ESB News - Autumn-Winter 2021 v7

Reaching Learners Facing Disadvantage

How are we currently supporting learners facing disadvantage?

ESB has a long history of supporting disadvantaged learners. An example of this is our unique Speech portfolio of qualifications for learners with significant special needs and disabilities. We are dedicated to offering this group of learners opportunities to develop and demonstrate their Oracy skills and build their confidence in order for them to lead full and productive lives. “ People with disabilities are twice as likely to be unemployed when compared with the general population ”, according to new data from the Bureau of Labour Statistics (2020). This statement reveals the severity of the inequality that exists and which some of the most disadvantaged groups in society face. There is still so much evidence of people with disabilities facing barriers to learning that hinder their access to opportunities. At ESB, we want to reach these learners who face disadvantage and help equip them with the essential life skills they need to thrive in education, training and employment, giving them the life choices and freedoms they are entitled to. It has been a consistent aim since ESB’s inception to unlock learners’ potential – to stretch the most able, support the least confident and close the disadvantage gap. We have long felt the need to focus on our qualifications for learners with significant special educational needs and disabilities to provide equality and the same opportunities for all. One of ESB’s Ambassadors, Hrishi Venkatesh, explains his personal journey with Autism and how ESB assessments helped him to become a confident communicator in the video below.

Hrishi made an appearance on BBC Breakfast Television where he talked about his ESB journey and has also presented to Parliament about his perspectives on social mobility as a learner with Asperger’s. Although recognising that like many people who live with Asperger’s he had good language skills, he felt that oracy training enhanced his communication skills. He says: “I wanted social communication but didn’t know how to go about getting it. That changed in Year 4 when I found ESB, which was so beneficial to me. It helped me with presenting skills, it helped me with eye contact which I used to struggle with a lot and it also showed me how to interact with people. It also helped me to listen to people - I didn’t know how to see things from other people’s perspectives, but talking to people and learning to understand them was brilliant. I also experienced an unparalleled sense of achievement with every qualification I got which boosted my confidence even more. Oracy Skills, developed from an early age can help bridge the social mobility gap for people like me, with disabilities such as Autism.” Hrishi is just one of our learners to have been positively impacted by completing ESB assessments. We have also reached out to learners with special educational needs and disabilities at Belfast Metropolitan College who have benefitted from our Speech assessments which provide meaningful learning pathways for these students who have significant learning needs. Associate Lecturer at Belfast Met, Juliet Meighan, coordinates ESB qualifications and received ESB’s Burniston Bell Award in recognition of her exceptional and truly inspirational work with ESB learners. She talks about her ESB experience in the video below.

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