Special needs learners not reaching potential due to lacking support, Ofsted warns

Ofsted has published a report which found that a number of young people with learning difficulties are unable to reach their potential due to a lack of support and are often poorly prepared for adult life.

The report, entitled Moving Forward?, examines the implementation and impact of the Children and Families Act 2014 on the lives and prospects of learners with increased educational needs. The report was commissioned due to reported ineffective arrangements between education, health and social care agencies which affected the ability of special needs learners to successfully transition from school to post-16 provision and adult life.

The report involved surveying a collection of local authorities and further education providers and found that the implementation of the Act had not been fully effective. It highlighted: nearly half of the providers visited not having adequate strategies, experience or expertise to support their learners with learning difficulties or disabilities; specialist, impartial careers guidance found to be generally weak, with 16 of the 20 local authority websites reviewed failing to provide sufficiently detailed information; too many learners on programmes that do not lead to further learning, employment or independent/supported living; slow progress by special needs learners in English and mathematics; and poor recording of learners’ progress, meaning many are not achieving their full potential.

Paul Joyce, Ofsted’s deputy director for further education, explained: “Last year there were over 22,000 young people with high needs attending FE providers in England. It is disappointing that our report has found that provision for such learners varies so considerably between local authorities and providers, and that more progress has not been made since Ofsted flagged concerns about this back in 2012.

“Despite the concerns that our report has highlighted, inspectors did see some strong performance from councils. In the best examples, local authority staff use their long-standing experience to commission provision for learners which supports individual needs. However, too many staff in other authorities lack this expertise, resulting in poor quality of support for high needs learners.

“It is imperative that local authorities and providers work together to collect and analyse information on learners’ progress and achievements. Only then will they be able to implement necessary improvements and ensure learners get the additional support they need to achieve their potential and prepare them for adult life.”

The report concluded by making a number of recommendations to help improve the standard of support for learners with increased educational needs. It suggested: the government produce a national set of data on learners’ destinations to allow for the impact of provision and the Children and Families Act to be measured; local authorities put in place arrangements to enable education, health and care providers to work effectively together to provide support for learners; and providers ensure staff have the relevant expertise and specialisms to support learners with high needs.