State of Gloucestershire: Education and Training

Our State of Gloucestershire Research

In 2021, Barnwood’s Insights team carried out a research project called the State of Gloucestershire. Over 260 disabled people and people with mental health conditions living in Gloucestershire responded to a survey. The survey asked about their experiences of accessing a range of opportunities and the quality and accessibility of their housing.

We have produced a series of booklets, each on a specific topic, which include the survey findings and relevant findings from research conducted by others. The booklets also include recommendations for organisations and providers which have been drawn from the findings.

Key findings

Our survey findings indicate that disabled people and people with mental health conditions living in Gloucestershire face a range of barriers to accessing education and training opportunities. Less than one in three of the survey respondents told us that they can do the type of education or training they want to do. The most frequently reported barriers to accessing education and training opportunities were:

‘My health (e.g. my disability means I need a lot of rest)’
‘I don’t feel confident enough’
And ‘It’s difficult for me to travel to places’.

The respondents also told us what would help them to take part in education and training opportunities. Almost half of the respondents (45%) said that being able to easily find information about what activities are available was one of the three enablers they would find most helpful. Lots of choices of activities they could do, having the right technology, getting help when doing activities, inclusive practices, and having their own car or van to travel to activities were also identified as key enablers.

Our findings reflect the social model of disability. Although respondents reported experiencing barriers to education and training, we also heard that if conditions within society were changed these barriers could begin to be addressed.

Recommendations

Based on our survey findings and our review of research conducted by others, we recommend the following actions to make education and training opportunities more accessible to disabled people and people with mental health conditions:

Engagement: Proactively and directly engage with disabled people and people with mental health conditions to understand how to improve access to education and training opportunities. Co-production and co-design can help ensure that information about these opportunities is fully accessible.

Accessible information: Provide clear and accessible information about education and training opportunities in a range of formats and via multiple channels, along with the option for in-person contact. Accessible information provision should consider all the useful information that might be provided to enable real choice.

Choice: Take proactive steps to ensure real choice is available and accessible to disabled people and people with mental health conditions about education and training opportunities. Choice is more than just a greater range of options, it’s about making sure that what’s currently on offer is accessible to everyone.

To download the full Education and Training Booklet please click on the image below.

Accessible formats

We have produced the Education and Training booklet in a range of different accessible formats. We will be doing the same for all of the booklets as part of the State of Gloucestershire reports.