Lessons in practical life skills such as household budgeting and managing your finances are being rolled out to all 11 high schools in West Lothian in a bid to prevent teenage homelessness.
It follows the success of a course developed earlier this year for students attending the Burnhill school skills centre in Whitburn.
The Skills Centre staff work with pupils with a wide variety of additional support needs.
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Homelessness among the young is widespread across Scotland. There are few specialised accommodation units for those who have additional needs and West Lothian Council is still looking to identify a site to build a new supported accommodation unit in Livingston.
Increasing levels of homelessness, especially among teens with additional support needs prompted the development of course work for the Skills Centre to help pupils build resilience and prepare for independent living when they leave school.
The result was National Progression Award in Tenancy at SCQF level 4. The course offers practical help and advice on securing a tenancy for the first time preparing to live independently.
It tackles issues including the process of obtaining a tenancy, behaviours and attitudes needed to sustain a tenancy and practical lessons on how to maintain your home. Other elements include personal finance, money management, Cookery skills and healthy recipes on a budget.
A presentation to the council Education Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel (PDSP) highlighted positive feedback from the Burnhill students who took part.
One said: “I understand how I could budget for bills and food.”
Others said: “ I had the chance to look at activities and clubs I could get involved in within my local community”, and “I know where I can go for help if I need it.”
In his report to the PDSP Andrew Millar, Additional Support Needs Manager, said: “The Skills Centre team have sought out support from across West Lothian Council service areas, including the Anti-Poverty Action Group and Housing, to support the delivery of the qualification and to ensure the learning experience relates to real life scenarios. The support from service areas highlights a West Lothian Council wide commitment to improving outcomes for young people.
“The success of the programme to date in West Lothian has led to e-Sgoil, Scotland’s national e-learning programme, working with the team to explore how to add the Skills Centre programme approach to reach learners across Scotland.”
Education officers also plan to share course materials with council colleagues who work with young people outside schools as well as sharing materials and course work with the mainstream secondaries, initially for pupils supported in the Skills Stations, and also making the work available as a level 4 course within mainstream course choices.
