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Memorandum submitted by
iansyst Ltd
1 Executive summary
1.1.1.1 The fact that local
authorities are responsible for both assessment and provision clearly acts as a
brake against adequately providing for the needs of children with special
needs.
1.1.1.2 The DfES meets the needs
of students with special needs in higher education using a different model, the
DSA, the Disabled Students Allowance where assessment and provision
are indeed separated. We believe
that this leads to significantly more comprehensive and effective provision
in HE. We also believe that if dyslexic
students, in particular, were better supported in early education, more of them
would reach HE and their support needs in HE would often be less.
1.1.1.3 We also examine to what
extent some of the stakeholders involved in the DSA process would also be able
to contribute to disability support in earlier education.
1.1.1.4 iansyst has a special
interest and expertise in dyslexia and other Specific Learning Difficulties as
well as a general interest in other disabilities. SpLD is a special case in higher education as it accounts for
about 50% of those receiving support.
This proportion is probably similar or higher in other stages of
education.
Who we are
1.2.1.1 iansyst has been
specialising in technology tools to help dyslexic people make the most of their
abilities since 1994. It runs the information and commercial web site
dyslexic.com. Its solutions department, ITS (iansyst technology services), supplies
computers and technology to people with all disabilities, including dyslexia,
RSI and visual impairments, mainly under the Disabled Students Allowances
scheme which provides for disabled students in Higher Education.
1.2.1.2 Iansyst is unusual in
supplying software and equipment to disabled students throughout education,
which gives us a unique perspective. Other disability specialists tend to
specialise in one sector.
1.2.1.3 iansyst is a member of
BESA the British Educational Suppliers Association, an Organisational Member of
the British Dyslexia Association and staff are affiliated with various
organisations including NASEN.
1.2.1.4 It is a registered
supplier with the DSA Quality Assurance Group - www.dsa-qag.org.uk
and subscribes to the DSA Suppliers' Service Level Agreement of QAG and which
it helped to draw up.
2
Discussion
2.1 Is the DSA (Disabled Students
Allowance) relevant to schools?
2.1.1.1 SEN support in schools
compares badly with that in HE. EA Draffan et al have shown* that only 11.2% of
dyslexic students in her sample who received equipment under the Disabled
Students Allowances scheme had used any specialised assistive technology before
their DSA assessment. Personally I regard this as an F for Fail grade for those
of us who have been proselytising the value of technology in compensating for
difficulties in learning.
2.1.1.2 How many more dyslexic and
disabled students could reach university if there was similar identification
and provision in schools? How many would achieve more in school even if they
didn't go on to University?
2.1.1.3 Has the DfES looked at how
it handles SEN provision in HE to inform how it might handle it in
schools? It certainly didn't seem to do so for the Communication Aids Project
which was organised on completely different lines and learnt nothing from the
experience of seeking quality in the DSA process.
2.1.1.4 Clearly there are big
differences between HE and Primary. But the DSA does successfully separate
assessment of need and funding of provision.
2.2 So to what extent is the DSA model relevant
to schools?
2.2.1.1 Let's look at the
different phases of providing student support.
2.2.2 Diagnosis
2.2.2.1 In H. E. it is usual to
accept a medical diagnosis of most disabilities. For SpLD it is usual to accept a diagnosis from an educational
psychologist or other appropriately qualified assessor, carried out within the
last two years. A working party has
agreed on standards for dyslexia assessment in order to avoid widely divergent
diagnoses. (See The final report on Disabled
Student Allowances, SpLD Working Group 2005/DfES guidelines on www.patoss-dyslexia.org/ the website of
Patoss, the Professional Association of Teachers of Students with Specific
Learning Difficulties.)
2.2.3
Needs Assessment
2.2.3.1 In H. E. the student's
needs for equipment and support are assessed by a needs assessor. Under the Quality Assurance Group framework
the assessor will be managed and employed by an assessment centre which will
normally be a member of the National Network of Assessment Centres (NNAC).
2.2.4 Funding & administration
2.2.4.1 At present funding and
most administration for the DSA are in the process of being centralised from
the local authorities to the Student Loan Company. This would probably not be a relevant course for support for
children.
2.2.5 Provision
2.2.5.1 Disability Officers,
Non-Medical Helpers and Dyslexia Support Tutors provide the personal support
within H. E.. The equivalent are
Teaching Assistants and SENCOs within schools.
2.2.6 Equipment
2.2.6.1 About 20 specialist
suppliers provide equipment under a quality assurance framework for the
DSA. These and other existing suppliers
could provide equipment for schools under a similar quality assurance
framework.
2.2.7 Training
2.2.7.1 It is vital that students
in H. E. get specific training on the assistive technology equipment that they
are recommended. Otherwise it will only
be partially used. Dyslexia support
tutors are also increasingly aware that they, too, need technical training so
that they are able to support their students not only with their skills but
with the specific tools that they are using to enhance their skills.
2.2.8 Quality Assurance
2.2.8.1 The DSA Quality Assurance
Group has been set up over the last few years by stakeholders in the DSA
process with initial support from the DfES to help ensure that students needs
are properly met.
2.3 To what extent are the organisations and
individuals who work with the DSA interested in, qualified for or
appropriate for the equivalent work in schools? These stakeholders are as
follows:
2.3.1 EPs & qualified dyslexia assessors
2.3.1.1 The educational
psychologists and dyslexia assessors are generally working with children
anyway, so will often have the relevant skills and experience.
2.3.1.2 There should be similar
attempts to standardise diagnosis for other ages of student with SpLD. Such quality control would be essential if
freelance and employed educational psychologists and assessors were similarly
to handle assessment in schools separately from the local authority.
2.3.2 Assessment Centres and needs Assessors
2.3.2.1 The Assessment Centres,
which are based in most university towns, and their assessors have skills and
facilities which could perhaps be adapted to meet the needs of schoolchildren,
and to enlarge on the much more limited number of centres that cater
specifically for children with disabilities, such as CENMAC and the Ace
Centres.
2.3.3 Funding & administration
2.3.3.1 Funding and administration
would presumably stay with local authorities or schools.
2.3.4 Provision
2.3.4.1 Teaching Assistants and
SENCOs within schools already provide the support service.
2.3.5 Equipment Suppliers
2.3.5.1 The DSA and other existing
suppliers could provide equipment for schools under a similar quality assurance
framework to the DSA QAG.
2.3.6 Training
2.3.6.1 Training on the relevant
equipment and software is important for the children and also, particularly,
for those who are supporting them.
SENCOs need to know about the enabling technology that their children
are using and that may be relevant to other children for whom they are
responsible.
2.3.7
The DSA Quality Assurance Group
2.3.7.1 The DSA Quality Assurance
Group is probably not an appropriate home for quality assurance of special
needs support in schools. There is
probably a specific need for such quality assurance which could, perhaps, be
vested in an organisation that is already concerned with quality in schools,
such as Ofsted.
2.4 And to what extent, therefore does the DSA
world have answers to the Education and Skills Select Committee's questions?
2.4.1.1 We have attempted to
answer that question. We hope that it
helps to shed some light.
June 2007
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