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Liz Maudslay looks at how a project involving Cambridge University and Skill confronted the needs of people with severe learning difficulties.

The Enhancing Quality of Life project, initiated jointly by Skill: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities and Cambridge University, began with a national survey of the provision for people with profound and complex learning difficulties.

These learners may also have additional disabilities, such as mobility impairments. The survey revealed wide variations between services in different parts of the country.

However, the Learning and Skills Act 2000 and the Care Standards Act 2000 should allow funding bodies to make significant efforts to ensure universal access to satisfactory service.

The project team researched examples of good practice at a general further education college, a specialist further education college, an adult education centre and a community project. “Quality of life” indicators were used to assess provision.

The work has indicated that the needs of people with profound and complex learning difficulties are best addressed through holistic approaches in which the distinctions between aspects of provision, such as education, care, therapy, occupation or leisure, are minimised or broken down. This needs inter-agency collaboration which, the research has shown, often does not occur. The establishment of inter-agency learning disability partnership boards in every local education authority in England should offer an opportunity to change this strategically.

At a less senior level, staff from organisations, including social services, education providers and voluntary agencies, should have the chance to meet and liaise with each other to share information and ensure that progress is sustained.

The research showed that periods of transition were crucial for this group of people and their families or carers. Clear strategies need to be adopted so that people with profound and complex learning difficulties have a structured programme of transition when coming into an organisation and when they move on from it, with clear roles and responsibilities. Continuity is vital in terms of passing on information about the ways people communicate and learn, about likes and dislikes, so that progress can be sustained and built upon.

The research found that the quality of each learner’s life will be improved by working on individual priorities for learning or potential areas of growth rather than by following a set curriculum. In light of this, organisations may need to review and redesign their traditional provision to answer the individual needs of people with profound and complex learning difficulties.

The project discovered a high demand for staff development in this field. Even trained and experienced staff require additional training in how to respond to the distinct needs of those with profound and complex learning difficulties in line with the Care Standards Act 2000 and the white paper Valuing People. Training involving staff from different agencies learning together is likely to be particularly beneficial.

- The Enhancing Quality of Life resource pack, based on the research project, which includes a staff development guide and video, a guide for support managers, a briefing paper for policy makers, a literature review of existing research in this area and a quality of life manual for monitoring review and evaluation, is available from Skill, tel 020 7450 0620. Price £25.

Liz Maudslay is policy director (further education) at Skill (www.skill.org.uk).