Local Authorities: Work Experience

(asked on 27th February 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of the availability of supported internships in each local authority.


Answered by
Nadhim Zahawi Portrait
Nadhim Zahawi
This question was answered on 4th March 2019

The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms have been designed to increase aspirations across the system, including among parents, children and young people themselves and the education and health professionals that support them. This includes making it a legal requirement that all children and young people with SEND must be prepared for adulthood, including employment.

Supported internships offer young people with SEND a clear pathway into employment. We are keen to do more to increase the uptake of supported internships and are considering how we can build the evidence base further, including looking into current models of supported internship delivery, to enable us to share evidence with providers of promising practice.

We continue to fund a range of support across the system to raise aspirations and also consistently communicate our expectations to stakeholders, including schools and colleges. This includes providing £9.7 million to local authorities, in 2018, to establish local supported internship forums, bringing together local partners to develop and deliver supported internships in their area. Funding can also be used to train job coaches.

Good practice examples of supported internships are also gathered by our delivery partner, National Development Team for Inclusion, and published on the Preparing for Adulthood website: https://www.preparingforadulthood.org.uk/downloads/employment.

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