MOVING FORWARD!
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR LEARNING
Learning for LifeTo equip pupils with the foundation skills, attitudes and expectations necessary to prosper in a changing society and to encourage creativity and ambition. |
Role of the school
68. We expect schools to play a key role in encouraging children's hopes and expectations for the future and in providing them with the life skills they require to help achieve their aims. We also want children's experiences of school to equip them with a desire for life-long learning and an interest in wider cultural, sporting and social activities. Some life skills (e.g. ability to use ICT) can be assessed quite easily. Other aspects of individual ambition or creativity are not measured by the outcome of exam results. Under the Schools Improvement Framework, schools are encouraged to look at the level and range of pupils from S1 to S6 participating in key cultural, sporting and social activities outside the core curriculum.
69. Partnership with local voluntary organisations can often assist schools to develop programmes for working with pupils who require additional support. For example, projects funded through the Innovations Grants Programme include Collusion Theatre Company's Collaborate project aimed to facilitate the development of social skills of young people with an autistic spectrum disorder. Drake Music's My Life project encouraged children and young people in specialist provision to share personal experiences, ideas and plans through a variety of media such as music and drama.
70. The Executive is working with local authorities and schools to identify and promote creativity and to develop quality physical education in schools. In line with inclusive practice these policies will include pupils with disabilities, and those who need additional support.
Moving on
71. A key stage in the education of all children is the transition to post-school provision. As pupils approach school leaving age, or in some cases are at risk of dropping out, schools need to focus on the support that individual pupils need to move out of school and into the placement which is best suited for them. This could be in further or higher education, training, employment or some other destination. The Executive-funded Enquire service has produced Life at School and Choices at 16+, a series of booklets which aim to give secondary-age students who need extra support, information on a range of school and post-school issues. The booklets are supported by a video Having Your Say at School which looks at young people's experiences of participating in meetings to reach decisions on their future. The HMIE report Moving On: From School to College provides examples of good practice in the work of schools and further education colleges in helping young people who need some additional support in transferring to college.
72. At the transition stage to post-school, parents and young people want to ensure that all steps necessary for the handover from child to adult services have been taken before the young person leaves school. For example, a key worker/co-ordinator may be necessary to work across agencies throughout the transition. Emotional support, perhaps through a peer support group, may help young people with particular needs to learn from, and support, one another. Also, young people and their families need accurate information on how services will change in an adult world. They need to be reassured about consistency in service provision, particularly where respite services are required. Some young people will require supported integration into further education, e.g. from a small school to a large college.
Future needs
73. Young people are assisted in the transition to post-school by schools' guidance staff with support from careers advice services. For most children, including many who need additional support, this is sufficient to allow them to make informed choices on their post-school options. Some children, with significant additional support needs, require more than this. Input may be required from professionals in social services, health and specialist careers advice.
74. Current legislation provides for a multi-agency Future Needs Assessment (FNA) between the ages of 14 and 16 years for pupils who have a Record of Needs. This recognises that their special educational and other needs will continue to require particular support when they leave school. The current FNA arrangements are restricted to relatively few pupils, the numbers of which fluctuate across authorities with the variation in recording rates. They, therefore, exclude many pupils with significant support needs who may also require additional help, in particular pupils who have an IEP but are not recorded.
The draft Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill proposes a general duty on education authorities to have due regard to the need for appropriate arrangements at all key transition points in a child's schooling. This includes transition to post-school provision. The new duty will require an education authority to notify those agencies which will be required to support those young people who are likely to experience difficulty with the transition and to need extra support beyond school. |
Beyond school
75. Changes in policy, legislation and practice with regard to children who receive additional support at school have led to increased expectations in terms of post-school provision. This is likely to increase in future. The 1999 Beattie Committee report, Implementing Inclusiveness, Realising Potential, addressed the issue of transitions post-school and many of its recommendations aim to improve the capacity of the post-school sector - education, training and employment - to meet needs more effectively.
76. As well as looking "downstream", we should also acknowledge the importance of "looking upstream". That is to say, the contribution of effective early intervention towards effective transitions post-school. A significant body of social research identifies young people who require additional support as those most at risk of making poor transitions. A reduction in the number of young people not in education, employment or training (the so-called "NEET" group) is a key objective of the Scottish Executive. It is enshrined as a Social Justice milestone and features in the performance objectives of Careers Scotland, as well as Smart, Successful Scotland - Ambitions for the Enterprise Networks.
77. Under The same as you? review of services for people with learning disabilities (May 2000), area co-ordinators are currently being appointed locally. Co-ordinators have a key role to play in smoothing the transition from child to adult services. They have a pivotal role within the local authority, with links to professionals and services in a range of other organisations, from the NHS through to the voluntary sector. Their tasks include giving information about services available and making the connections, helping individuals with learning disabilities, or autistic spectrum disorder, to make plans for the future, and to help them achieve what they want for themselves .
78. In future, changes in the way services are planned and delivered for people with a learning disability mean that children moving into adulthood should be able to access services which are designed around their own particular needs and aspirations. This is not just about care services, but also about empowering children leaving school to consider their options in relation to employment and lifelong learning. School initiated assessments should consider employment as a real option for people with learning disabilities. Maximising potential does not stop at the school gate.