Written response to the recommendations from Glasgow College of Nautical Studies

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1 Written response to the recommendations from Glasgow College of Nautical Studies The recommendations of the report have been progressed By Glasgow College of Nautical Studies in the ways described below. Recommendation no 39 The Committee recommends that all further and higher education providers seek stakeholder feedback in relation to the services that they provide and respond where appropriate It was considered that the college had a range of feedback methods for stakeholders to use including Extended Learning Support (ELS) questionnaire, Disabled learners focus group, class reps meetings, the planned Disability and Age Working Group, the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee has a learner representative. The college has set up a Partnership Advisory Group of disability community organisation representatives to provide it with advice on issues relating to disabled learners. In addition feedback from the disabled community is accessed through the Glasgow Disability Learning Providers Reference Group. Recommendation no 40 The Committee recommends that further and higher education providers should develop mechanisms which allow them to go beyond the minimum specifications in the Disability Discrimination Act with regard to informing disabled students about their legal rights Learners are already made aware of their disability rights through learner induction and the Extended Learning Support (ELS) procedures. In addition the college publicises a summary of its Disability Equality Policy for learners in the Student Planner (college diary) and a leaflet (Disabled Learners at GCNS) has been prepared to raise awareness. The college website and the learner portal provide information on disclosing a disability and possible support. Recommendation no 41 The Committee welcomes the toolkit developed by the funding council to ensure that further and higher education providers comply with their duties under the Disability Discrimination Act and recommends that further and higher education providers make full use of it and other resources available to them The college has made effective use of the Scottish Funding Council s (SFC) toolkit in its drafting of the Disability Equality Scheme. Recommendation no 44 The Committee recommends that all providers, in conjunction with their disabled students, carry out a taking stock exercise of the information they provide to ensure it is appropriate and meets the needs of disabled students. Information re ELS and equality issues forms part of the learner induction provided by Learner Services. The college s Strategic Partnership Agreement with Careers Scotland provides for specialist advice for disabled learners.

2 Disabled learners are involved through the Extended Learning Support (ELS) questionnaire, Disabled learners focus group, class reps meetings, the planned Disability and Age Working Group, the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee has a learner representative. Recommendation no 46 The Committee recommends that the Scottish Executive should work with, for example, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the funding council, to consider how best to promote close working relationships between schools and further and higher education providers in a co ordinated fashion across Scotland The college continues to develop school college partnerships with a range of schools (including special schools). Recommendation no 52 In order to encourage more disabled learners to take advantage of early starts and familiarisation visits to acclimatise and to access and identify any additional requirements for support, the Committee recommends that further and higher education providers should consider how best to provide early starts and familiarisation visits to disabled people as a matter of course, before students commence the academic year; the Student Awards Agency for Scotland works with further and higher education providers to publicise that early start support and funding is available to potential students; and Scottish Ministers explore how familiarisation visits could be funded to allow disabled students the opportunity to fully investigate their choice of further or higher education provider. Learner Services encourages learners with disabilities to make early visits and offers Pre Access provision to help them familiarise themselves with the college and develop their core skills prior to enrolling on longer courses. Recommendation no 54 In order to remove the potential barriers caused by professional occupational standards, the Committee recommends that the careers service, colleges, universities and the Scottish Qualifications Authority should develop clear and appropriate guidance to ensure that students in every situation are in a position to make informed and considered career choices; professional bodies and government agencies work in partnership with the careers service and further and higher education providers to provide regular up to date information on how specific impairments might affect a person s ability to be considered for a particular career; and

3 Scottish Ministers should work with professional bodies and government agencies to review occupational standards set by professional organisations to ensure that artificial barriers do not exist to disabled people choosing careers in professions which they represent The college works closely with Careers Scotland on the basis of its Strategic Partnership Agreement. It also ensures that learners are supported in the most appropriate way with the help of its Partnership Advisory Group. Recommendation no 55 In order to remove the barriers to disclosure and to ensure disabled learners receive appropriate services, the Committee recommends that all further and higher education providers should develop and foster suitable procedures and environments to encourage students to disclose a disability; and further and higher education providers share techniques which will support a disabled person s choice to disclose. The college s current procedures encourage learners to disclose any disabilities. Staff attend cross sector groups such as the SFEU Guidance and Support Services (GASS) group, the SFEU Access and Inclusion group, the Glasgow Disability Learning Providers Reference Group and the Equality Forward Forum to share good practice. Recommendation no 56 The Committee considers the issue of communication support to students to go much wider than British Sign Language interpretation and recommends that the Scottish Executive, the funding council and further and higher education providers should work together to investigate ways of increasing the availability of a comprehensive range of communication support to disabled students, such as Deafblind communicators, Palantypists, Makaton, graphic symbol charts, speech to text reporters and British Sign Language interpreters The college can provide the services of signers for hearing impaired learners where necessary. Recommendation no 61 The Committee agrees that the timing of applications to the Student Awards Agency for Scotland can present a barrier and result in a backlog of applications. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Student Awards Agency for Scotland and the funding council work with further and higher education providers to identify disabled students earlier and signpost the Student Awards Agency for Scotland services to them The college is part of the SAAS Toolkit of Quality Indicators for Needs Assessment pilot and as such provides assessment in house, this speeds up the provision of support for learners in receipt of DSA.

4 Recommendation no 64. In order to ensure that the barriers, such as those presented by pretendy courses, are removed, the Committee recommends that the Scottish Executive should consider and address the perception that colleges are becoming day centres. The Committee notes that this situation may conflict with the social inclusion agenda, but considers that it must be dealt with more effectively to ensure appropriate choice and service provision to disabled people; the Scottish Executive, the funding council and further and higher education providers develop solutions to ensure that students are not forced to study life courses as a means of keeping occupied, as an easy option for social services, or to get colleges extra funding; and if a disabled person is placed on such a course, then it must be as a result of personal choice and as part of a structured programme of evaluation and development Staff in the Supported Learning section ensure that learners selected for their courses are able to benefit from them. They do this by liaising closely with parents, carers, special schools staff and social workers as appropriate. Recommendation no 66 The Committee recommends that the Scottish Qualifications Authority work with further and higher education providers to provide accessibility and access modules as integral parts of courses with a clear requirement for inclusion, for example, courses on architecture, website design and teaching. The Committee does not wish to be prescriptive in detailing which courses should have accessibility included and considers this to be a matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority to determine The college would be very willing to engage with SQA on these issues. Recommendation no 67 The Committee, therefore, recommends that colleges should review existing provision with a view to developing courses and facilities appropriate for students with complex needs The Supported Learning section and Learner Services already support learners with complex needs so the college has a range of experience to draw on along with that of its external partners. Recommendation no 68 Therefore, the Committee recommends that consideration should be given to funding provision for students with complex needs from the funding council, along with other further and higher education provision This is a matter for the Scottish Funding Council, however the college would welcome this.

5 In general we found the Report supportive of the initiatives that we have been working on in the College. I hope that the information above is helpful in your review of progress with the recommendations of the report. Heather Hughes Head of Equality, Inclusion and Learner Services Glasgow College of Nautical Studies 7 December 2007