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Equalities and Personalised Learning (EPL)
Current Projects
Inclusive Campus: Practical Guidance on Sensory Accessibility
The aim of this project is to improve accessibility and create a welcoming environment for students with visual impairment, hearing imipairment and autistic spectrum conditions (ASC) in HE institutions.
Design and method
- To work with ECU and members of the project's advisory group to draft an audit tool and agree on the content of the briefings to be published at the end of the project.
- To conduct and analyse pilot sensory access audits in three HEIs including interviews with staff including estates managers and student services managers, and students with the above impairments.
- To produce confidential reports for the three HEIs participating in the audits and interivews.
- To prepare practical briefings from the findings to support the HE sector as a whole.
- To present the findings at an event later in 2009
Timescale: May 2009 - July 2009.
Engaging all Young People in Meaningful Learning
The Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) commissioned a project to determine how to engage all young people in meaningful learning. This project includes a literature review of published and grey literature, and interviews with key stakeholders focusing on a range of questions, including the following:
- What prevents young people from engaging in learning?
- What works in engaging young people in learning?
- What are possible similarities / differences for various groups of young people?
- What are the gaps in the literature?
Time scale: October 2008-May 2009
Investigation into Funding for Learners with Learning Difficulties, Disabilities and/or Special Educational Needs
This investigation was commissioned by the Learning and Skills Council and essentially focuses on two questions:
- How might the funding approaches for higher-cost Additional Learning Support in FE colleges, for Special Educational Needs in schools and for learners attending independent specialist providers be aligned to achieve a common funding system that is truly equitable?
- How might the funding regime enable learners with LLDD/SEN to access appropriate provision to meet their aspirations and learning and support requirements without acting as a constraint?
The specific objectives of the project are:
- to investigate the average costs of supporting and delivering good quality provision for learners with LLDD/SEN across a range of different categories of provision and provider types
- to establish national funding rates derived from the research findings and to identify and recommend standard national uplifts and funding rates for each category of provision requiring the equivalent of over £5,500 of ALS per learner, ensuring an equitable funding system
- to determine and classify provision that is currently being delivered to learners with LLDD/SEN requiring higher levels of support that could, and could not, be accredited as part of the Foundation Learning Tier in 2009/10
Design and methods:
The main research tool was an on-line survey of appropriate providers aimed at eliciting detailed break-downs of their actual costs of provision for learners with LLDD/SEN. The information collected was then used in a modelling exercise linked to the requirements of the Resource Allocation System.
Time scale: May 2008-March 2009
Single Equality Scheme Support Programme
The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) awarded partners LSN and NIACE the contract to support funded learning providers embed the values and principles of equality and diversity and the LSC’s Single Equality Scheme.
The specific aims of the programme were:
- To support all LSC funded learning providers in embedding good practice in equality and diversity
- To provide in depth guidance and support to all LSC learning providers supported by the LSC to enable them to respond to the requirements of the LSC’s Single Equality Scheme.
Design and methods:
The programme offered:
- Action working projects for learning providers in each region
- A summer workshop in each region for all learning providers
- Events for LSC staff
- The use of a virtual learning environment (VLE) to support learning providers during and following the support programme
Time scale: January - September 2008
The final reports of the action working projects are presented by region and are available on the together with a range of resources, contacts, news, ideas, and opportunities for information exchange.
For all enquiries, please contact:
Sahqa Din
Tel: 020 7492 5181
Fax: 020 7492 5001
Email: sdin@lsnlearning.org.uk