Study Programmes: resources to support improved curriculum design and delivery
In 2017-18, Natspec and ACER led a project, funded by the Education and Training Foundation on behalf of the Department for Education, to help providers design and deliver high quality study programmes that support learners with SEND to achieve ambitious outcomes and prepare them for further or higher education, employment and fulfilling adult lives.
The project was open to all providers in the FE and Skills sector and concerned with study programmes for learners with and without EHC Plans and for those in discrete and mainstream provision. It included
- support for 14 collaborative development projects bringing together groups of providers and other partners to tackle their own improvement priorities
- delivery of five practical webinars
- development of three interactive self-led learning resources
- two innovative practice dissemination events.
Providers involved in the collaborative development projects took part in dissemination events in Birmingham and London where they showcased the work they had undertaken. This included sharing a huge range of resources developed during their projects, which they have kindly agreed to share with the wider sector.
Click here for a full summary of the material produced in this project.
Please see below for a summary to the resources developed by each cluster group
- Showcasing learners’ capabilities to prospective employers (led by Develop)
- Preparing learners to move successfully from study programme to supported internship (led by Abingdon and Witney College)
- Embedding competitions into the vocational curriculum (led by New College, Durham)
- Raising awareness of apprenticeships as a progression route (led by Sussex Coast College)
- Improving transition – leading to better curriculum planning (led by City College, Norwich)
- Supporting learners to make informed choices about post-school options and ensuring college provision meets their needs (led by Sussex Downs College)
- Making effective use of assistive technology (led by Beaumont College)
- Co-creating the curriculum with learners (led by West Suffolk College)
- Improving learning support (led by Preston’s College)
- Developing social skills for learners on mainstream programmes (led by Palmer’s College)
- Developing access to work for learners with more complex needs (led by Telford College)
- Promoting the value of supported internships to employers and young people (led by Heart of Worcestershire College)
- Supporting learners with SEND in the workplace (led by Gloucestershire College)
- Meaningful work experience for learners with SEND (led by City of Wolverhampton College)
Webinars
Webinar 1: RARPA – practical advice, guidance and tips on creating an effective, robust and learner-centred RARPA process within an FE setting
View a recording of this webinar
Webinar 2: ‘First steps to setting up a Supported Internship’
View a recording of this webinar
Webinar 3: Achieving Skills Excellence – Competition activity in the curriculum: raising the standard of study programmes for students with SEND
View a recording of this webinar
Webinar 4: Assistive Technology to Support Learners with SEND – where to start?
View a recording of this webinar
Webinar 5: Making Maths Accessible for Learners with SEND: Effective techniques for developing maths skills, confidence and engagement.
View a recording of this webinar
Interactive self-guided learning resources
These mini-modules have been developed to support learning at a time and pace to fit with practitioners’ busy working lives.
- External review of RARPA through peer review
- Improving access to apprenticeships
- Personalising study programmes
Next Steps
The Education and Training Foundation is funding Natspec and ACER to build on work undertaken in this project to produce further resources to improve the quality of study programmes for learners with SEND.
