1 Introduction
Appointment of the Committee
1.1 The Advisory Committee on Post-School Education and
Training of Young People with Special Needs was appointed
by the then Scottish Education and Industry Minister, Brian
Wilson, in April 1998 to examine the range of needs among
young people who require additional support to participate
in post-school education or training. The Chairman of the
Committee was Robert Beattie, MBE, FRSA, Community
Investment Co-ordinator at IBM. The Committee has been
known from the time of its appointment as the Beattie
Committee. In the course of the Committee's period of work,
Robert Beattie was appointed as Chairman of the new
Scottish Further Education Funding Council.
1.2 The Committee comprised 15 members with a wide range
of skills and knowledge drawn from various backgrounds such
as education, training, careers service, the voluntary
sector, social work and business. There were also
representatives from The Scottish Executive and the
enterprise networks. A list of members is set out at Annex
A.
Purpose of the Committee
1.3 The Committee was established to take forward the
Government's commitment, set out in the Lifelong Learning
paper, "Opportunity Scotland" (Cm 4048, September 1998), to
increase both the participation and attainment of young
people in post-school education and training; and to help
young people improve their employability. The establishment
of the Committee is one of the Government's initiatives in
this area. Others include: Higher Still; the Education for
Work and Enterprise agenda; the right to time off for study
or training; careers education and guidance; "Opportunities
for Everyone"-a strategic framework for further education;
and a new approach to community education. In March 1999, a
consultation paper, "Opportunities and Choices," was issued
to gather views on future post-school provision for 16-18
year olds. A key objective of all these measures is to
address problems of underachievement by raising levels of
skills and qualifications and, by doing so, to reduce the
number of young people at risk of social exclusion.
1.4 The Government also recognises, however, that there
is a significant number of young people who face major
barriers to participation in post-school learning and
future employment because of the severity and complexity of
their problems. The range of needs can include physical
disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health
problems, low educational attainment, poor basic skills and
social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. These are
the young people most at risk of social exclusion through
low attainment, unemployment and subsequent disaffection.
The challenge for the Beattie Committee has been to review
that diverse range of needs and to make recommendations
that will improve the nature and scope of provision, engage
the young people and enhance their future
employability.
Terms of Reference
1.5 The terms of reference, agreed by the Committee at
the first meeting, and approved by the Minister, were:
"to review the range of needs among young people who
require additional support to make the transition to
post-school education and training or employment; the
assessment of need; the quality and effectiveness of
current provision in improving skills and employability;
and to make recommendations to improve coherence,
continuity and progression."
1.6 The terms of reference reflect the Committee's view
that the term "special needs" did not fully reflect the
range of needs among the young people who were to be the
subject of their considerations. Nor did it fit with the
wider concept of Inclusiveness which is the overriding
theme of the report.
1.7 We should note that the Committee was not asked to
include higher education in its terms of reference because
of the significant activity already under way within the
higher education sector to improve provision for students
with disabilities, and to widen access for students. Also
the terms of reference did not include schools. However, as
the theme of transition was central to our report, the
Committee looked at some aspects of school provision which
specifically related to the transition of young people.
The Committee's Approach
1.8 The young people who have been the subject of the
Committee's discussions are not a uniform group. They have
distinct and different needs. This has been one of the
prime concerns of the Committee from our earliest meetings.
For that reason, we have adopted a consultative approach
and sought views and ideas from all the relevant agencies
and organisations. This has been a major part of our work.
We also set out to get views from the "clients" of
services, young people and their parents/carers.
1.9 Our first task was to identify the priority areas
that we wished to address and which would form the basis of
our consultation. We drew up a list of the key issues and
this list subsequently became known as our "shopping list".
The key issues were:
- transitions from school to college and/or training,
and ultimately to employment;
- assessment and identification of education and
training needs;
- staff development and training;
- adequacy and appropriateness of provision;
- arrangements for transfer and progression;
- involving employers.
- The full "shopping list" is set out in Annex
B.
Consultation
1.10 The Committee undertook extensive consultation in a
variety of ways from July 1998 to January 1999. This
included:
- written consultation: the Committee received
responses from a wide range of individuals and
organisations;
- an Evidence Day: the Committee invited well-known
academic researchers, practitioners and a parent to
present evidence. There was also evidence from young
people themselves presented by video and tape
recording;
- Consultation Workshops: these were held in Glasgow,
Dundee and Inverness in January 1999 to stimulate
debate on the issues addressed in the written
consultations. The workshops were attended by
representatives of voluntary organisations, local
authorities, LECs, colleges, career service companies,
and parents and teachers;
- discussions with the business community: these were
arranged through Scottish Business in the Community and
held in Inverclyde, Easterhouse, Craigmillar, Dundee
and the Borders;
Reports of the consultation exercises are contained in a
series of background documents.
1.11 The Committee visited a range of provision across
Scotland although this was a limited exercise due to the
relatively short time period for our work. Visits were made
to:
JET 2000: a training provider with centres in the
Highlands. The visits were to Inverness and
Dingwall.
Jobs 4 All: a supported employment programme and
'New Deal For Disabled' pilot project in Thurso.
Glasgow City Building: a training provider managed
by Glasgow City Council.
Castlecliff Training: a training provider in
Edinburgh
John Wheatley College: Glasgow.
Kilmarnock College.
Hansel Alliance: an organisation which offers
residential accommodation and/or sheltered employment
for people with learning disabilities.
Cleveden Secondary School: Glasgow.
The New School, Butterstone: Perthshire.
The Mary Russell School: Renfrewshire.
Reports of the visits are included in the background
documents.
1.12 The Committee has also received, both formally and
informally, a substantial body of evidence from young
people and their parents/carers, voluntary organisations
and practitioners. Much of this evidence is based on
personal experience but, in our view, it is an important
strand of evidence that complements the research reports
and statistical information. It represents the actual
experiences of young people and parents/carers in receiving
the services and of practitioners in delivering them.
1.13 Among the responses to the consultation and other
evidence there were examples of projects designed to meet
the needs of young people who require additional support.
Throughout the report, we have used some of these examples
to illustrate the nature of the problems faced by young
people and strategies for addressing those problems. It is
important to emphasise that the examples used are not the
only ones in their field and that, in almost every case,
there are other examples of careers service companies,
training providers, colleges and voluntary organisations
adopting similar approaches.
1.14 The Committee commissioned the following
research:
- a wide-ranging review of existing literature,
focussing on material relevant to Scotland but drawing
on experience from the rest of the UK;
- Focus Group research where discussions were held
with a range of young people across Scotland, some with
physical disabilities, learning disabilities or mental
health problems, and others who had experienced
emotional and social difficulties;
- a survey of further education provision in Scotland
and an analysis of the data.
Full reports of the research are contained in the series
of background documents.
These documents are available from the address on the
back page of the report
The Wider Context
1.15 The work of the Beattie Committee has covered a
wide range of issues and has inevitably touched directly,
or indirectly, on the duties and responsibilities of a wide
range of agencies. We have, at every stage, sought to take
into account best practice in current arrangements in
post-school guidance, education and training. We have also
considered, as far as possible, the potential links between
our proposals and recommendations and new developments in
other areas, particularly in local government where there
are important and significant developments affecting
children and young people's services.
1.16 The Committee has reviewed current arrangements on
guidance, further education and training; the statutory and
regulatory framework; and recent developments which will
have an impact on the transition to post-school education
or training, and employment. This was the context for the
Committee's discussions and the shaping of the proposals
and recommendations. This wider context is set out in Annex
C.
Short-Life Working Groups
1.17 The Committee identified specific issues to be
taken forward in short-life working groups. In line with
our consultative approach, we invited representatives of a
range of agencies to join Committee members on the
sub-groups. This enabled us to draw on a wider pool of
knowledge and expertise. A list of members of the
short-life working groups is in Annex D. The sub-groups
were :
Further Education Survey (later enhanced to consider
disability issues)
Information Flow
Inclusiveness
Role of Key Worker
Funding
Structure of the report
1.18 Chapter 2 is the cornerstone of the report. It
presents the Committee's vision of Inclusiveness as the
underlying principle that should underpin the design and
delivery of guidance, further education and training to
match the needs, abilities and aspirations of the
individual.
1.19 The first part of the Committee's remit was to
review the range of needs among young people. We have
considered reports and research evidence about the nature
and characteristics of the young people who are likely to
require additional support to participate in post-school
learning. Chapter 3 draws on this body of information and
sets out a profile of the young people.
1.20 Chapters 4 and 5 set out proposals and
recommendations for improving communications and joint
working between agencies (Chapter 4) and developing key
worker support (Chapter 5).
1.21 Chapters 6 and 7 set out proposals and
recommendations for improving transition arrangements for
young people leaving school and to assist future
transitions. Chapter 6 deals with aspects of guidance and
support and Chapter 7 addresses issues arising in
assessment procedures and practices.
1.22 Chapters 8 to 12 set out proposals and
recommendations to improve the design and delivery of
provision and promote an Inclusiveness approach to
addressing the learning and support needs of the young
person:
Chapter 8 covers aspects of further education and
training;
Chapter 9 discusses the enhancement of learning
opportunities for young people in
Resource Centres;
Chapter 10 addresses funding issues;
Chapter 11 covers aspects of staff training and
development; and
Chapter 12 covers quality issues.
1.23 Chapter 13 sets out the Committee's views on
aspects of employability for young people who are likely to
require additional support to enter employment; and sets
out proposals and recommendations for improving support
both for young people and employers.
1.24 Apart from social benefits and personal growth
there is a potential for a saving to the public purse if
more young people achieve employment. The Committee
attempted a quantification of this benefit but could not
obtain sufficiently robust data to allow a comparison to be
made. This may be an attractive area for researchers in
this field and we would welcome such a contribution to the
debate.
1.25 Within the recommendations of the report we have
attempted to quantify some of the costs related to
mentoring and key worker support arrangements. We cannot
quantify the costs for the new structures because they will
be different for each area and should not only involve
costs, but savings and other benefits resulting from
co-operation in, and between, the agencies.
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