In this series of articles, I will investigate how accessible Greater Manchester is for disabled people. This article will dive into the effectiveness of SEND practices in colleges.
College is an essential progression in education as it’s the first time young people are allowed to be almost completely independent in the choices they make in and outside of class. However, it can be hard for young disabled people to experience the same level of freedom due to their disability and the support they receive.
Between July 2020 and June 2021, the percentage of disabled people in the northwest with a GCSE level education was higher than non-disabled people – disabled people with 26.1% while non-disabled people with 20.3% – according to the Office for National Statistics. But, the percentage of disabled people with a GCE A level qualification was only slightly higher than non-disabled people – disabled people with 21.3% and non-disabled people with 21.2%.
So what is Greater Manchester doing to help young disabled adults to feel supported and prepared for the next steps outside of education?
Zara Beth, who is an ambulatory wheelchair user and content creator in Manchester, felt pressure to fit in with the normal stereotypes when going through school. She said: “There was definitely a lot of pressure to fit in. I’ve always felt like I’m the odd one out, which is hard growing up when everybody else can kind of choose to blend in, whereas you’re forced to always be the one sticking out. That was really hard in school.
“Also the pressure to grow up, have a job, get good grades, go through that normal expectation that people put on us. I think, especially with a disability, life doesn’t look like that. Life isn’t that linear progress that people normally make.
“I think it’s been difficult but very worth it to figure out alternative ways that you can succeed. There’s different ways that succeeding can look like.”
In 2014, a SEN code of practice based on the Children and Families Act 2014 was implemented in England. Since then, every school in England must provide provisions for SEN children in their care.
Having a look at SEND courses in Greater Manchester in action, Aquinas College in Stockport offers Pathways which takes on a range of students from severe disabilities to students who have not been in education, employment, or training (NEET) in a long time.
The course focuses on developing independence skills to prepare students for life after college, including money management, getting public transport independently, cooking, communication skills, and more. I went down to see a glimpse of what daily life was like for students and how staff prepare their students for work outside of college.
Susan Marks, who is head of the Pathways course and has been at the college for 17 years, said: “When I started we only had two small groups, about 12 to 14 students, and now we have 34 students and four groups so it has literally doubled in the time I’ve been here.
“We take students aged 16 to 19, if they’ve come from specialist schools that have an integrated college. Often they’re not ready to go to a further education college, into work, or into adult social care provision, so we aim to provide our students with preparation for adulthood.
“When a parent comes back to us and says they cooked their own lunch, or they made us all a cup of tea, or we have one student who hasn’t been to school since year eight and he’s got 100% attendance from September – that’s one of your favourite memories because you’ve changed that person’s life.”
In one class, students were baking lemon cupcakes to sell to other students during college in the hallway.
Melana was helping wash the equipment and keeping the workspace tidy. Her favourite thing about college was their Chapel. She said: “I enjoy hanging out with my friends and going to the Chapel. I love Chapel, it’s nice for peace and quiet.”
Every Friday, the students organise a day trip as a group in which they are free to plan their route, their destination and where they will go and eat.
Elise said: “I like to take the bus and go out together [in their class groups] going shopping in Manchester.” Like Elise, Katie enjoys going shopping in Manchester, particularly the Arndale as she only gets to go with college.
Tilly enjoys going to Woodbank Park on Fridays to participate in Supportability Wheelers sessions.
However, sometimes some of the groups have experienced some bumps in the road on their day trips out. One group had to write a letter to their local authority about the lack of accessible entries to cafés and shops for students with motorised wheelchairs.
Susan said: “We had a student at that time in a motorised wheelchair. With a manual wheelchair sometimes you can lift them up, but with his it was so heavy, you couldn’t.
“It is very hit and miss because these bigger wheelchairs are heavy so they can’t go up small bumps or curbs easily – they really struggled that year.”
As part of the course, Pathways ensures students are encouraged to do voluntary work experience. Joe has done his work experience at the Royal Exchange Theatre and HOME in Manchester.
Joe said: “I love college because it teaches me the skills to be an independent young man. I was a bit independent before but now I’m a lot more independent.”
Aquinas Pathways works closely with Plastic Shed, a Community Benefit Society located in Stockport, to offer voluntary work experience for the students. Every Thursday a group of Pathways students go down to the Plastic Shed to help sort the stock of plastic bottle caps into coloured groups so they can be used in creative projects – like the award winning wall mural made by Plastic Shed outside of Stockport Merseyway.
The students also get involved by collecting plastic bottle caps around their college and sorting them.
The owner and CEO of Plastic Shed, Caitlin Marie Atherton, said: “They become used to their local area which is hugely important. It makes them feel safer and more comfortable and they also get to know people and the people get to know them equally.
“We have other people come in for workshops or just to talk about plastic sheds and they meet them as well and I think that inclusion and part of the community makes everyone feel safer knowing more people and makes them more comfortable.
“What I’ve understood is that it’s increasingly difficult to find placements for all college students, but especially those in the SEND programme.
“I think it teaches them a lot of skills as well that they can take after college and just sets them up better for life. They put all that work into getting all these placements and I think they do fantastically.
“I think what the college is doing is fantastic and really important.”
To say thank you to Caitlin, the students made her a picture using their collected bottle caps from the college.
“They really graft and they get to work and they’re enthusiastic about what they do,” Caitlin added.
“They’re nothing but a positive addition to your company. I would encourage other employers to really consider it and take a chance. They’re brilliant.”
Feature image credit: Poppy Dippnall
Join the discussion