Learning disability and the employment gap

Is our examination system failing pupils with a learning disability and, if so, what can employers and colleges do?

During results season, there is always discussion about the ‘forgotten third’ of pupils who don’t attain the Government-defined standard pass in English and maths. This has come to mean a grade 4 or above, and these are the ‘golden tickets’ of the accreditation system and will open the doors to further and higher education or employment and training. Pupils who don’t attain this level can be kept out of the jobs market and can feel demoralised.

The Examination System

The examination system in this country is norm-referenced, meaning that young people are ‘compared with all the others in their cohort taking that examination. If it is a particularly high achieving year group, a grade may be lower than in the previous year’s examination. Grades are set after all candidates have sat the examination and all the raw marks have been collated, transferred to uniform marks and then grade boundaries are set. The grade boundaries are used to ensure that fair standards are maintained from year to year. For example, if that year it is a particularly difficult paper ‘in comparison with other years, the grade boundaries may be lower to reflect this.

In this system there will always be one third of students who will achieve either a grade 1, 2 or 3. They have not been ‘forgotten’ by school, they have been taught the content they need to achieve, but there may be factors affecting their ability to perform under examination conditions. However, the fact is that a grade 1, 2 or 3 is a GCSE pass. This is one of the reasons that GCSEs replaced O-levels; so that the system could be represented across the whole cohort. If those pupils who are predicted to get a 1, 2 or 3 as their best grade were removed from sitting the GCSEs, what would the distribution look like then? It would still need a third of pupils achieving grades 1 to 3.

Zoe began her career on the Graduate Teaching Programme in 2000 as a secondary maths teacher. She then furthered her practice across several secondary schools holding roles including outreach and SENCO. Her most recent post before joining nasen, was as assessment and achievement lead as part of the SLT of an autism-specific allthrough special school.

Attempts have been made to rectify the race to the ‘golden tickets’ over the years, with the change from grading GCSEs as letters to numbers in England in a phased-in programme, starting with English and maths in 2018 and then cascading through all other subjects. This was a prime opportunity to reset the narrative around grades – a pass is a pass, but we remain in the same position; a grade 4 is considered a ‘standard’ pass which automatically implies that anything lower than this is below standard.

THE ’GOLDEN TICKET’

When this change was introduced, then education secretary, Justine Greening, stated that grade 4 would be the standard pass and grade 5 would be deemed a strong pass.

She said, “I want to be very clear to schools, employers, colleges and pupils themselves that a ‘standard pass’ is a credible achievement and one that should be valued as a passport to future study and employment.” This clarification reaffirmed that only those pupils with a grade 4 or above were worthy of being accepted into further or higher education and employment. Schools began a new race to the finish line of the ‘golden ticket’ of a grade 4 and above.

Statistics have shown that the gap between disadvantaged pupils has grown since the pandemic. These pupils are battling circumstances that require more than the best teaching; they require them to not be in poverty, they require champions that can support them to find their strengths, communities that value them and additional support to enable them to achieve. These areas have not been addressed and, as a result, these pupils have their trajectory mapped out for them, through no fault of their own. Those that don’t achieve the grade 4 or above find that even entry level jobs require this. This hampers students across the whole range of schools and settings, especially those with additional needs or a disability.

The Possible Solutions

Employers have a part to play in supporting careers programmes within local colleges and schools. They should be getting to know young people and allowing work experience in a variety of forms. Employers can break down the barriers and work with young people and school staff to enable co-production of reasonable adjustments that would benefit all. Some young people may find the challenge of working full-time too much, so employers can consider flexible options that would enable more young people to enter the workforce. Employers can work with young people and mould them to fit the job that they want them to do. They can also review their working practices to ensure they are inclusive; nasen has worked with employers to carry out such audits and provide plans to support businesses to review and develop inclusion. It’s also time for employers to review their working practices and honestly evaluate whether the job role really requires a ‘standard pass’ in GCSE in maths and English. In addition, developing more inclusive interview techniques and person-centred approaches would not only help recruitment but would offer more strategies that support retention of staff.

The Role Of Internships And Apprenticeships

Supported internships offer a route for young people to gain, develop and demonstrate the skills needed for the world of work alongside a supportive coach and with access to continued teaching of skills. However, they are unpaid and only available to those young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). They are unpaid to avoid impact on the disability living allowance or personal independence payments that the young person receives.

What they allow for is the young person to hopefully go on to use the skills learned to find paid employment on completion of the supported internship. In the trial evaluation, 36 per cent of the young people went on to gain paid employment, which is much higher than the six per cent of young people with a learning disability who are currently employed.

However, for those who don’t achieve this goal it was ‘frustrating’ that there was no further support for young people to enable them to persevere with moving forward. The programme was credited with increasing confidence and providing learners with the independence and work skills to succeed in future.

https://bit.ly/3K5QhGd

The apprenticeships programme was heralded as a way for young people to access employment, particularly for those who fall into the ‘forgotten third’. Level 2 apprenticeships are billed as intermediate and, at the equivalent of GCSE level, suitable for school leavers. It seems that many entry level apprenticeships have begun to ask for a grade 4 in English and maths, which is a missed opportunity for business to consider other skills that young people may have.

This is part of the solution; remove the requirements for grades that are not necessary. If we can do it for supported internships and have an opportunity for those young people to achieve, develop independence and increase their self-esteem, shouldn’t this be available for all?

The solution is starting early. The SEND Code of Practice (2015) states that preparation for adulthood should start from the early years, as exemplified in the guide here: bit.ly/3HKpoVx. For secondary settings, the Gatsby Benchmarks (https://bit.ly/3jHQHaU) provide a framework to ensure careers and understanding of future life chances are considered at every opportunity. However, every child needs a champion. The brilliant Rita Pierson TED Talk (https://bit.ly/3I8otzv) discusses the impact of relationships on learning, achievement and success. Ultimately, developing inclusive relational approaches will enable more pupils to see their potential and have someone believe in them to help them achieve it.