Weston College The role of the Specialist Support Instructor and associated training. Reproduced and updated from the report by K&A Associates The transition experience of young people with autism, commissioned by Ambitious about Autism 2011 The college approach to Additional Learning Support (ALS) developed some years ago, when the college recognised that it had a number of skilled and enthusiastic Learning Support Practitioners (LSPs), whose only natural progression route was into teaching, and yet for many, this was not what they wanted. To address this, it developed a two pronged response. It created a structure within ALS, which includes different levels of support including the post of Specialist Support Instructors and it has worked in partnership with the University of West of England to develop a Foundation Degree in Inclusive Practice. The college has a high level of commitment to training. All generic LSPs undertake a full Level 2 course initially and then progress onto a full Level 3 in supporting people with learning difficulties and or disabilities run by the college. The Advanced Practitioner (Specialist Support) believes that in depth training and understanding of autism and its impact on learning is essential to high quality provision Autism is too complex to throw into the mix with all the other disabilities. This has had a profound impact on the quality of the provision and outcomes for learners. At its last inspection (December 20143) Weston College was judged to be outstanding with inspectors commenting: Tutors, teachers and support staff assess learners needs extremely thoroughly and accurately when they start their courses. They provide the right support very quickly. Learning support assistants provide outstanding support for learners, contributing to the rapid progress they make. Support in lessons is carefully tailored to learners individual needs and helps learners to improve their confidence and skills quickly. The high number of learners receiving this support achieve very well. Specific reference was made to the quality and impact of the autism team: The support provided in the college s specialist centre for learners with autistic spectrum disorder is outstanding. The support of specialist staff, coupled with residential facilities in an attractive building, prepares learners extremely well for independent living. For example, former learners are now able to live successfully in university halls of residence, something which many of them would have been unlikely to be able to do before attending the centre. To secure this level of skill and training, the Advanced Practitioner (Specialist Support) has been instrumental in developing with the University of the West of England, a
Foundation Degree (FdA) in Inclusive practice for which she is also program leader. This includes the option to specialise in working with young people with autism. The FdA is practice based, and enables participants to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding within the context of their everyday work and experience. It is a full time 2 year programme delivered in the classroom 1 day per week, with professional practice being observed through the working week. Participants have the option to convert to a BA Hons, if a third year is undertaken. Specialist Support Instructors complete this course, which is also open to staff from other organisations. The college is clear that the initial costs of this commitment to training, are recouped because of the associated benefits in both retention and achievement. The quality of support ensures that learners with autism are given the support they need to be as independent as possible. This includes specific work on skills such as travel training and study skills as well as support to understand and manage social situations. By supporting tutors to adopt strategies and approaches which meet needs, for example, such as making use of assistive technology, or adjusting delivery style, learners are able to access the curriculum with less physical support. As a result the support costs typically reduce over time, effectively preparing learners successfully for life beyond college, and in many case, into higher education. Very innovative use of technology ensures learners become much more effective independent learners. For example, in the well-equipped teaching kitchen, they use tablet computers to activate short video clips on such topics as how to wash up correctly. Learners take increasing responsibility for managing their own lives via the use of assistive technology. This approach not only results in a highly skilled and capable workforce, but also facilitates a clear career progression route for support staff, something which the wider research indicates is all too often not available to support staff, whose only route to progression is typically to go into teaching. The progression route for support staff is second to none. They can progress from providing generic support to specialist support. They have to be actively pursuing either the FDA or to have completed it. Once they become a specialist their salary goes up by about a third. Once they get the degree they can earn as much as a lecturer.we used to lose a lot to schools and to become teachers but now we re keeping our expertise because they don t need to become a teacher to get equal pay. Advanced Practitioner (Specialist Support) Weston College The Role of the Specialist Support Instructor Specialist Support Instructors (SSIs) at Weston College provide specialist assessment and guidance to, and about, learners from the point of referral onwards, undertaking observations, reading related documents, and providing guidance to delivery staff about
how best to meet the learner s needs. This is a central aspect of the role. Although the Specialist Support Instructor may do some in class support, the bulk of their work involves supporting tutors to work effectively with learners with autism, and also working directly with the learner to develop strategies to support their learning. This is a highly effective and innovative approach to providing support, which promotes effective partnership arrangements between tutors and LSPs, and targets specialist support effectively. Not only does it result in significantly improved achievements for learners but it is also highly efficient, making the best use of experienced and talented staff to maximise learning and develop inclusive teaching practice. This is a great example of where learning support isn t just seen as a subsidiary role, but the host of specialist skills and expertise which are distributed through the college across all the professional groupings, to facilitate learning. It s a very different model of working together but one which is very effective, placing as it does, a premium on the specialist skills of the learning support staff. Impact of Specialist support on learning Independent Living and Leisure was judged to be outstanding when Weston College was inspected in December 2013, with inspectors commenting: Staff are passionate about improving learners life chances; they challenge learners well and ensure that they provide them with appropriate small steps of learning. They use targets skilfully to set learners manageable goals and then monitor progress towards achieving them regularly. Learners use the skills they have learned in college to improve their home lives. For example, learners described how the strategies they have learned to manage their anger have led to them maintaining calmer and more productive relationships outside college. Here are some examples of the positive impact the specialist support has had for young people with autism: Christopher Christopher used to travel to and from college by taxi. He struggled to enter the building and found the refectory so over stimulating in sensory terms that he had to have a private room to eat his lunch in. Now he eats in the dining room as part of a group, has a diamond travel card, can travel in and out of college independently and is working on learning the bus route to a nearby city to visit a friend. These achievements are the result of intensive and patient one to one work. For example, when Christopher first started to work on catching the bus, his tutor and he spent the first few sessions simply sitting at a bus stop and watching buses go by. They worked out what it was about buses he found challenging and together they then systematically identified
strategies and routines to address each of these challenges, which included for example, how to find a seat, how to buy a ticket and how to remain calm by listening to his music. Christopher progressed from watching buses to going on bus journeys with support to ultimately being able to travel fully independently. As noted above, whilst support at Weston is often intensive at the beginning, ultimately the quantity and quality of support is cost effective, because it enables learners to develop their own strategies to access learning with significantly less support over time, as the following case study identifies. Learner Journey 15- Alice Alice came into college in September 2010 with a history of being excluded from at least 3 schools for inappropriate behaviour. She came to the attention of the autism team when aspects of her behaviour raised questions around safeguarding and protection. Ultimately it became apparent that there were in fact no safeguarding issues, but rather a significant difficulty in both understanding and responding appropriately to social situations associated with undiagnosed autism, something Alice s mother had suspected for some time. Alice was already registered on a level 2 Equine Management, but, was experiencing a number of barriers to learning associated with her difficulties with social relationships. A member of the behaviour support team and a specialist support instructor worked together to provide intensive support, to ensure that in the short term, one of them could attend each of Alice s sessions. The support provided was deliberately discrete. They did not draw attention to Alice by working directly with her in the sessions they attended. Rather, they discretely observed the sessions, identifying any difficulties in interactions with her peers, reviewing all aspects of the course activities and requirements and considering what changes could be made to delivery to make the learning more accessible. They observed for example, that when she came into sessions in the morning, Alice would put her bags all over the tables, and was completely oblivious to the exasperated expressions of frustration this produced amongst her peers, whose workspace she had encroached upon unawares. Alice s SSI worked directly with her, in one to one sessions and using visual strategies to support her to understand why this was creating tensions, and the problem was immediately resolved. Alice needed some support to remind her of how to sequence activities. Her SSI worked with her to produce visual prompts, to remind her for example, of the steps involved in mucking out a stable. Alice, who wears a hoody to work in, was able to keep her laminated prompt sheet in her front pocket, which she could discretely refer to, should the need arise, while she learnt the routine for undertaking the task. The SSI also worked with the tutor to provide specific advice, guidance and approaches as to how to work effectively with Alice. For example: Red card - I need some time out
Yellow card - I need to get some fresh air Green card - I need to listen to music on my headphones Blue card - I need some help with this Each of these cards has specific and agreed guidelines attached, compliance with which is essential to their continued use. So the guidance for the green card for example states To be used when working independently, and not when the tutor is talking. The SSI has provided guidance to support the tutor to understand how best to convey information to Alice- so for example, information about assignments are now always provided in written format as well as verbally. Where there are changes to planned timetable or activities, this too is provided in writing and in advance. The high level of support continued for at least the first 6 weeks, but as challenges and issues were identified and successfully addressed the support gradually withdrew. Alice now only meets up formally with her SSI once a week, although she has the capacity to drop in at any time, and refer any issues as and when they arise, so they can be immediately dealt with. Alice has successfully completed her first year and is on track to get a distinction. Furthermore, with the support of the college, she has succeeded in her long held ambition to get a place at an agricultural college to do a level 3 Animal care course.