P-05-962 An emergency amendment to extend age of entitlement to additional educational support from 25 to 26 and to define within Government guidance the Covid 19 pandemic as an exceptional circumstance
P-05-962 An emergency amendment to extend age of entitlement to additional educational support from 25 to 26 and to define within Government guidance the Covid 19 pandemic as an exceptional circumstance
P-05-962 An
emergency amendment to extend age of entitlement to additional educational
support from 25 to 26 and to define within Government guidance the Covid 19
pandemic as an exceptional circumstance
This
petition was submitted by Mike Charles having collected a total of 537
signatures.
Text of Petition
We call upon the Welsh
Assembly to direct our Government to urgently amend the Learning and Skills Act
to allow for funding within specialist colleges to he extended from the age of
25 to 26 for those affected by the Covid19 pandemic and to urgently scrap or
amend it's guidance document no: 221/2017 November 2017 so that the Covid19
crisis is defined as an exceptional circumstance.
Additional Information
The ALN Act 2018 will in
time change the law but young people with complex needs cannot wait. Decisions
about how long they may be supported in specialist colleges are being made
today. Vital time is being lost by schools and colleges which may have closed
or may be operating in a very limited way. For those with complex needs their
critical access to learning resources are restricted. People with complex needs
often learn from being out in the environment to develop critical life
independence and employability skills. Outside is a classroom yet this is now
being heavily restricted. Covid19 is altering this ability to learn in a
material way.
Many parents and young
people are fearful that this is one year open to them out of the 2 maximum.
Although the guidance allows for exceptional circumstances it is interpreted in
practice as limiting provision to two years and does not define adequately what
would amount to an exceptional circumstance. The law however only allows for
support up to 25 and this needs to urgently change to give those affected
during this pandemic another chance. A chance for another less interrupted
year.
This will otherwise
manifest into skills being lost and consequent greater reliance on the state.
That is not desirable for so many reasons not least the fact that the loss of
critical skills will be devastating for the individual involved.
We
call upon our Government to help those most vulnerable. To support them for
what they may have lost and give them another chance. A chance for an
opportunity not to be missed. For many it is a difference between a life of
dependence and independence.
Status
This petition was considered completed by the
Petitions Committee at its meeting on 15/09/2020.
The Committee considered further updates on the
petition and noted the information provided by the Minister for Education about
the Welsh Government’s communication with specialist FE colleges and the
extension requests approved to date.
Whilst acknowledging the petitioner’s concerns about
the guidance, which go wider than the petition, the Committee agreed to close
the petition.
Full details of the
consideration of this petitions by the committee and related documents can be
seen on the Meetings tab above.
It was first
considered by the Petitions Committee on 09/06/2020.
Senedd Constituency and
Region
- Cardiff South and Penarth
- South Wales Central
Further
information
- The Petitions Committee homepage
- View all open petitions
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petitions system works
Business type: Petition
Reason considered: Senedd Business;
Status: Complete
First published: 02/06/2020