Meeting the support needs of learners in Scotland’s colleges: Summary of findings

Over the last three years there has been a 30% increase in the number of college learners requiring PLSPs. This increase in demand creates significant pressure on colleges to respond to and meet the needs of more learners. It is important to note that the rise in PLSPs is common to all types of college; small, large, multi-campus, urban and rural.

In one college, the number of full-time learners with a PSLP increased from 14% in 2020-21 to 37% in 2023-24. In the same college, the number of full-time learners in receipt of hardship funding increased from 6% in 2020-21 to 19% in 2023-24.

Increasingly, colleges use arrangements to identify the capacity of each learner to complete their programme successfully, either on application or during their programme of study. In most colleges, this is supported by a ‘fitness to study policy’ or similar. Staff identify learner attributes or behaviours that may impact on a learner’s ability to engage in learning, or when mental health is presenting a risk of withdrawal or non-attainment. Staff engaging directly with learners consider this effective for initiating and mobilising support quickly to help learners to stay on course and complete their programme successfully.

All colleges provide learners with multiple opportunities throughout application and enrolment arrangements to declare additional needs. In all colleges, the information disclosed by learners on enrolment who choose to do so, is shared with support services. All learners who disclose an additional need are invited to a helpful and reassuring meeting with a member of staff. Following this initial meeting, staff produce an individualised plan identifying the types of support the learner will require. In most cases, learner support staff and course tutors meet regularly to review the impact of support on the engagement and progress of learners. However, this practice is variable across colleges. For a variety of reasons some learners choose not to disclose their additional needs at application or enrolment. These include the desire for a ‘fresh start,’ lack of awareness of the support available or how to access it, or a perceived stigma around admitting to having additional support needs. As a consequence, support needs can go undiscovered until the learner seeks help, or a member of staff identifies issues around progress, performance or behaviour in class.

In most colleges, teaching staff are able to identify learners with additional needs through information contained in the class register. However, in a few colleges, learners with additional needs are not identified clearly for staff on class lists or registers. This limits the ability of individual teaching staff to respond appropriately to meet the needs of these learners at an early stage in their programme.

Many colleges operate across and within multiple local authorities to deliver part-time vocational programmes to senior phase learners from secondary schools. One college provides school-college programmes for 36 schools spread across several local authority areas. Many of these learners have additional support needs that have been identified at school. In a few regions, arrangements for sharing transition data between schools and the colleges work well. For example, at one college, learners from one secondary school have a pupil support officer who works with college staff to plan curriculum pathways for school leavers.

However, this information is often not passed on to colleges in advance of a young person starting a programme. Many young learners in receipt of additional support at school believe they will receive the same levels of support in colleges automatically. Although learners may expect similar support to that experienced in school, it cannot always be replicated in a college environment. The lack of detailed information about the needs of school aged learners who enter college programmes too often prevents college staff from anticipating, planning and coordinating effective support to meet the needs of these learners. The need to disclose their needs again can be distressing for learners and can lead to withdrawal from their programme.

Overall, the number of learners coming directly from school who are identifying support needs at college has increased. This rise in demand is due to a range of factors including; increased disclosure during college admission arrangements; the focus in colleges on creating an inclusive environment for learning; and the societal and educational impact of the pandemic on young people. Almost all college staff spoke of the challenging behaviours of many school-age learners and the prevalence of a lack of social skills. These behaviours are impacting negatively on the ability of staff to deliver programmes effectively.

Overall, the key elements that support effective transition from school to college, including resource alignment and active measurement and sharing of data for awareness and improvement, are not consistent across all colleges and local authorities. This can lead to poorer experiences and outcomes for school-age learners coming to college with specific needs.

Almost all learners are supported well by college staff prior to starting their programme. Colleges organise and deliver supportive pre-induction information sessions and events, and provide access to online resources, campus tours and learning needs assessments. These arrangements help learners to become more confident in their plans to attend college and help to reduce or mitigate against learner withdrawal. Colleges use a range of helpful initiatives to support transition for school-aged learners starting a college programme. These include taster sessions and informal workshops, many with a focus on previously disengaged school-aged learners. In most colleges, incomplete online learner applications are followed up by staff. Potential candidates are contacted to understand better any difficulties they may be having in applying for their programme. Tailored help is provided if required, and this ensures applications are processed timeously. For example, in one college, managers and staff from across geographically diverse centres will contact applicants directly to assist with enrolment. This approach proves very supportive for those learners who are experiencing anxiety about coming to college.

Almost all colleges have improved online application arrangements to encourage learners to provide detailed information about their specific learning support requirements. Support service teams use this information well when it is disclosed to make necessary arrangements and ensure that resources and adaptations are implemented promptly.

In all colleges centralised support services are delivered by skilled and committed staff. Learners are very complimentary about college support staff and how their interactions are positive and helpful.

Support staff provide all learners with a structured induction when they commence their studies. Induction content includes sessions on finance and the use of the college’s interactive digital support technologies. Where required, college managers deliver induction sessions for those learners who may be fearful or anxious about enrolling on a college programme. These sessions take place at a time when the college is less busy and help to support recruitment and retention. Staff provide a helpful introduction to college life for learners who require tailored support, and this helps familiarise them with the college campus and staff. At one college, learners worked with staff to prepare a short animation for others to access via YouTube which highlights the types of support available for learners. Another learner who is supported by a service dog described how easy it was to organise arrangements for her dog to accompany her to college. Many learners comment that support approaches adopted by college staff makes the college accessible and helps ease their levels of anxiety and stress.

All college staff recognise that some learners are apprehensive about disclosing their additional needs or concerns. However, all learners are complimentary about the care and sensitivity college staff use when discussing these issues and organising support arrangements for their learning needs.

In almost all colleges, discussions with learners and survey evidence indicate that learners are content with arrangements for supporting their transition on to college programmes. All learners said they are satisfied with the information on college websites about entry requirements, required competencies and progression pathways. They comment on how this proved very helpful in supporting them to make informed choices about their programme. Access to readily available information helps to identify points throughout the academic year when learners might be under more workload pressure and when additional support may be required. All learners highlighted that support arrangements work well and that they value the support and adjustments which have been implemented.

All colleges use initiatives to help learners manage their health and wellbeing during their programme. These include support for mental health through access to counselling, gym passes and vouchers. To help alleviate financial pressures, all colleges have introduced breakfast and lunch vouchers which are used well by learners. A few colleges are distributing unused food from refectories and teaching kitchens to provide learners with free evening meals.

Many colleges designate rooms on each campus to provide a quiet, informal and safe space for learners who experience anxiety and need a break from noisy environments. In one college, learners are provided with access to a quiet space on each campus.

Support staff work quickly and productively with learners and curriculum staff to ensure support arrangements are agreed and actioned timeously. They work effectively to reduce waiting lists for additional support provision that occurs at peak times during the year. However, in a few colleges, learners state that waiting times for appointments with support staff can be lengthy and can have a negative impact on their performance. Learners in one college experienced a lengthy wait for their disabled students’ allowance. This prevented them from being able to access essential resources to participate fully in class activities. These learners highlighted the prolonged wait for funding had a detrimental effect on their mental health and wellbeing.

All colleges maintain effective partnerships with external agencies and with their student association to offer access to support services while learners attend college. Many of these are associated with providing financial aid and focus on providing support for mental health issues.

All colleges work well with many external partners to support learners and their mental health needs throughout their learning experience. For example, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) training for staff, and online counselling for learners, are highly effective in raising awareness of mental health issues. This in turn helps staff to assist learners who may be experiencing mental health challenges. Increasingly, some colleges provide training opportunities for staff to support learners who may have experienced some form of mental health trauma.

Teaching staff report an increase in the number of learners displaying poor planning skills, low mood, lack of motivation and lower levels of understanding. They state that many learners experience challenges with on-campus learning and team and group working. Learners often require adjustments to learning and teaching approaches to encourage engagement and focus on developing important skills. Overall, teaching staff use curriculum review approaches to make changes to programme frameworks to take account of the changing needs of learners. For example, more integration of assessment approaches is reducing overall assessment burdens and helps to improve outcomes and transitions.

Learners welcome the additional support they receive from teaching staff. Many learners comment that the pace of learning is planned to ensure all learners can cope with the demands of their programme and this ensures no learner, no matter their level of support need, is disadvantaged. Positive relationships between support staff and their lecturers make it easier for learners to highlight any concerns or additional needs. Many learners can provide examples where their additional needs was identified and appropriate support arrangements put into place quickly.

At one college there has been a significant increase in the number of learners on the autistic spectrum enrolling across various curriculum areas. As a result, a specialised transition programme has been developed. The programme is structured to accommodate the specific needs of learners with autistic spectrum disorders by implementing tailored support arrangements.

Some colleges have replaced the use of stand-alone unit assessments with project-based approaches, and these have been welcomed by learners. Awarding bodies are working to be more flexible and innovative to better meet the needs of learners. For example, the transition of graded units in computing programmes from a traditional format to integrating the use of tools such as Microsoft Forms is proving worthwhile.

In a few colleges, assessment approaches used by staff do not take sufficient account of the range of needs of learners. Awarding bodies determine the types of assessment that can be used to measure learner performance. However, there are often opportunities for staff to use alternative assessments to accommodate specific needs. This can include replacing written evidence with online or recorded evidence for those learners who have difficulty with formal exam settings, struggle with literacy, or who are generally anxious. In some colleges, staff do not consider fully the range and appropriateness of assessment options available to meet individual needs.

In all colleges, the volume of demand from learners with additional needs for adjustments to assessments has increased significantly. The increasing costs associated with recruitment of specialist staff such as scribes, and in releasing space for individual assessment purposes is a recurring and concerning challenge in accommodating all learners to be assessed in a way that meets their needs.