Special Educational Needs and Disability

(asked on 21st January 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to support young people with special educational needs and disabilities to gain (a) internships, (b) apprenticeships and (c) employment opportunities.


Answered by
Michelle Donelan Portrait
Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This question was answered on 27th January 2020

Preparation for adulthood, including employment, is a key aspect of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. The SEND Code of Practice sets out that all children and young people with SEND should be prepared for adulthood, including employment, and that this preparation should start early. Schools and colleges should work with children, young people and their families to agree clear outcomes including sustainable paid work and should provide careers guidance and supported work experience.

Work-based learning, including traineeships, is available for all young people aged 16 to 19, and up to age 25 if the young person has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.

Supported internships are open to young people with EHC plans aged 16 to 25 who need more help to make the transition into employment.

In December 2017 the Department for Education provided £9.7 million to local authorities to train job coaches and establish supported internship forums. The number of young people undertaking a supported internship has been rising annually. The most recent report was in January 2019 and showed that 1,646 children and young people with EHC plans were undertaking supported internships, an increase from 1,214 from the same time in 2018, 715 in 2017 and 65 in 2016.

Our delivery partner, The National Development Team for Inclusion is funded to provide flexible support across regions, working with Local Authorities and learning providers to ensure quality preparation for adulthood provision, including preparation for employment. We have funded a range of materials which can be found at the following link: https://www.preparingforadulthood.org.uk/downloads/employment. We have also funded Mencap to help colleges arrange work experience placements for learners with SEND.

The government is also committed to ensuring that apprenticeships are available to all young people, including those with SEND. To increase accessibility, we have adjusted the minimum English and maths requirements for apprentices with SEND who have an EHC plan or legacy statement, but who are otherwise able to meet all the occupational standards of their apprenticeship. We are working with local partners to test new policies and deliver more apprenticeships for individuals with SEND. The Department for Education have already begun taking forward the recommendations from Mencap’s July 2019 report on ways to make apprenticeships more accessible for people with SEND.

When an apprentice does need additional support, our funding system helps training providers to put this in place. Currently £150 a month can be claimed to fund a range of support for apprentices with additional educational needs. Additional funding is available if the actual cost of support is greater, up to a maximum of £19,000 per year. Apprenticeship starts by apprentices with a SEND are now at their highest proportion for the last 9 years. In 2018/19 they accounted for 12% of apprenticeships starts, compared to 11.6% in 2017/18.

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