Inspired by the work of a group of pioneering colleges, Natspec has today published its vision for a further education (FE) system in which specialist and general FE colleges work in partnership in the interests of learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The current binary approach to meeting the needs of FE learners with SEND gives them access either to a specialist college or a general FE college – but very rarely both. With the support of Natspec and the Association of Colleges (AoC) 26 colleges, 13 specialist and 13 general FE, have been exploring different, innovative ways to break down this binary system.
The results of their year-long projects are conclusive: specialist and general FE colleges working in partnership results in
- extended or enriched learning opportunities
- greater progress and increased chance to fulfil potential
- a more skilled workforce and
- greater inclusion
for young people with SEND.
From this term onwards, more learners with SEND from both college types will be learning and socialising together. For example, an integrated study group made up of students from the Sheiling College and Bournemouth and Poole College will be undertaking green woodworking in the former’s forest school. More colleges of both types will be sharing expertise, resources and facilities, such as Henshaws and Harrogate Colleges’ shared work placement database which will see opportunities allocated to students from either college, based on the best match. Learners will be benefiting from improved teaching and learning, like those at East Kent College who will be offered more personalised programmes after staff had the chance to explore personalised practice at St Piers College. Staff will be benefitting from a joint approach to CPD, including vocational tutors at West Thames College who will be being trained in understanding autism by autistic learners from Ambitious College.
To fully realise this vision for SEND in FE, however, there are still some obstacles to overcome and further support needed. A few colleges have found a way to work together to offer dual placements for a handful of learners, where the learner will attend both a specialist and an FE college. However, making this a practical option for larger numbers of learners is currently not straightforward. Natspec is asking ESFA to work with them and AoC to explore new funding rules to facilitate dual placements for high needs learners. It is also recommending that local authorities support and promote dual placements through the local offer and through allocating high needs funding more flexibly across two different providers.
Natspec is also calling on the Department for Education to facilitate more partnership working, so any changes to systems and structures or new expectations placed on providers or local authorities as proposed in the recent SEND and AP Green Paper can be shaped to facilitate – rather than act against – partnership working.