Thousands of youngsters with SEND to get more support in securing work experience

Thousands of young people with special educational needs will get more support in securing work experience after a £12million funding boost.

Some 4,500 people with SEND will get employment experience after the Department for Education today extended the “supported internships” programme.

As part of efforts to help more youngsters get valuable skills for work, 16-24 year olds with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will be able to secure a work placement which is supported by a job coach.

The job coach provides tailored in-work support to the intern, including checking their understanding of tasks and providing training. They also work with the employer to help them understand the intern’s needs and how to approach them.

Work experience will include placements in , , banks and more.

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Minister for School Standards Catherine McKinnell told The : “Devastatingly, according to Impetus, young people with SEND are 80% more likely to not be in employment, education or training.

"For thousands of young people, this means losing out on opportunities to get on in life, as well as missing out on a sense of community and independence. We’re committed to turning this around.”

The £12m funding injection for this year alone is far more than £18m previously invested in the programme over the past three years.

Half of the funding - £6m - will go towards piloting supported internships in at least 12 local authorities with young people who don’t have an EHCP, but who have learning difficulties or disabilities and are furthest from the labour market. It is double the £3m that was committed for the first two years of the pilot.

An EHCP is for children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is available through special educational needs support.

The work experience announcement comes after ministers earlier this week carpenters and healthcare support workers by creating 120,000 new career-supporting opportunities. Under the plans, the apprenticeship budget for 2025-26 has for the first time been lifted to more than £3billion - up from last year’s £2.73billion.

The efforts are part of a drive to get more young people into a job amid a shocking one in eight young people not in employment, education or training.

Elsewhere ministers have also today pledged £9.5m in funding for a neurodiversity inclusion programme in schools. The scheme involves training teachers to identify and better meet children’s needs.

Around 300,000 children, including those with conditions such as autism, ADHD, and dyslexia, will benefit from the programme.

Ms McKinnell added: “The number of young people struggling to secure work opportunities is a clear symptom of a SEND system that isn’t supporting children early in life to build the skills they need.

“That’s why we’re also taking action to make sure that support is there from the very earliest years, so that those who are struggling with everything from speech and language to autism and ADHD, are able to achieve and thrive.”

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