The AchieveAbility Aimhigher Project was part of a national initiative funded by HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) to inform and encourage wider participation in Higher Education (see the HEFCE website for details)
The Project, which received £478,000 funding, was led by the University of Westminster and based on a partnership of Aimhigher regions, voluntary and educational sector organisations.
In order to achieve the aim of breaking down barriers to Higher Education for students with SpLD, the AchieveAbility Aimhigher Project initiated activities under three different strands:
1.National disability awareness programme for SpLD students and Aimhigher staff.
2.National aspiration raising programme using role model ambassador students who themselves have specific learning differences.
3.Regional attainment programme focused on the mechanisms which support the attainment and progression of SpLD learners. Researching patterns of progression and supporting staff development.
AchieveAbility Project Partners:
Strand 1 Activities
Website
The project website www.achieveability.org.uk went live in April 2005 and is hosted by the British Dyslexia Association. The site has a ground breaking new feature: the Textic Toolbar. This enables users to completely change the look of web pages making them more accessible as well as a read aloud feature which enables users to listen to the web content.
The site has been regularly updated with information for practitioners and students including information on completed initiatives, research and ongoing activities in which AchieveAbility is involved. This allows best practice to be shared and findings to be disseminated amongst our partners and a wider audience.
There is also inspiration in the form of SpLD students writing about their HE experiences, ‘Message from America’ and news about an AchieveAbility student ambassador who recently won an adult learners award.
CD ROM
To assist in the greater understanding of SpLDs, 4,000 inspirational CD ROMs were produced and distributed across the UK to schools, colleges, connexions services, project partners and Aimhigher areas. Where possible the CD was also distributed to other networks such as the learning skills council, the association of colleges, HE disability officers and other educational professionals.
This multimedia tool developed by the Dyslexia Institute in collaboration with the University of Westminster, on behalf of the Project, contains detailed information on SpLDs, opportunities in HE, student rights, financial advice, application process and case studies of HE students and professionals with SpLDs.
The AchieveAbility Network has reprinted the CD ROM and they are available to order by contacting the AchieveAbility office.
National Launch Conference: this conference was successfully hosted by the West Midlands region, as test bed, in Spring 2005. The 150 delegates were WP officers/managers in FE and HE; Aimhigher practitioners; SENCOs; disability advisers; curriculum, admissions and recruitment staff in HE; student support in schools and colleges.
Keynote speeches and workshops were delivered by the Royal College of Art, University of the Arts, University of Westminster, the British Dyslexia Association, the National Disability team, Aimhigher practitioners and experts in Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and Dyscalculia. The workshops furthered discussion around key questions informing project roll out. Main points were drawn out at the plenary session chaired by Dr Viv Wylie, West Midlands Regional Manager, at which the AchieveAbility project agreed to:
Work with appropriate networks to try and increase the clarity of information, advice, terminology and identification processes.
Work in partnership to lobby on: resources and budgets for support mechanisms in HE to follow on from FE; alternative teaching and learning strategies, and ensuring appropriate assessment.
Final National Conference: this event was hosted by the University of Westminster in June 2006.
Bill Rammell MP, the minister of state for further and higher education and lifelong learning, praised the Project as an example of good practice in broadening access to Higher Education during his keynote speech.
The national conference aimed to: embed best practice in Aimhigher activity; to build on the outcomes of the regional AchieveAbility conferences; to disseminate the findings of the national activity; to lobby on teaching and learning policy; and to provide a platform the learner voice.
The conference was attended by over 180 delegates including Aimhigher practitioners, senior educational managers, teachers, SENCOs, disability advisors, admissions staff, voluntary sector representatives, policy makers and students.
Strand 2 Activities
Ambassador programme
SpLD learners often feel that there are too many barriers to Higher Education and that they are unable to progress. The AchieveAbility project therefore undertook an aspiration-raising programme through outreach work in four of the partner regions.
The outreach was led by HE student ambassadors who themselves have SpLD. It aims to provide positive role models who can offer advice, understanding and encouragement to SpLD learners. A range of activities was delivered in schools and colleges, designed to raise awareness about opportunities available at HE.
The Aimhigher regions involved in this strand were:
London, South West, West Midlands, and Yorkshire and Humberside
The project aimed to recruit more than 20 HEI students with SpLD from each participating region, train them using a unique tailor made programme (devised by the Dyslexia Institute in partnership with the Project Office) and deliver outreach to at least 200 SpLD learners in each region by June 2006. Further information about the outreach and numbers of learners engaged by the AchieveAbility project in each of the four regions can be seen the final report.
Regional Conferences
Each of the four regions participating in the strand 2 ambassador programme also held an AchieveAbility event for practitioners during spring 2006 to profile their work, promote the findings and disseminate practice amongst their local contacts.
Continuation
The model of using ambassadors to work closely with young SpLD learners is so successful that it is being continued by partner regions with AchieveAbility support to embed it in new or existing Aimhigher initiatives. The AchieveAbility Network also continuing to profile this successful model of disability focused outreach through its own project in London with the Sir John Cass Foundation and Aimhigher LETG, as well as offering support to other Aimhigher regions and areas in establishing their own programmes. For more detailed information please contact the project coordinator Michelle Gammo-Felton on gammofm@wmin.ac.uk or 020 7911 5765
Strand 3 Activities
Enhanced Teaching Practice An AchieveAbility teaching and learning pilot was delivered in four institutions between October and December 2005. These institutions are two schools, one sixth-form college and one FE college in the London and East of England Aimhigher areas. This action research focused on the need to ensure all learners are in receipt of mainstream teaching and learning that is appropriate to their needs, enabling retention and progression.
The development of the pilot was an opportunity to identify best teaching practice for SpLD learners and investigate the impact of delivering this to a mixed group of learners of all abilities in a classroom setting (both those with and those without SpLDs). A teaching practice toolkit was developed, from which all institutions agreed to deliver a set of common elements of enhanced teaching practice.
In total 15 staff participated (supported by training, resources and the toolkit) delivered the enhanced practice to approx 250 learners from diverse year and subject groups over the six week period. The pilot was monitored and evaluated by those participating and by SpLD and teaching and learning experts. The final phase investigated what impact the delivery had made and assessed whether it would be possible to embed this practice into mainstream 14-19 curriculum. Following on from the pilot each of the institutions agreed to embed within their institutional practice and AchieveAbility sought partner organisations to sign up to roll out the model.
For further information on how the AchieveAbility Network has developed materials, training and a regional roll out programme with Aimhigher East of England see the our work section of this website.
Research into the progression and success of students with SpLDs
Unique research was commissioned by the AchieveAbility project and conducted by the HE Academy into what information about SpLD learners and their progression is collected and disseminated across the educational sectors.
The final report, which has now been completed, highlights the extent to which procedures for collecting, using and disseminating data are disparate within and across the education sectors.
The report, which is available through the AchieveAbility office, s shows that the information recorded about learners with SpLD is not focused on their progression through the education system. An evaluation of the progression of these learners into higher education is therefore problematic particularly on a national scale.
Efforts to standardise data collection and dissemination practices are at a local and regional level. Individual partnerships exist between sectors, institutions and learners to support the collection and flow of information. In these cases there is the potential to generate a better understanding of the achievements and progression of learners with SpLD.
