Information

Scotland: Opportunities at 16

  • You may photocopy this information booklet
  • You may quote from this information booklet if you acknowledge the source
  • Skill information booklets are available in standard print, large print, Braille, tape and disk formats
  • Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy. However, Skill cannot guarantee factual content

Skill Scotland

Norton Park, 57 Albion Road

Edinburgh EH7 5QY

Tel: 0131 475 2348

Email:

Web:

Information Service:

Monday to Thursday 1.30pm – 4.30pm

Tel/Text: 0800 328 5050

Email:

Skill is a company limited by guarantee (2397897) and a registered charity (801971) /
Scotland: Opportunities at 16
ContentsPage

1. Opportunities at 162

2. Planning your future2

3. Choices in education 5

  1. Additional support in education12
5. Choices in employment17
  1. Additional support in employment 19
  2. Volunteering21
  3. Useful publications22

9.Useful contacts26

1.Opportunities at 16

Deciding what to do when you no longer have to stay at school can be an exciting but daunting experience. This booklet aims to give you information about the main opportunities that are available and explains how to get support for any additional needs you may have.

2.Planning your future

Getting advice

It is important to get plenty of advice when you are thinking about what to do after you leave school. First of all, you could speak with people who know you well, such as your parents, carers, friends, teachers etc.

You could arrange to meet with the school careers adviser or make an appointment with your local Careers Scotland office – see Page 26 for contact details. They can advise you about the different types of opportunities available to you in education, training or employment. If you would like a certain type of job, they can advise you about the qualifications or experience that you will need.

Planning to meet your needs

If you have a disability or additional educational needs, you are likely to have a ‘future needs assessment’ when you become 14 years old. If you have a Record of Needs, this assessment is usually at the same time as the annual review of your Record of Needs.

A future needs assessment aims to help you plan for the rest of your time at school and to make sure that you have the support you need to make the most of opportunities after you leave school.

Usually the future needs assessment is a meeting or several meetings between you, your parents or carer, someone from your school and some other people who have a responsibility to support you. These other people could include:

  • your social worker
  • a careers adviser
  • a doctor
  • college staff
  • an educational psychologist.

It is helpful to prepare for the meeting by thinking about what you would like to do after school and the kinds of help you think you might need to do this. You can get more information to help you prepare in ‘Your Future Needs Assessment’ published by children in Scotland and ‘Post-16 Transition in Scotland’ from Contact A Family Scotland – see Page 25 onwards to find out how to get a copy.

Some of the things that you might like to discuss in your future needs assessment, amongst others, are:

  • at what stage you would like to leave school, and if your Record of Needs should stay open until you leave
  • whether you want to apply to college, university, training, take a gap year, do some volunteering, or go into employment
  • if the equipment that you used at school would be of use at college/university and arrangements to make this possible
  • the education authority must ask social work to formally decide if you are a ‘disabled person’, and then note the decision on your future needs report. This is a legal definition of a ‘disabled person’ and is the first step towards getting any support from the social work department. If social work decide that you are a ‘disabled person’, they must assess your social care needs unless you (if you are over 16) or your parents (if you are under 16) ask them not to.
  • whether you need accessible transport and who will pay for this
  • whether you want to stay at home or live elsewhere, any support you need to do this and who will provide this support.

The outcomes of the future needs assessment are not legally binding on you or any of the individuals or agencies involved. However, it does provide a useful way to get support coordinated in advance of leaving school. It can also help you to get the additional support you need to help you prepare for leaving school.

NB. The future needs assessment process is due to change from August 2005 onwards. Contact the Skill Information Service for details.

3.Choices in education

You may choose to stay in education after you reach 16 years old, either staying at school or moving to a new institution such as your local college or university. The following questions may help you choose an education course that is right for you:

What would I like to learn?

Think of what you like studying or new subjects you are interested in finding out more about. Ask other people who have studied different subjects after school about their experiences. Speak to people who know you well to sound out their ideas. But, in the end, what would you like to learn more about?

Sometimes people think that they cannot study certain subjects because of their disability. This is most often not the case. Concentrate first on what you want to do. When you have narrowed your choices to 2 or 3 courses, you might find it helpful to arrange a meeting with your teacher, the course tutor and/or the disability adviser. You can then talk with them about the impact of your disability upon your learning, the different kinds of support you can access and the adjustments that can be made to any course. This way, you will have all the information you need to make the best choices and there will be fewer surprises.

Do I need to do a certain course to get the job that I want?

It may be helpful to speak to your school careers adviser about the type of job that you want to aim for, and what course of studying will help you to get that job.

What qualifications do I need to do a certain course?

You may need certain qualifications to be able to study some courses. For courses at college, you can find what qualifications you need from the college admissions department. For university courses, you can find this out from the university admissions department or from UCAS – see Page 29 for contact details.

If your disability has prevented you from getting the exam marks that you need to get onto the course, do not panic. Speak to the college or university admissions department because the conditions for getting on the course may be flexible. Explain what aspects of your disability have affected your performance in assessments in the past and what support you need to overcome any difficulties which may arise.

What teaching methods do they use?

The nature of your disability may mean that you want to choose a course that is taught using certain teaching methods. However, it is important to remember that in many cases, adjustments can be made to ensure that teaching methods are right for you. For example, this could be through providing large print handouts, British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation or note-taker support. Remember too, that as a disabled student, the college or university have a responsibility to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that you are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled students in regard to the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) – see Page 13 for more details.

See Page 12 on for further information about getting the support you need in education.

What methods of course assessment do they use?

You can find out from the course tutor about the type of exams or assessments that the course includes. Some kinds of assessment may not be right for you because of your disability, but remember that the college or university must make alternative arrangements where that is reasonable. It is important that you speak to the disability adviser about your support needs in exams and assessment before the course begins. You could also look at the Skill information booklet Examination Arrangements for Students with Disabilities.

See Page 12 on for further information about getting the support you need in education.

What qualifications will the course give me?

There are many different types of qualifications available. If you are not sure which level you want to study at, find out more details about the course from your school, the college or university admissions department before you apply. The main qualifications available in Scotland are:

  • Independent Living Skills

These courses help you to learn the skills needed to live on your own or independently, such as dealing with money and cooking skills. These are available at colleges or specialist colleges.

  • Access qualifications

Access courses are run at colleges of further education and enable those who do not hold formal qualifications to go on to higher education. For entry to an Access course, apply direct to the college(s) you would like to attend.

  • Scottish Units/ Group Awards

National Units cover a wide range of subjects and can be studied at school and college. Units are available at five levels which are:

1. Access

2. Intermediate 1

3. Intermediate 2

4. Higher

5. Advanced Higher

A number of units can be fitted together to gain a Scottish Group Award such as a Standard Grade or Higher qualification.

  • SVQs

Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs) are aimed at giving you the skills and knowledge that you will need in employment. There are SVQs which apply to most types of jobs, and they are available at school and college.

  • HNCs or HNDs

Higher National Certificates (HNCs) and Higher National Diplomas (HNDs) are mainly taken in colleges or through open learning. These courses include all sorts of subjects and holding an HND can often allow you to go straight into the second year of a degree course.

 Undergraduate Degree

Degree courses in Scotland usually last for 4 years and usually focus upon two or three main subjects. Degree courses aim towards skills and knowledge that can be applied across a whole range of jobs. Degree courses are studied at university or through open learning.

Where should I study?

  • School

You have the right to be in full-time education provided by your Local Authority up until the age of 16 years. Local Authorities also provide education for those who wish to stay at school between 16-18 years of age.

Your future needs assessment (see Page 3) should consider whether you will benefit from school education after you reach 16 years old. The school must continue to ensure that you are not discriminated against because of your disability, no matter what age you are – see Page 12 for details.

  • College

Colleges tend to be classroom or practical based, and often have flexible methods of learning. In a college, you will be expected to take more responsibility for your own learning than you perhaps did at school.

  • Specialist college

There are certain government-funded colleges in England and Wales that specialise in providing further education for people with specific disability-related needs. You can find out more about these from The Association of National Specialist Colleges – see Page 29 for contact details.

  • Community/Adult education

Local Authorities all provide community/adult education classes, often based in schools or community centres. These courses are usually short-term, part-time courses.

  • Open learning

Open learning is learning in a flexible way that suits your needs. Often it means you study at home or at work instead of going to a course at a set place and time. Open learning can involve using other study methods like videos, audio-cassettes, computer software or watching TV programmes. Some courses involve a mixture of home study and attending an open learning centre or college, sometimes for tutorials or seminars.

  • University

Universities teach ordinary, honours or postgraduate degrees, and some run access courses to help you to get on to the university degree courses. In a university, you will be expected to largely take responsibility for your own learning.

How do I find out about courses?

The best place to find out about college courses, and the support/facilities on offer in colleges or university is to ask them for a copy of their prospectus. Prospectuses are available free by phoning the institution, and are sometimes also available on their website.

You can also get listings of courses and information about opportunities and support at the following:

 PlanIT Plus

  • Learndirect Scotland
  • UK Course Provider
  • Careers Scotland
  • UCAS

See Page 26 onwards for contact details and more information about each of the above.

Applying to courses

To apply to most courses in higher education (HNC upwards), you apply through UCAS. For more details see Skill’s information booklet Applying to Higher Education: guidance for disabled people.

To apply for courses in further education, you should apply direct to your college. For more information, see Skill’s information booklet Applying to Further Education: guidance for disabled people.

To apply for community/adult education courses, you should contact your local authority – see their contact details in your local phone book.

How will I pay my course fees and living costs?

Funding in post-school education can be a bit complicated so it is important that you get all the information and advice you need early on. You can get information about all the different kinds of available funding in Skill’s information booklet Funding for Disabled Learners from Scotland.

4.Additional support in education

What right do I have to support in school?

As a disabled person at school, you have rights to different kinds of support. For more information about these rights, contact Enquire – see Page 27.

What right do I have to support in post-school education?

Your Record of Needs stops when you leave school (or earlier if agreed). Your future needs assessment report should be passed on, with your permission, to the college or university. However, it does not place legal responsibilities on post-school agencies or institutions.

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) places responsibilities on providers of post-school education not to discriminate against disabled people. This means that providers should not treat a disabled student less favourably or fail to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that a disabled student is not placed at a substantial disadvantage. Reasonable adjustments can include things like extended essay deadlines, extended library loans, note-taker support, communication support, provision of accessible IT equipment, amongst others. The DDA covers the whole range of opportunities and facilities in education institutions such as student outings, leisure facilities, libraries, accommodation, and work experience.

The DDA was first introduced to post-school education in September 2002, and will include adjustments to the physical environment from 1 September 2005. More information about the DDA legislation can be found in the Skill information booklet The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (including Part 4 Education) or in the Code of Practice that accompanies the DDA – see Page 24 for details of how to get a copy.

How do I arrange for educational support at college or university?

It is often helpful to discuss your support needs with the disability adviser at your college or university before you apply for a course. The disability adviser, or sometimes called other titles such as learning support coordinator, is the person or department at a college or university who arranges support and adjustments for people with disabilities. They will usually speak to course tutors about any adjustments that are needed for each disabled student. You can get disability adviser contact details from the Skill website at Into FE and Into HE.

You can discuss with the disability adviser about the support you needed whilst at school and how this might change at college or university. The disability adviser may want to assess your educational needs to make sure you have the support that you need. If you do not know what support or adjustments you need, it may be a reasonable adjustment for the college or university to assess your needs.

In colleges, the disability adviser should open a Personal Learning and Support Plan for you to record the support arrangements that need to be put in place. At university, it is also likely that a report will be drawn up of the support that will be provided. It may be useful for you to have a copy of this report to ensure that you are clear about the support that will be provided – you can ask the disability adviser for a copy of this report.

How do I arrange for educational support in community education?

To arrange additional support in community/adult education courses, you should speak with the course organiser about what you need. As required by the DDA, providers must make reasonable adjustments to ensure you are not paced at a substantial disadvantage. If the providers cannot reasonably fund the cost of adjustments, you may be able to apply to charitable trusts for funding – see Skill’s information booklet Funding from Charitable Trusts.

How do I fund the extra educational costs related to my disability?

On further education courses (below HNC level), the college directly provides the additional educational support that you need. By recording the support you need in your Personal Learning and Support Plan, the college can get extra funding from the government to provide for your additional educational needs. They may also advise you to apply to the college for the Special Educational Needs bursary allowance to pay for some of your additional disability-related costs.