Corseford College: Scotland’s only complex needs college receives vital funding

Scotland’s only college for young adults with additional and complex support needs will receive funding to allow it to stay open. 

Corseford College in Renfrewshire was threatened with closure because the Scottish Government had yet to commit funding for the upcoming academic year.  

As part of the Scottish budget deal brokered between the Scottish Government and the Liberal Democrats, £700,000 has been confirmed for this year and at least the same amount for next year, in a move to effectively secure the short-term future of the college. 

It was launched by the charity Capability Scotland in 2022, with an initial two years’ of pilot funding from the Scottish Government. It later received £346,000 for a further year.

Earlier this month, Capability Scotland’s chief executive Brian Logan told Holyrood that the Scottish Government wanted the charity to undertake an independent evaluation of the pilot. 

In February 2024, it undertook an interim evaluation, which he said, “was very positive”. However, Logan said the independent evaluation would “be too late” to “offer certainty for Corseford College”.  

It costs £1.5m annually to run and Capability Scotland, who had used £600,000 of its own funds to keep the college going, had been asking for £700,000 from the Scottish Government to fund the next academic year, while the rest of the money would come from local authorities and care packages. 

It is the first further education pathway for young adults with additional and complex support needs who are unable to attend mainstream further education. There are over 100 in England and Wales.  

Now the 36 students who attended the college have that certainty and will be able to continue their studies next year.  

Holyrood spoke to Lorraine Brown last month, the parent of Nathan Brown who is one of the students.  

She was overwhelmingly positive about the college and the support it provided her son, adding that the threat of closure was “a massive black cloud over everyone”. 

Commenting on the funding announcement, Logan said: “We welcome the decision to include funding for Corseford College in the Scottish Government's recent budget amendments.

“This represents an important step in supporting inclusive education and ensuring that students at Corseford College have access to the resources they need to thrive.

“The allocation of £700,000 demonstrates a recognition of the unique role Corseford College plays in providing tailored educational opportunities for young adults with additional support needs, and will help sustain and enhance the vital services offered by the college, and we are grateful for the efforts of those who advocated for this inclusion.

“We now look forward to reviewing the detailed breakdown of this funding to fully understand how it will be distributed and applied. As ever, our focus remains on ensuring that this support delivers maximum benefit for students, staff, and the wider community.

“We remain committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders to continue advocating for investment in inclusive education across Scotland.”