Pye Tait has undertaken a number of reviews for local Learning + Skills Councils (LSCs) that identify the appropriateness of current provision for LLDD. Commonly arising as a particular area of interest for Strategic Area Reviews (StARs), this work has focused on collecting detailed information on the transition from school and the opportunities available for further study and/or Work Based Learning (WBL).
This work is crucial in outlining the options according to a wide range of stakeholders covering: schools; Local Education Authorities; specialist colleges; FE sector colleges; WBL providers, ACL providers; social services; Connexions and the voluntary and community sector. In addition, the research team are very experienced in sourcing the views of learners involved in training or those currently outside of this or employment and also their parents/carers.
Effective approaches have been developed in collecting key datasets to help identify trends in the numbers of learners and types of difficulty/disability in various provisions. The research team has a detailed understanding of the data available through the Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC) and Individual Learner Record (ILR) to name a few.
Only when all this information is collected, is it possible to see whether the existing offer is responsive to the requirements of individuals with special needs. Given the current policy interest in this client group through 'Every Child Matters' and 'Valuing People' as just a few examples, projects conducted have included how provision is and can be developed further through multi-agency working.