Access to Further Education

Decorative Image: Cloud Callout: They couldn’t offer the social aspect of college life. (about Scottish college)

The Scottish Executive recently undertook a consultation on Further Education provision for young people with complex support needs. As part of the review the CALL Centre consulted over thirty young people with a range of support needs arising from communication, sensory, physical and or learning impairments, and spoke to associated family members and staff.

What they said indicated that the situation in Scotland for young people with low incidence disabilities / complex additional support needs as far as Further Education goes, is generally very poor. Our interviews exposed much frustration, disappointment, sadness, anger, despair and resignation. In summary:

Most young people with complex support needs hope to stay on at school as long as they can as there may be no appropriate provision for them after school

Major reasons for not accessing or having difficulty accessing existing options:

There is a severe lack of information, transparency and awareness of FE options, a particular obstacle faced by people who have severe difficulties in accessing information

Many college placement options appear to be provision-led rather than needs-led. Students with complex needs are fitted into the courses and programmes available

Those who offer services may find it difficult to communicate with and support the communication needs of students who use highly specialised systems for communicating

Decorative Image: Cloud Callout: There’s not a lot 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.

Where needs are highly specialised and low incidence, appropriate specialist and support services may not exist locally

Major funding problems arise also for non-specialist areas, particularly transport, escorts, and helpers for personal care

Where services are identified and costs are involved, there are often lengthy processes before agreements to fund are obtained. Delays then result in gaining access to both the college placement and to support services.

Decorative Image: Picture of a Communication Aid User

In spite of difficulties, some young people with complex needs have enjoyed a positive time at college. Social and general academic success may mask lack of progress in other areas, eg. specialist aspects of communication. For this reason, students who were at college may come back again later, seeking further, more specialist provision.

Individual members of staff in school, on various transitional projects and link schemes and in Additional Support for Learning Departments in FE colleges do their best to 'go the extra mile' to understand and deal with issues for individual students but the overall lack of information, specialist skills and funding and the lack of 'structural' support in college and in the local authority mean that their efforts are often fruitless.

Young people with mild/moderate learning difficulties (especially if they are mobile and have some speech) are in general better served and seemed, overall, to be happy with their FE provision.

Local authorities and colleges who insist that all needs can be satisfactorily met locally may not be fully aware of the differences between the needs of students with learning difficulties that they currently provide for, and the needs of other groups with complex support needs.

Straightforward and effective adaptations locally such as smaller class groups, more support and more specialist staff, longer courses tend to be ruled out, possibly because of capping of the SUM funding which would result in other students' provision being reduced in order to bring provision for students with complex support needs up to a reasonable level.

For these and other reasons, there will always be a need for some specialist provision, whether within Scotland (eg. Motherwell or another college) or in England.

Decorative Image: Cloud Callout: It’s all there – computer club, going out for meals, “there is always something on” (about specialist college in England)

Parents and young people are not told of the option of specialist colleges across the border either by schools (who don't seem to be aware of them themselves, by and large) or by authorities. Most authorities refuse funding for attendance at such colleges or only provide it if pushed very hard.

Young people and their parents often have to fight long and hard to get relevant information and appropriate/necessary funding and services. Liaison, consultation and continuity are not applied routinely and often depend on families' tenacity and knowledge of 'the system'. Not every family has the ability or the energy to campaign in this way, so provision for young people can be inequitable.

When asked directly, most school-leavers do not like the idea of going away to a distant residential college. Young people with more mature insight into what they need and who have more experience of what is on offer locally are more likely to consider favourably the option of a specialist college.

Sometimes, young people might need a 'transition' link from school (usually to local college) and then on to more specialist further education later.

Most parents do not at first much like the idea of a distant residential college either, but may change their minds once they appreciate the possible benefits of such a placement, in terms of their child's education.

Young people going to residential college, and their families, seek a full scale 'college experience' with an integrated educational programme, 24/7 consistency of curriculum, a peer group, and social and leisure activities arranged (i.e. not just a hostel).

Residential/specialist college experiences could be provided nearer to home within Scotland, if the political will and the necessary funding were provided to support young people's attendance at these, outwith the home local authority area.

Ring-fenced funding is needed to protect the interests of this small, specialised vulnerable group. If not ring-fenced, funding designated for their use appears to 'get lost' in local authorities.

Having said that, it is recognised that education (and funding for education) should not stand entirely separate, for this group of young people with complex needs, from the wider set of needs also needing to be addressed and funded, in an integrated way, lifelong housing, personal care, healthcare, transport etc.

The consultation report written by CALL is available online at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/03/03103843/0.

The full report on the consultation is available from: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/01/complexNeedsConsultation