SOLAS Welcomes the Launch of the ALTITUDE Charter

SOLAS/20.03.2024

SOLAS today welcomed the launch of ALTITUDE, the National Charter for Universal Design in Tertiary Education, at the AHEAD ‘Panorama’ Conference, marking the start of a national conversation on how the tertiary education sector can strategically embed a universal design (UD) approach.

A milestone in further embedding inclusiveness into the tertiary education sector, this charter is the result of a cross-sectoral collaboration across a number of public sector stakeholders including SOLAS, 6 Education and Training Board (ETB) representatives, Higher Education (HE) institutions and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) who have funded the project.

Available in every county in Ireland, further education and training (FET) has a unique role in reaching diverse communities and providing inclusive education and training across the country. FET offers every individual, regardless of any previous level of education, a pathway to take them as far as they want to go.

As the national further education and training authority, a key part of SOLAS’ role is to drive the transformation and growth of the FET sector, led by our ambitious FET Strategy.

Fostering inclusion through initiatives such as the implementation of Universal Design for Learning is key to meeting the diverse needs of FET learners and ensuring the provision of inclusive teaching and learning environments for all.

A working group of representatives from across the FET and HE sectors will come together to progress the formal adoption of the Charter across both sectors. A Technical Report outlining charter development and featuring proposals on how it may be adopted and utilised is due to be issued in the coming months, and a practical toolkit to support implementation will follow later this year.