1. The DART Project Rohan Slaughter
12/6/13
The DART Project
Rohan Slaughter 12/6/13

2. Introduction to Beaumont College
Scope run Independent Specialist College (ISC) based in Lancaster
96 learners in Lancaster, two satellite provisions with ~20 learners
330 FTE staff
Ofsted “Outstanding”
LSIS Beacon Status
Curriculum focussed on personal development, independence, skills for life
Creative arts specialism
Introduction to Beaumont College
Scope run Independent Specialist College (ISC) based in Lancaster
96 learners in Lancaster, two satellite provisions with ~20 learners
330 FTE staff
Ofsted “Outstanding”
LSIS Beacon Status
Curriculum focussed on personal development, independence, skills for life
Creative arts specialism

3. The Technology Team at Beaumont
Organisation chart of the Technology Team at Beaumont.
Accessing the curriculum though AT at BC:
Size of the BC team, who does what, interface with other teams, esp education, how it is funded.

4. History of the DART project(s)
2010/12 DART1, an LSIS funded project
Beaumont College and National Star College worked with 8 colleges, in a ‘deep support’ capacity
Beaumont and Star are ISC’s : Independent Specialist Colleges
One of those DART1 colleges was Henshaws
Now we are running DART2, a JISC Advance funded project:
Beaumont College, National Star College, Henshaws College, Colleges Scotland, NATSPEC, JISC all working together
10 deep support colleges, 2 in Scotland
3 workshops, delivered twice, once in Birmingham, once in Stirling
History of the DART projects
2010/12 DART1, an LSIS funded project
Beaumont College and National Star College worked with 8 colleges, in a ‘deep support’ capacity
Beaumont and Star are ISC’s : Independent Specialist Colleges
One of those DART1 colleges was Henshaws
Now we are running DART2, a JISC Advance funded project:
Beaumont College, National Star College, Henshaws College, Colleges Scotland, NATSPEC, JISC all working together
10 deep support colleges, 2 in Scotland
3 workshops, delivered twice, once in Birmingham, once in Stirling
DART1 / 2 oversubscribed, DART work in other colleges, outline the DART project.
Working with other providers to improve their strategy, importance of strategic planning for T&L includes
How RSC’s and JISC – describe, JISC RSC NW 1st ILT Strategy, Kevin on InBook, Infonet - Infokits, JISC Legal,

5. DART2 The DART project seeks to: Improve AT practice in the sector
Enable the replication of the innovative Assistive Technologist role
Produce AT case studies for the sector
The project is achieving this through:
‘Deep Support’ for ten providers
A Workshop series
A Natspec sponsored research project
DART 2
The DART project seeks to:
Improve AT practice in the sector
Enable the replication of the innovative Assistive Technologist role
Produce AT case studies for the sector
The project is achieving this through:
‘Deep Support’ for ten providers
A Workshop series
A Natspec sponsored research project
 ‘Deep Support’ for 10 providers (mainstream general further education colleges and independent specialist colleges) who are getting assistance with:
Staff training
Implementation of AT solutions
Assistance with the development of assistive technologist style roles, including recruitment assistance or re-training
Access to assessment kits that will be purchased by the project
A total of four days contact time allocated to each provider and access to telephone support and access to one week of work shadowing

6. Deep Support
Following an application and shortlisting process that was overseen by JISC TechDis 10 Colleges were selected
Applications for the ‘deep support’ element were heavily oversubscribed, with approximately three times more applications than places available
This indicates that there is a large unmet need in the sector.
Unsuccessful applicants received priority booking for the workshop series. After the priority booking period, places will are allocated on a first come, first served basis
We plan to move to a paid consultancy basis for this support going forward, but fear that contracting budgets will limit the appeal of this
Deep Support
Following an application and shortlisting process that was overseen by JISC TechDis 10 Colleges were selected
Applications for the ‘deep support’ element were heavily oversubscribed, with approximately three times more applications than places available
This indicates that there is a large unmet need in the sector.
Unsuccessful applicants received priority booking for the workshop series. After the priority booking period, places will are allocated on a first come, first served basis
We plan to move to a paid consultancy basis for this support going forward, but fear that contracting budgets will limit the appeal of this

7. Deep Support Beaumont College to Support: Bridge College
Myerscough College
Kilmarnock College
Edinburgh College
National Star College to Support
Derwen College
Homefield College
Queen Alexandra College
Henshaws College to support:
Landmarks College
Percy Hedley College
Royal College (Seashell Trust)
The DART project board applied a set of eligibility criteria when discussing each application, and selected the following 10 colleges to receive the ‘deep support’ element of the project:

8. Workshops Day 1: Assessment for Assistive Technology Feb 2013
Slides from the events:
Day 2: Creating the Assistive Technologist role and it’s integration into a College structure, April 2013.
Day 3: Specific Assistive Technology software training, June 2013
Slides from the events are not yet available
Workshops
This training was aimed at practitioners such as teachers / tutors, learning support workers/assistants and people in an AT role. Managers of these post holders may also be interested.
DAY 1: Assessment for Assistive Technology, Feb 2013
The event covered the following areas:
What is AT assessment and who should be assessed for AT?
Case study examples from DART2 colleges, (including both GFE and ISC examples) of their assessment procedures
A brief introduction to AT hardware and software
Signposting to further assistance and organisations that can help
Day 2:Creating the Assistive Technologist role and it’s integration into a College structure, April 2013
24th April 2013 at QAC, 30th April 2013 in Stirling
This event covered:
Definition of the Assistive Technologist role
Examples of Technologist roles in both ISCs and GFEs will be given, along with detailed information on the impact the roles have had (e.g. on observation of teaching and learning grades)
Training and CPD opportunities for people who are working in the role
Funding the role
The organisational structure and team relationships that can enable or hamper the introduction of this role
DAY3:Specific Assistive Technology software training, June 2013
This will be a hands on session mainly designed for practitioners such as teachers / tutors, learning support workers/assistants and people in an AT role.
The topics on offer include:
The free ‘My Study Bar’ / ‘Edu Apps’ (AM)
The Grid 2 for computer and curriculum access (AM)
Clicker 6 (PM)
The use of tablet PC’s (iPad, Android, Windows) by people with disabilities (PM)

9. Natspec Research Project
The Natspec sponsored research project (publication pending, expected shortly) was conducted via online questionnaire / telephone follow up, and sought to:
Inform the content of the workshops (give the sector what it required in terms of AT related CPD)
Define key themes around what is working well (or what is not working well) with respect to Assistive Technology in all types of FE College
A summative DART2 project presentation will take place at the JISC RSC NW annual conference on 26th June 2013: northwest-annual-event.aspx
For more information please see
Natspec Research Project
The Natspec sponsored research project (publication pending, expected shortly) was conducted via online questionnaire / telephone follow up, and sought to:
Inform the content of the workshops (give the sector what it required in terms of AT related CPD)
Define key themes around what is working well (or what is not working well) with respect to Assistive Technology in all types of FE College
A summative DART2 project presentation will take place at the JISC RSC NW annual conference on 26th June 2013: ebruary/jisc-rsc-northwest-annual-event.aspx
For more information please see

10. College structure and relationships between teams
The technology strategy in a College stands or falls based on:
Relationships between teams
The College Structure
Relationship of the IT/Technology team with:
Teachers
Therapists (where present)
Supporting staff
People in the AT role
College structure and relationships between teams
The technology strategy in a College stands or falls based on:
Relationships between teams
The College Structure
Relationship of the IT/Technology team with:
Teachers
Therapists (where present)
Supporting staff
People in the AT role

11. THANK YOU Email us: Follow us: maria.chambers@scope.org.uk
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@rohanslaughter
Thank you
us:
Follow us:
@rohanslaughter

12. Any questions?