Impact Of 14-19 Reform on SEN Students - Essay Example

Running Head: Impact Of 14-19 Reform on SEN Impact Of 14-19 Reform on SEN Reena Pandey NEED FOR 14-19 REFORM: According to the Final Report of the Working Group on 14-19 Reform, there is an urgent need to review the present education system for its weakness and take appropriate steps in order to: Raise participation and achievement – by tackling the educational causes of disengagement and underachievement and low post-16 participation. Get the basics right – ensuring that young people achieve specified levels in functional mathematics, literacy and communication and ICT, and are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to succeed in adult life, further learning and employment. Strengthen vocational routes – improving the quality and status of vocational programmes delivered by schools, colleges and training providers, setting out the features of high quality provision and identifying a clear role for employers. Provide greater stretch and challenge – ensuring opportunities for greater breadth and depth of learning. This will help employers and universities to differentiate more effectively between top performers. Stretch and challenge at all levels will encourage young people to think for themselves and be innovative and creative about their learning. Reduce the assessment burden for learners, teachers, institutions and the system as a whole by reducing the number of times learners are examined; extending the role of teacher assessment; and changing assessment in A levels in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning.( Final Report of the Working Group on 14-19 Reform, October, 2004, p5 ) BEGINNING OF 14-19 REFORM: Since 1997 the government has been taking steps to raise the standards of secondary and post secondary education, with an aim of continued education until the age of 18, for which it has been making substantial investments in school, colleges and training centers. But the first attempt to reform 14-19 education was made in 2001 when Green Paper Schools: Building on Success was presented. Two years later a Working Group on 14-19 Reform was established under the expert chairmanship of Sir Mike Tomlinson. In October 2004 this committee presented its final report on 14-19 reforms , setting out its proposals for change. The White Paper presented in Feb 2005 sets out the Governments plans for the 14-19 phase in England, responding to that report and moving on to implement large-scale change. In the last four years, there have been significant changes. It has become a normal part of life in schools in this country that some young people are studying and achieving recognised qualifications in vocational subjects before 16. New GCSEs in vocational subjects have been launched and the first group of young people have just succeeded in obtaining their qualifications. The Increased Flexibility Programme has given around 90,000 young people the opportunity to spend some time learning subjects in colleges which cannot easily be offered in schools. And from September 2004, for the first time, 14 year olds are pursuing Young Apprenticeships, giving them the chance to combine school studies with learning alongside skilled workers. Work-related learning is now a statutory requirement and the entitlement to enterprise education will be in place by September 2005. In some parts of the country, designated as 14-19 pathfinder areas, the process has gone even further. Schools and colleges have worked with local authorities and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to offer young people a range of options which goes beyond what any one institution can provide and which is succeeding in attracting many more young people to learning. In other places, new sixth forms and colleges are being opened, boosting participation and choice. (14-19 Education and Skills, Feb, 2005, p10, 11) 14-19 REFORMS FOR SEN STUDENTS: According to the White Paper presented in Feb 2005, A very different group of young people who should receive support through the 14-19 phase are those with learning difficulties. They are twice as likely as others to be not in education, employment or training (NEET) and around 12.5% of the NEET group have learning difficulties and disabilities. First, there is an improved set of qualifications. Entry level qualifications have provided a significant step forward in motivating and encouraging young people with special educational needs. QCA is now taking forward the recommendations of their report An evaluation of entry level qualifications (May 2004). They are doing so within the context of developing a coherent framework of provision below level 2 as part of the new Framework for Achievement. This will allow tailoring to individual needs through bite-sized qualification units. Pre-16, we expect personalised programmes to build on the SEN framework. The entitlement to continued study of functional English and maths post-16 for those who have not achieved level 2 will also contribute. Second, there will be improved transition planning to build on the proposals in the SEN strategy Removing barriers to achievement, the Strategy Units Improving life chances of disabled people, the transition standard under the National Service Framework for Disabled Children and the transition work of the Learning Disability Partnership Boards. Third, there will be wider opportunities to develop life skills and to achieve. The LSC is conducting a strategic review of planning and funding post-16 provision for learners with learning difficulties in order to improve quality, availability and cost-effectiveness. The review also aims to increase capacity within FE colleges and encourage greater collaboration among providers from different sectors. Fourth, the Employment sub-group of the Learning Disability Task Force (Valuing People) will shortly be sending a report to Ministers and the Task Force with recommendations for creating greater employment opportunities for young people with learning difficulties and disabilities. (14-19 Education and Skills, Feb, 2005, p65, 66) In parallel with developments on the curriculum as a whole, the government produced a strategy for special educational needs (SEN) (DfES, 2004b), following two critical Audit Commission reports in 2002 (Audit Commission, 2002a, 2002b). The strategy acknowledges that, “All children have a right to a good education and the opportunity to fulfil their potential” (p 5), a right that has arguably not always been accessible to disabled children. (The education and employment of disabled young people, November, 2005, p20) OUTCOMES OF 14-19 REFORM FOR SEN STUDENTS: The government has not adopted the recommendations of the Tomlinson report in full but it is supporting a modified version of the diplomas, and an emphasis on flexibility over where learning takes place and at what age different qualifications are obtained (DfES, 2005).( The education and employment of disabled young people, November, 2005, p19) The post-16 pathways for many young people with special needs are poorly developed and are not properly coordinated or planned. The shortcomings are most acute for those with profound or multiple learning difficulties in special schools, and those with emotional, social or behavioural difficulties. Many special schools provide expert support and high quality learning programmes for pupils with severe and complex learning difficulties up to the age of 16 or 19. However, the arrangements for the design and provision of an appropriate individual learning programme which will continue to enable these young people to maximize their full potential are random and often unsatisfactory. In most areas there is insufficient coordination of the programmes offered in special schools and local colleges. Too much is left to the initiative and perseverance of individual staff. Some colleges respond well and match provision to individual needs, but others do not. Many vulnerable young people, including those who are disaffected or reluctant learners, are being well supported to remain in learning through the work of Connexions personal advisers. The service has contributed strongly to reducing the number who after the age of 16 are not in education, employment or training. A thorough assessment of their support needs and close working between Connexions and other agencies often contribute to the effectiveness of this support. Specialist personal advisers are generally assigned by Connexions to support the transition of pupils with special needs. Where there is continuity of staffing in these arrangements they often work well and are highly valued by schools, young people and their parents. For example, in one area: Connexions have a specialist team of personal advisers working with pupils with SEN. They work very closely with schools and the college of FE. In one school for students with emotional and behavioural difficulties, there are good arrangements for the students to sample vocational activities at the local college during Years 10 and 11. In Year 12, Connexions records of support are transferred to the college personal adviser when young people join college courses. The school is provided with some funding through the 14.19 Pathfinder to enable school staff to offer continuing support for these students. Students, school staff and Developing a coherent 14-19 phase of education and training 25 the Connexions service feel that this works very well in enabling the young people to settle into their new environment.( Developing a coherent 14 19 phase of education and training, November, 2005, p23, 27) In the report ‘The education and employment of disabled young people’ Tania Burchardt revealed that : At the age of 16/17, 62% of the disabled respondents were in full time education and about three tenth only reported that they got the education or training they wanted. At the age of 16/17 about 13% of the disabled young people are about to be out of work or doing something elseand by the age 18/19,25% of the disabled young people were unemployed ordoing something else.Among those who were in employment, earnings were lower for disabled than for non-disabled employees.(p12) Research by the Disability Rights Commission indicated that 45% of disabled 16 to 24 year old had experienced problems at school related to disability and 11% were unable to get access to resources such as the school library.(p20) In a survey of 16- to 24-year-olds for the Disability Rights Commission, 13% said they had been turned down for a paid job and told it was due to disability, and a further 18% had suspected that the rejection of their application was due to disability (Wilson, 2003). (p52) The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) is currently funding a longitudinal study of young people with special educational needs (SEN). So far, they have been interviewed in Year 11 (approximately age 16) and two years later (Polat et al, 2001; Dewson et al, 2004). The sample includes those with and without statements, in mainstream or special school, and with a range of impairments, including cognitive impairments. The study has revealed divergent experiences of transition. Young people with sensory and/or physical impairments were generally well-catered for in terms of multiagency involvement in planning and providing a pathway to continue education. By contrast, the larger group of young people with mild learning difficulties, or with behavioural or emotional problems, were less likely to have significant support in making a transition after 16, and were more likely to have drifted out of education and to be unemployed or in low-paid work.( The education and employment of disabled young people, November, 2005, p25) REFERENCES: Final Report of the Working Group on 14-19 Reform(2004). DfES Publications. Nottinghamshire. p5 14-19 Education and Skills(2005). p10, 11, 65, 66 Developing a coherent 14-19 phase of education and training (2005). Reference no. HMI 2442. Ofsted Publications . p23, 27 Burchardt, Tania. The education and employment of disabled young people (2005). The Policy Press. Bristol. p12, 19, 20, 25, 52 Read More