Championing Young People’s Learning

1. Natspec Principals’ EventLooking to the Future12 OctoberPeter LauenerChief Executive, Young People’s Learning AgencyChief Executive Designate, Education Funding Agency Championing Young People’s Learning

2. Provision for learners with LDD post 16 – facts and figures • Learners accessing provision in general FE • Additional Learning Support (16-18 year olds): 2008/09 - 846,327 learners - total ALS spend = £222,317,736 • 128,474 learners in receipt of ALS (15%) • 6,593 in receipt of ALS over £5,500 (5% of ALS learners) • Average ALS for those in receipt of ALS over £5,500 = £9,327 2009/10 – 869,435 learners - total ALS spend = £228,517,920 • 135,245 learners in receipt of ALS (15%) • 6,975 in receipt of ALS over £5,500 (5% of ALS learners) • Average ALS for those in receipt of ALS over £5,500 = £9,339

3. Placements Provision for learners with LDD post 16 – facts and figures

4. Independent Specialist Providers - location Provision for learners with LDD post 16 – facts and figures

5. Placements at Independent Specialist Providers Provision for learners with LDD post 16 – facts and figures

6. Placements at Independent Specialist Providers Provision for learners with LDD post 16 – facts and figures Note: Total Placement is the full cost of the placement which is funded by YPLA (LSC for 2009/10) and other agencies eg Social Care, Primary Care Trusts.

7. SEN/Disabilities Green Paper • Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability • Consultation: 9 March to 30 June 2011 - 2,378 responses received • Vision: to put in place a radically different system to support better life outcomes for young people; give parents confidence by giving them more control; and transfer power to professionals on the front line and to local communities • 0-25 system including more aligned funding pre and post 16 • Education Health and Care Plan (EH&C Plan) • Greater control and choice for learners and their parents/carers • Green Paper Pathfinders: In September, the Government announced there would be 20 pathfinders, covering 31 local authorities and their Primary Care Trust (PCT) partners. They will test out the main proposals in the Green Paper.

8. SEN/Disabilities Green Paper • Chapter 4: Preparing for adulthood ‘Too often, professionals are not encouraged to focus on young people’s ambitions for adulthood and how best to help them prepare. Poor planning of support is exacerbated by a lack of choice and opportunities, for example, a limited choice of entry-level courses in FE that do not build on what has gone before, or prepare for life and work; poor quality work experience; and a lack of supported employment opportunities to help them prepare for, find and retain work.’

9. SEN/Disabilities Green Paper • Chapter 4: Preparing for adulthood • It is proposed to take forward a programme of action across government and with local partners, setting out more detail by the end of this year, so that by 2015 disabled young people and young people with SEN will have: • early and well-integrated support for, and advice on, their future as part of the proposed birth to 25 single assessment spanning education, health, social care, and support into employment; • access to better quality vocational and work-related learning options to enable young people to progress in their learning post-16; • good opportunities and support in order to get and keep a job; and a well-coordinated transition from children’s to adult health services.

10. Progression post-16 for learners with LDD – Ofsted, August 2011 • ‘Too few young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities progress from school to complete programmes of learning in post-16 settings which develop greater independence; lead to further study, supported or open employment; or provide skills for independent living’

11. Progression post-16 for learners with LDD – Ofsted, August 2011 • Key findings include: • Information provided by focus groups and local authorities, and evidence from visits to providers, demonstrated that the availability of provision at post-16 varied considerably. • Learners on mainstream provision, including apprenticeship programmes, who were receiving additional support, were well supported. • Foundation learning programmes were successful for learners whose main goal was to progress to level 2 provision or higher. But for those learners for whom this was not a main goal, they were too narrowly focused on accreditation. • Where learners had made the transition to the post-16 sector, the success rates for supported learners in the providers visited compared well with those of their peers. • Too little is known about the destinations of learners once they leave post-16 provision, particularly once they reach the age of 19 or 20.

12. Progression post-16 for learners with LDD – Ofsted, August 2011 • Recommendations include: • DfE together with BIS should: • ensure that learners can access equitable funding and quality of provision irrespective of the post-16 setting in which they study • ensure that outcomes from all types of provision are monitored locally and nationally, so that the effectiveness of the provision in different settings can be evaluated. • Local authorities should: • ensure, where applicable, that social services and health services are fully involved in the transition process at all stages • build on the expertise within the post-16 sector and the third sector, to improve local capacity, particularly for learners with the most profound and complex needs. • Providers should: • offer programmes which provide an appropriate level of challenge and prepare learners for progression to the destinations that match their long term goals • continue to work in partnership with other providers and third sector organisations to maximise the specialist resources in the locality, and increase the range of options for learners with the most complex needs

13. National Audit Office study on LLDD • The approved study concept focuses on whether government has sufficient assurance about the value for money achieved from funding special educational provision for young people aged 16-25. It will focus primarily on the Department for Education, but will also cover the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, since the latter provides some additional funding to this area. It will aim to assess: • whether, consistent with their roles, the Departments, the YPLA/SFA and Local Authorities have sufficient and appropriate information to support decision-making; 2) whether the available information indicates that, overall, value for money is being achieved; and • the indicative impact on life outcomes for students, and on the public purse, of any current limitations in achieving value for money. • Public accounts committee – 9 November 2011

14. Discussion/summary • Reduced bureaucracy/simplification including a joined up system pre and post 16 (YPLA/EFA are also to combine the three current LDD budgets) – greater clarity and control for young people and their parents/carers including personalised budgets • Education, health and care plan – joined up approach to meeting the needs of the young person and enabling better planning/development of the provision needed with a clear focus on the enabling the young person’s long term goals/outcomes and increased learner/parental choice • Greater focus on partnership working: providers with other providers; providers and agencies; interagency working to develop the provision needed and to make best use of the resources and expertise available and ensuring value for money • And more generally – the changing landscape - Government’s commitment to competition – Free Schools, Academies etc, funding simplification, local authority commissioning….

15. Natspec Principals’ EventLooking to the Future12 OctoberPeter LauenerChief Executive, Young People’s Learning AgencyChief Executive Designate, Education Funding Agency Championing Young People’s Learning