Further education: what are the options for disabled students?

There is a range of options for disabled young people who are looking to access further education, but it can be difficult for families to decipher the best route and how to access support. Here, Tania Tirraoro, Co-Director at Special Needs Jungle, outlines several educational opportunities for disabled young people and offers some top tips for families navigating this transitional period.

When a young person has a disability, they don’t just ‘grow up’. In local authority speak, they ‘prepare for adulthood’, ‘transition to adult services’ or ‘train for independence to access the community’. It’s all very clinical and can feel like a different world for families and young people with disabilities.

Many families describe a ‘cliff edge’, where they suddenly find themselves without the care and support they need. This can be particularly nerve-racking when school education comes to an end and families must make decisions about the next steps for their child.

However, parents and carers can take comfort in the fact that educational support for people with a learning disability doesn’t stop when they leave secondary school. In England, every young person must remain in education or training until the age of 18, and young people with a learning disability can continue to receive support with education and training until the age of 25.

There are many further education options for young people with additional needs after the age
of 16. This includes further education colleges, sixth form colleges and universities, as well as study
programmes and tailored packages of support.

For those who do not wish to pursue mainstream education, various training opportunities are available to help prepare young people for the world of work, including traineeships, apprenticeships, and supported internships.

Every council must publish a ‘Local Offer’, which details what support is available in the local area for children and young people with SEND. In addition to researching educational and employment opportunities after the age of 16, there are also various extra steps families can take to ensure they are well-prepared for the transition process.

Preparation is key for disabled students

When it comes to the move, preparation is everything. Most further education placements will offer transition days or weeks, allowing the young person to visit the college, familiarise themselves with the surroundings, and locate their locker and what is expected of them.

If they have a physical disability, you can request a locker to be located near where they are most likely to be, or even two lockers if it’s a large campus. You can meet the SENCO, discuss the young person’s needs, and determine the best way to support them. They may even be prepared to come to school to meet them beforehand.

If these things are not readily available, please get in touch well before the end of the summer term to request any necessary adjustments. Do not rely on the local authority to do this — it’s unlikely to happen. Ensure that all their updated needs and provisions are included in the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and that it’s quantified (including the amount of support and when it will be provided) and specified (including exactly what will happen and who will provide it).

Families and young people should feel empowered to ask any questions they may have. If you get the impression the provider thinks you’re being a nuisance at this stage, it may be a good indication that the support will not be there once they start.

Often, the child has had excellent support in their school, only for it to fall away in the larger environment of a further education college or apprenticeship. In mainstream further education, unless the young person is on a skills-based course with the same people all day, they may be moving around with different tutors for different subjects.

Many of these tutors will have no training in supporting young people with SEND, which can have disastrous consequences for learning.

Ask about quiet areas where your young person can go if they’re feeling overwhelmed, as well as any suitable clubs and activities. If they have physical needs, you will also need to ensure that the college is fully accessible and that they can accommodate a personal assistant if your child has one. In a specialist setting, these challenges shouldn’t occur, but careful planning is still necessary.

Top tips for transition planning

Start transition planning early: Don’t leave it to the professionals, whether at the local authority, the school or the college. Communicate regularly with them to ensure everything is progressing on schedule and ensure you have all the necessary documentation, such as updated education and medical reports, to support their needs.
Decipher what your child wants to achieve: Help your child identify their goals, preferences, and worries, so you can ensure these are included in their Year 11 annual review, along with the support that will be needed.
Make sure everyone is on the same page: If they want to try an apprenticeship or supported internship, ensure the Post-16 SEND team at the local authority is aware of this as early as possible, and conduct some research to explore support options. Some charities also offer training opportunities. Everyone involved should share the highest ambition possible for your young person. They are the ones who should decide their limits, not the system.
In-work support: If the young person no longer has an EHCP and wants to gain employment, they should contact the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about Access to Work, which can provide funding for specialist equipment, travel support, and personal assistants. There is, however, a lower earnings limit for this.
Independence training: If the young person is able, the local authority may provide independence training, including self-care, household management, budgeting, and transportation. Of course, this is something you have likely been working on at home, but if the local authority or a local charity offers it, even better.
Health records: You will also likely need to update your health information for the transition to Personal Independence Payment. Make sure the DWP lists you as your young person’s appointee so you can speak on their behalf. You will also need to ensure that your GP is aware that you will still require their advocacy after turning 16, so it’s listed in their medical records. The NHS offers an annual health check for people with learning disabilities, so check they are on the GP’s learning disability register.
Look into social opportunities: There may be online get-togethers as well as in-person options and activities if your teen doesn’t already have a circle of friends.
Supported living: While this may not be immediately necessary, contact support agencies and the council to obtain details of supported living facilities and schemes, where possible, to live semi-independently. You may find shared homes for a small number of young people, along with live-in carers or supported living communities, where they can thrive long into adulthood.
Transitioning to adult social care: If they don’t already have a social worker, contact the local council for an adult social care assessment. These are usually divided into teams for physical, mental health, and learning disabilities. This can present problems with being passed around teams if your teenager is a mix of all three before one team is prepared to take ownership. It can also take a very long time, so be prepared to gently prompt if you haven’t heard anything for a month or more. They will usually have a lot of useful resources, but deciding on the kind of support needed, and then actually finding something — and someone — suitable can be a real struggle. You may need to seek legal support.

Education, Health and Care Plans

An EHCP typically spans from birth to 25, when needed. Your council may seek to discontinue the EHCP at age 16, so you must insist that a transition to further education is included from their year nine annual review onwards, and it is updated every year to ensure it still reflects their needs and ambitions.

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When families begin to consider the move to further education, the annual review must take place in the autumn term after the young person starts Year 11. They will need to start thinking about where the young person is likely to be, whether it’s sixth form, a further education college, a specialist day or residential setting, or a training placement such as a Supported Internship or apprenticeship. If the young person has a SEND caseworker, they can help you consider which route might be most suitable.

In each of these circumstances, the EHCP can be retained to provide statutory support funded by
the local authority. The annual review needs to go through what the child’s likely destination will be and the support they will need once there.

The local authority should have a post-16 team with knowledge of local opportunities and open days. However, if families are looking for a specialist residential college, they may need to look further afield. It can be challenging to secure funding from your local authority for such placements, but many families believe it is a battle worth fighting.

Supported internships for disabled students

A supported internship is a placement that may or may not be paid, but usually lasts around 12 months. It can help the young person learn skills in the workplace, build their confidence and independence, and provide them with valuable experience and contacts for a permanent role.

Unfortunately, many councils do not list all the supported internship options within their Local Offer; therefore, families should be prepared to conduct their own research into what is available.

However, supported internships are a focus of the Government’s SEND Improvement Plan, and they intend to expand eligibility to young disabled people who don’t have, or no longer have, an EHCP.

Mental capacity

When a disabled young person reaches the age of 16, there is a presumption that they have the capacity to make their own decisions about their next steps in life. Typically, non-disabled teenagers do not need to do this until they reach the age of 18.

This can create many problems for parents, as it is less likely that their disabled child can advocate for themselves compared to a ‘typical’ 16-year-old. Families and carers should therefore arm themselves with the right tools to ensure their legal rights remain defended.

If your young person has mental capacity, you can apply for a Legal Power of Attorney (LPA) online. There is a fee remission if the cost is an issue. It’s not too difficult to do, but it can take some time to be processed, so please don’t delay. Mental capacity to make decisions is decided on a decision-by-decision basis, so it may be that your young person can make some decisions, supported by you, and an LPA can enable you to step in when needed.

However, if your young person does not have mental capacity to make any decisions, the situation is different. In this case, you will need to apply to the Court of Protection, and you are likely to need a solicitor to do this on your behalf. This is also important if you are going to be supporting them at the SEND Tribunal, so it is important to get to grips with this sooner rather than later.

Conclusion

Everyone wants to achieve their full potential, whatever that may be. Involving the disabled young person in decision-making processes about their future will ensure their preferences and aspirations are central to the planning process. By being proactive and using a holistic approach to transition planning and setting up support services, you can help ensure the young person has the best chance of thriving and being included in society as an adult.

Helpful resources and websites

Tania Tirraoro

Tania Tirraoro, Co-Director, Special Needs Jungle

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Learning Disability Today