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"Young people should not be shoe horned into
provision that does not address their specific needs" "There is a need
for more supported access for young people to a range of courses rather
than directing young people to special quotas." "The qualification you
get at the end of it really makes you want to do it." |
The Issue
8.1 An important part of the Committee's remit was to examine the quality and effectiveness of current further education and training provision in improving the skills and employability of young people. Our various consultations, the Survey of Further Education Provision, and information from the enterprise networks on special training needs (STN) Skillseekers provision showed that there were variations in policies and practices across Scotland. There were many good examples of innovative provision. However, difficulties were also noted with the appropriateness of provision and the arrangements for progression. The issue is how to ensure that there are adequate and appropriate post school learning opportunities to meet the assessed needs of the individual young person.
The Committee's View
8.2 The Committee examined the current arrangements in training and further education.
As part of this exercise, an expert sub-group of the Committee was established to design and commission a survey of provision for students with additional support needs in further education colleges in Scotland, and to oversee the analysis and writing of the survey report. The survey was conducted in October 1998 and was administered by the Scottish Further Education Unit who were part of the expert sub group. There was a very good response to the survey with 42 out of 47 colleges responding. The survey obtained details from colleges about special programmes and extended learning support provided for students with additional support needs, and information on the management of provision through policy, the built environment and staff development. The consultants, MVA Ltd were commissioned to undertake an analysis of the returns.
8.3 This chapter focuses on further education and training provision. We also wish to acknowledge the work of providers of informal learning and in particular, the report of the working group on "Communities: Change through Learning", which outlines a new direction for community education. We welcome the SOEID Circular 4/99 following this report which asks local authorities to develop strategies for community learning and ways of engaging young people to help them experience positive development both at, and beyond, school.
8.4 The Committee firmly believes that a range of post school education and training provision should be available which meets the range of needs, abilities and aspirations of young people, and which allows for progression. We have identified a range of issues as being particularly important in contributing to an inclusive approach to further education and training provision. These are:
Closer Links between Further Education and Training
8.5 Where possible we have tried to ensure that our recommendations encourage and promote consistency across further education and training as we believe that closer links could benefit young people, and would allow them to move more easily between the two sectors. We welcome the fact that The Scottish Office in its document, Opportunities and Choices, is consulting on how providers of post-school provision for 16-18 year olds might work more effectively together. Our core recommendation is that the recently established Scottish Further Education Funding Council (SFEFC) and the enterprise networks should work with each other to improve the links between further education and training and to develop a post-school learning system that offers continuity, coherence and clear routes of progression.
Inclusiveness Policies
8.6 The Committee's FE survey showed that approaches to the development of policy, expression of policy, and the communication of policy varied across the 42 colleges who responded. Most colleges had a separate policy for students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and some said it was embedded or implied in other policies, for example, an equal opportunities policy. We welcome the fact that some colleges said that they had Inclusiveness policies.
8.7 The Committee welcomes the approach that the enterprise networks have been taking recently to promoting an Inclusive economy. Their commitment to the training of young people and adults is demonstrated by their involvement in the New Deal, and the management of the New Futures Fund which offers support to young people who face significant disadvantage.
8.8 In order to promote and develop the idea of Inclusiveness in the further education and training sectors, the Committee is proposing that that there should be Inclusiveness policies which:
The policy should be framed in terms of what it means for the learner, the staff, and the infrastructure.
8.9 The policy should refer to:
The Committee has drafted model Inclusiveness policy statements which incorporate these key elements. Model policies for a college and a LEC are outlined in appendices 1 and 2.
8.10 We recognise that organisations are at varying stages of readiness to adopt the principles of Inclusiveness. Some respondents to the FE Survey have suggested that Inclusiveness should be embedded in all policies, not enshrined in a separate policy. However, given the different stages of progress, we believe that there is real value in working through the terms of an Inclusiveness policy and putting it into practice before incorporating elements into wider policies. We propose that for a period of least 5 years, there should be distinct and separate Inclusiveness policies. After that period, organisations may decide that the time is right to embed Inclusiveness in wider policies.
8.11 We therefore recommend that all agencies responsible for the delivery of further education and training for young people with additional support needs should develop Inclusiveness policies; and that:
8.12 We believe that Inclusiveness policies must be backed up by an agreed, fully developed implementation strategy which identifies the steps to be taken in order to achieve an Inclusive learning environment.
8.13 About half of the colleges in the FE Survey said that they involved students or their representatives in formulating or reviewing the policy. We believe that policy development is most effective when it draws on consultation with learners and other agencies who are likely to be involved in placing or supporting young people. We recommend that Inclusiveness policies should be developed in consultation with learners, staff, and other relevant agencies and should be kept under regular review.
8.14 The FE Survey showed that the policy is normally approved by the College Board of Management and/or the Principal or Academic Board. However, in some colleges the policy is approved by other individuals and bodies. We believe that for the organisation to have ownership of the policy and its implementation, the college or LEC Board should approve the policy. We therefore recommend that SFEFC and SE/HIE ensure that the Inclusiveness policy is approved by the College /LEC Board in its strategic role.
Disability Statements
8.15 Disability statements inform students with disabilities about policy, provision and support in institutions and are intended to help learners with disabilities make informed choices. At present disability statements are mandatory for the higher education sector in Scotland and higher and further education in the rest of the UK. Under the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) training providers must also produce statements outlining what support is available to learners with disabilities. However, further education colleges in Scotland are not required to produce disability statements. Only 17% of colleges in the FE Survey said that they had disability statements.
8.16 Although further education colleges, as employers and providers of commercial services, are covered by the DDA, education is exempt at present. However, the Disabilities Rights Task Force is presently reviewing the legislation and is due to report later this year. We would welcome the extension of the DDA to education. If the DDA is extended to education, disability statements may become mandatory for further education colleges.
8.17 The Committee believes that further education colleges in Scotland should produce disability statements in line with higher education institutions and training providers. Disability statements would allow learners to make an informed choice about the available support which would best meet their needs. Disability statements would also assist parents/carers and those advising young people about their options. We therefore recommend that SFEFC should require further education colleges in Scotland to produce disability statements on an annual basis.
8.18 We also believe that disability statements should be "live" documents and should be kept under regular review. We recommend that colleges and training providers should regularly review the quality and effectiveness of disability statements (the format, content and accessibility) in consultation with learners.
8.19 We considered the issue of whether colleges and training providers should have Inclusiveness statements which cover all learners with additional support needs. Some support required by young people is more difficult to quantify. Young people who have low achievement and poor motivation may require more appropriate teaching methods to match their age, ability and motivation or the redesign of the programme to meet their needs more closely. The purpose of a statement for students is to enable them to become better informed about the available support. However, it is important to acknowledge that many young people will not see themselves as having a "problem" although the education/training provider recognises the need for additional support.
8.20 We feel that until the concept of Inclusiveness is embedded in colleges and training providers, it would be preferable for them to have a specific statement for learners with disabilities. This would ensure that learners with disabilities gain access to the necessary information to enable them to make an informed choice. Over time, colleges and training providers could develop Inclusiveness statements which would encompass the needs of learners with disabilities and other support needs. The effectiveness of, and continuing need for, disability statements should be reviewed after a 5-year period. We therefore recommend that SFEFC and the enterprise networks should review the effectiveness of, and continuing need for, disability statements after a 5-year period and consider whether it might be more appropriate to develop Inclusiveness statements which encompass the needs of learners with disabilities and other support needs.
Initiatives to Promote an Inclusiveness Approach
8.21 The development of Inclusiveness policies and disability statements should be part of a wider development of an Inclusiveness approach in further education and training. We believe that this would be in line with the widening access objectives for the further education sector set out in Opportunities for Everyone: A Strategic Framework for Scottish Further Education and the commitment to an inclusive economy by the enterprise networks. We therefore recommend that SFEFC should fund initiatives which promote an Inclusiveness approach in colleges, and that SE and HIE fund initiatives which promote an Inclusive approach in training. We also recommend that colleges, LECs and training providers are encouraged to work with other agencies in developing Inclusiveness approaches, and that SFEFC, the enterprise networks and other agencies e.g. Social Work, jointly fund initiatives where appropriate.
Built Environment
8.22 Training providers are required under the DDA (1995) to make reasonable adjustments to their premises to make them accessible to people with disabilities. We would encourage training providers to make their learning environment fully accessible to learners with disabilities.
8.23 In the FE Survey, colleges were asked to assess their strengths and weaknesses. Physical access was the most frequently mentioned weakness and the severity of problems was related to the size of the college. Small colleges with less than 6,000 students were most likely to rate their college environment as inaccessible. A third of colleges in the FE Survey described their built environment as below average for accessibility. Most of these colleges were small or multi-site campuses.
8.24 Colleges which had below average accessibility cited the intrinsic design of their buildings as the cause of poor accessibility and felt that little could be done without considerable investment. Only a small number of colleges gave a date for full accessibility.
8.25 The Committee recognises that achieving accessibility will be a major challenge for colleges, particularly smaller colleges. However, we believe that accessibility is crucial for the achievement of Inclusiveness. Accessibility is not just about wheel-chair access but the whole learning environment and should cover the whole college, and not just individual sites. Achieving accessibility does not always mean that every classroom has to be accessible. Accessibility may mean changing a classroom for a subject area to a more accessible room. This could meet the needs of a particular student or group of students during an academic year. If the DDA is extended to education, colleges will be required to address accessibility.
8.26 We therefore recommend that colleges should be required to develop a plan for improving accessibility and agree a timetable with SFEFC for achieving full accessibility. Accessibility is not a priority in college estate funding at present. It is our view that capital support for accessibility would help colleges achieve full accessibility more quickly and we recommend that SFEFC should provide capital support for accessibility and highlight it as a priority in estate funding.
8.27 The Committee also believes that college estate strategies should make reference to the needs of people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and that Estates Managers should undertake accessibility audits of the whole campus. Training and support may be required for the further education sector in assisting them to achieve full accessibility. We recommend that the Scottish Executive Estates Strategy to guidance colleges should include accessibility, and that guidance on accessibility audits should be available to Estates Managers. The ACCESS Centres and organisations such as the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) and Joint Mobility Unit, can provide advice.
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