Officer, Enquire

Interviews were also conducted with two service managers in the Scottish Executive Education Department, and the officer with responsibility for the development of the Additional Support for Learning Tribunal

A mixture of telephone and one-to-one interviews were conducted with a range of external stakeholders to gather their views on the effectiveness of existing services and ideas for future development. Overall, nineteen interviews were conducted with external key informants from the following organisations:

Organisation
Govan Law Centre
Disability Rights Commission
Sleep Scotland
Communication Aids for Language and Learning ( CALL) Centre
West of Scotland Deaf Children's Society
Independent Special Education Advice Service
Centre for Education in Racial Equality in Scotland
Capability Scotland
Care Coordination Network UK
ENABLE
Parentline Scotland
Scottish Traveller Education Programme
Visual Impairment Scotland
Equity group
Highland Educational Psychology Service (2 interviews)
Fife Educational Psychology Service
North Lanarkshire Educational Psychology Service (2 interviews)

Analysis of Enquire's activities

Enquire has maintained records of enquiries made to the helpline, website hits, requests for publications and a log of publicity work, including participants in conferences and outreach events. These records were analysed to examine the pattern of use of the existing advice and information services by different stakeholder groups.

The nature of publicity materials, publications and public events were also examined in order to assess the effectiveness of public information and outreach work. Enquire's success in disseminating information to those at risk of social exclusion was considered, including people with a range of disabilities, those living in socially disadvantaged neighbourhoods, travellers and those for whom English was not their first language.

Questionnaire survey to Enquire service users

A short questionnaire was sent to a sample of parents/carers, young people and professionals who had contacted the service. In accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act, two hundred questionnaires were sent out by Enquire, so that the research team did not have access to names and contact details. Forty questionnaires were returned using pre-paid envelopes (just under 20% response rate). Questionnaires were also distributed to service users at the four consultation events on the new parents' guide to Additional Support for Learning legislation, and eighty one questionnaires were returned. The table below shows the breakdown of service users completing the questionnaire.

Table 2.1: Status of service users completing questionnaire

Note: A few users described themselves as both parents and professionals. Total participants: 121

The questionnaire examined the type of service requested/enquiry made and the extent to which the individual was satisfied with the quality of information provided by Enquire. Of particular interest was the accessibility of information to people with a range of social characteristics in relation to ethnicity, disability, age, gender and geographical location. Views of preferred formats and modes of delivery were considered, for example, in what circumstances were people satisfied with telephone advice and when did they feel a more personalised and localised service is required? How comfortable were users with web-based information and e-mail based enquiry systems? Individuals were asked about the type of service they would like to have available in the future. Findings from the questionnaire survey were triangulated with the analysis of Enquire's archives. In this report, we focus on users' views of existing services, as well as expectations for advice and information services of the future.

Consultation meetings with service users and interviews with individual parents

Enquire was commissioned by the Scottish Executive Education Department to produce a Parent's Guide on Additional Support for Learning. A series of consultation meetings was organised in different parts of Scotland, and researchers attended four of these in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling and Scottish Borders. Following these meetings, follow-up telephone interviews were conducted with eleven parents who provided their details for further contact. A focus group was held with parents at a national event organised by ENABLE, and four members of the Equity group responded by e-mail to an interview schedule.

Questionnaire survey to local authority staff, other professionals and voluntary sector organisations

A short questionnaire survey was administered to the contact person in each local authority to gather perspectives on the effectiveness of the services provided by Enquire. The same questionnaire was sent to all principal educational psychologists. As with service users, professionals were asked about their perceptions of the services provided by Enquire in relation to content and format and their thoughts about the future direction of advice and information services in relation to additional support needs. Sixteen questionnaires were completed by local authority officers and ten by educational psychologists. Key informant interviews were also completed with five educational psychologists.

Views of children and young people

Six focus groups were conducted with children and young people. Three of these took place in special settings, one with fifteen and sixteen year old pupils in a special school for children with moderate learning difficulties, one with twelve and thirteen year old pupils in a special school for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, and one with fifteen and sixteen year old pupils in a special school for deaf children. In addition, two focus groups took place with children in a mainstream primary school. The groups included a mix of children from Primary 6 and 7 (aged eleven and twelve) with and without additional support needs. Finally, a group of thirteen year old pupils from a mainstream secondary school completed a questionnaire. The number of pupils in the focus group varied from four to fifteen.

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