Succeeding at College

Supporting young people with autism to go to college and achieve

Introduction

This event will provide an opportunity to reflect on and ‘take stock’ of the progress of the implementation of the SEND reforms and the impact of the learning from the Finished at School Programme. It will also consider how the new Ofsted and CQC local area inspections will support further embedding of the reforms.

The event is taking place in the second year of the implementation of the Children and Families Act reforms and in the lead up to the start of the new Ofsted and Care Quality Commission’s Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) inspections of local areas. March 2016 also marks one year on from the end of the Department for Education sponsored Finished at School Programme, which worked to improve school to college transition pathways for young people with autism.

Programme

A provisional programme for the event is available to view here.

Background

Fewer than one in four young people with autism access any form of education once they have left school. The aim of the Finished at School Programme was to develop and deliver an integrated model of transition support to enable more young people with autism, including those with complex needs, to access further education and training beyond school.

Four college–led partnerships (hubs), including local mainstream and special secondary schools and a local authority transition lead, focussed on:

• Building successful partnerships with learners, parents and other providers.

• Developing staff awareness, knowledge, skills, confidence and roles.

• Using person–centred ways of working.

• Developing curriculum pathways and services to support progression and transition.

This year Ambitious about Autism, in partnership with the Association of Colleges and nasen, has worked with a network of further education colleges across England to deliver a staff training programme based on the learning from the Finished at School Programme.

College, school, health and local authority staff attending the training have had the opportunity to work together in local cross-agency transition partnerships. Each person attending the training has also had access to an e-learning module on person-centred thinking tools to support this work. The training programme has a specific focus on young people with autism and also has great relevance to other young people special educational needs and/or disability.

The longer term impact of the Finished at School Programme, including the progress of the learners who were part of the project, has been evaluated over the year since the end of the project in March 2015.

Aim

This event will share information, resources and learning from the Succeeding at College project and consider the work of project in the context of the ongoing implementation of the new duties under the Children and Families Act and the forthcoming Ofsted/CQC area partnership inspections.

It will:

• Present an overview and taster of the Finished at School staff training programme and launch the training resources.

• Report on the evaluation of the project.

• Provide an overview of a new e–learning module on person–centred thinking tools.

• Discuss how effective school to college transition for young people with autism can be supported by the implementation of the SEND reforms and the new duties under the Children and Families Act.

• Provide an update of the plans for the Ofsted and Care Quality Commission’s SEND area inspections due to start in May 2016.

• Report on the longer–term impact of the Finished at School Programme.

Audience

Further education college managers of provision for learners with autism and learners with other special educational needs and disabilities; SENCOs; mainstream and special school transition staff; sixth form college supported learning managers; local authority officers who have a lead transition role; service commissioners; work based learning providers; independent specialist colleges; adult and community education services; Connexions and IAG professionals; and voluntary sector organisations.