Corseford College is 'enhancing life' of disabled students

Run by charity Capability Scotland, the campus in Johnstone has been hailed as a godsend by families of students, some of whom travel significant distances to attend classes.

The college is designed to meet the individual needs of each student with subjects including literacy, numeracy, tech skills, life skills and mixed media and with facilities such as a hydrotherapy pool and rebound rooms.

David James-Rae drives his daughter Sophie to Corseford College every morning, a 40-minute trip from their home in Larbert before he heads in to Glasgow city centre to his office.

It's a long commute for the father and daughter but for Sophie and other young people like her, the college is "an absolute game changer" Mr James-Rae said.

He said: "You know your child is coming up to the end of their schooling but then there's nothing else for them.

"I spent about four years in anticipation of this happening, looking for options for Sophie and there was nothing. At the end of school the support drops off a cliff.

"Up until this time last year I had no idea where she would be going but then I found out about Corseford College.

"It's a relief. The staff here are all first class in their various roles and you can have confidence in them to look after your child.

"Sophie is quite a social animal so it's really important for her to have company and stimulation."

Corseford College was officially opened by Jamie Hepburn, Higher Education and Further Education, Youth Employment and Training minister.

The Scottish Government's Young Person's Guarantee pledges to provide every 16 to 24-year-old with work, an apprenticeship, further or higher education or training.

However, Mr Hepburn admitted, young people with disabilities are currently being failed by a lack of opportunity for further study.

He said: "We don't get transitions right for learning disabled young people. And that's something we need to do better.

"It's important to reflect there's a lot of good stuff happening in terms of working with disabled young people, particularly the work already going on in colleges.

"But that's not an environment that's going to work for every disabled person so having a dedicated specific college for young people with complex needs is something that I think its worth putting in place and what I've seen here has been excellent.

"For our cohort of disabled young people frankly we haven't been getting it right and that's what this initiative here, this college is about, and hopefully we can learn from that."

Claire Rodgers attended an opening event at the college with her son Calum. The 18-year-old is currently a pupil at Riverbrae School in Paisley and is hoping to receive a place at Corseford College in the new term.

Without the college, Mrs Rodgers would have to give up work to care for her son.

"This is massively important," she said, "Because without it Calum would have nowhere to go.

"The only options for kids like Calum are day centres but my husband and I have never really explored that option because day centres are for anyone aged 18 plus and we want Calum to continue to be learning and mixing with people his own age.

"When we went to visit Kersland School, before it became Riverbrae, my husband and I both said the same thing, that the atmosphere was special. Without wanting to sound too cheesy, it was more like a family.

"And we feel the same thing here at Corseford.

"This keeps Calum in education for another four years, give him peers to interact with and enhances his life and allows me to work for another four years."

The Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council have pledged £316,000 in partnership with West College Scotland towards the project throughout its first year of delivery, which has been developed and will be operated by Capability Scotland.

The education charity has also invested a further £250,000 to create the state-of-the-art campus, which it hopes will be the first of many around Scotland to fill a stark gap in provision for young adults with complex needs.

Liz McConnachie, Head of Corseford College, said: "Jamie Hepburn's endorsement of Corseford College is a significant moment for not only this campus but the prospect for future sites around the country.

"Now is the time to act and invest in our young people. This is a long-standing issue that's been well evidenced and documented in research, policy and consultations.

"Those with complex needs want to have a voice, a social life and to be involved as active valued citizens however, unfortunately, many don't get the support they need to achieve this."