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The Minister for School Standards (Catherine McKinnell)
It is a pleasure to serve under you in the Chair, Mr Turner. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Jodie Gosling) on securing this debate on an incredibly important topic. It is clear from her speech and the work she does that she has a keen interest in supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and supported internships in particular, and it is clear from the other contributions that her passions are very much shared.
Supported internships are excellent study programmes that provide 16 to 24-year-olds with EHCPs with the skills they need to transition to paid employment. Over the last couple of months, events have been held in each region to celebrate the progress made on supported internships in local communities, after three years of Government investment. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of speaking to interns, parents and carers when I attended an event celebrating success in London. At that event I met Rayhan, who had a work placement with Transport for London, and whose confidence had grown hugely thanks to the supported internship programme. I met and spoke to many of the young people at that powerful event; they were very proud, but the parents who were with them were even prouder. It was wonderful to see good practice being shared around the country.
Looking ahead to one week tomorrow, the third National Supported Internship Day will take place on 27 March, with more events scheduled throughout the country, including a youth parliament and webinars to raise awareness of supported internships among young people, their families and employers. Many interns, education providers and employers will also be planning local events to show the incredible achievements and capabilities of young people on the programmes.
To shine a light—literally—even further, Harry Georgiou, who works at DFN Project SEARCH and is CEO of the charity 6 Percent & Rising, has led the drive to have national monuments such as the University of Derby and the Northern Spire bridge, which is not far from my constituency, lit up in orange to celebrate supported internships on National Supported Internships Day. What a fantastic way to mark the day!
I know how important it is to ensure that young people with special educational needs and disabilities are prepared for adulthood and employment. In my own city, Newcastle City Learning has a partnership with Northumbria University and Sodexo, whereby young people complete work placements in various roles, including in ground maintenance and sports centres. There are also placements in hospitals in Newcastle, run by Project Choice; my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton mentioned that there are in her area too. These opportunities provide young people with practical experience and valuable skills that help them to secure paid employment. It is so good to witness all the innovative approaches that have been taken, including in my own area, to champion the inclusive practice we need to see everywhere.
Since 2022 the Department for Education has invested up to £18 million to build capacity in supported internships, to support more young people with education, health and care plans to gain the skills to needed transition into employment. The Internships Work consortium—made up of the National Development Team for Inclusion, the British Association for Supported Employment and DFN Project SEARCH, which I mentioned earlier—has been delivering the investment programme. It has worked closely with local authorities to establish SEND employment forums, focused on improving local supported internship provision; rolled out a quality framework and facilitated peer reviews; trained more than 760 job coaches to provide high-quality support to interns while they are on work placements; and recruited almost 800 employer ambassadors, who advocate for establishing supported internships in businesses.
The data from local authorities shows that we are on track to reach our aim of doubling the number of supported internships to 4,500 when the funding ends at the end of this month. That is a great achievement and will provide real employment opportunities for many people. We know that high-quality programmes achieve employment outcomes, because 60% to 70% of their cohorts go on to employment. That is why the investment has also been focused on improving the quality and consistency of the offers across the country.
The indicative data we have from local authorities shows that last year more than 1,500 young people secured paid employment following their internship. The interim report from the evaluation of the programme also shows progress. It shows that the majority of supported internship providers reported offering more supported internships and an improvement in the quality of intern placements with employers. Although it was from quite a small sample, nearly half the interns surveyed had jobs six months after finishing their internship, with three quarters of them working more than 16 hours a week, which is fantastic news for them.
We know that the right preparation and support are essential, and that with that the overwhelming majority of young people with SEND are capable of sustained, paid employment. But not enough people are getting the support they need. To build on the investment, the Department has been running a pilot in 12 local authority areas to test the supported internships model with young people with learning difficulties and disabilities who are furthest from the labour market but do not have education, health and care plans, to see whether that can be an effective way to support them into employment. Indicative data from the Internships Work consortium shows that, across this year and last, about 240 young people have enrolled on non-EHCP pilot programmes, with at least 60 people gaining employment last year. This shows there is demand for this kind of pathway and that it can lead to good outcomes.
I know my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton is keen to know about funding. The funding for Internships Work and the pilot for interns without education, health and care plans is committed up to the end of March 2025. It was designed as a three-year investment to build capacity in the system to deliver more high-quality supported internships throughout the country. We have seen huge progress towards achieving those aims, thanks to the hard work of Internships Work and the commitment we have seen from local authorities, education providers, job coaches, employers and, of course, the interns themselves.
The Department received a settlement for the 2025-26 financial year in the autumn Budget, and we are still working through, with the Secretary of State, how we will allocate the budgets for specific programmes. We hope the process will be completed soon, but unfortunately I do not currently have any further information on budgets for next year. It is fantastic to hear that, despite the financial pressures that many local areas face, some plan to continue their SEND employment forums and value the important work that is taking place on supported interns.
A challenge raised by many stakeholders involved in delivering supported internships is the delays that interns can face when they claim DWP Access to Work funding, which can fund interns’ in-work support needs during their work placements. Demand for Access to Work has been growing, and the personalised nature of the scheme means that it can take longer to identify a customer’s specific needs. Several measures have been put in place, including on streamlining delivery processes and recruiting additional staff, and the DWP has been taking steps to modernise the Access to Work customer journey, with all core parts of the scheme having been fully digital since April 2024.
Access to Work has a dedicated supported internship team in the DWP, which manages all the intern applications. That provides a central point of contact and a direct route for applications. To enable supported interns to have confidence that support will be in place before they start their internship, they can submit Access to Work applications up to six months before they start their work placements.
Despite the DWP having a dedicated team within Access to Work to process supported intern applications, delays are still occurring due to the high demand for Access to Work funding. To make it easier for supported interns to apply, the DWP is working to reduce the administrative burden and paperwork for learning providers. Work is under way to develop a claims process whereby learning providers can claim Access to Work funding for multiple interns using one claim form. The DWP is also working to improve the supported intern application process and the support plan, to reduce the need for additional contacts. My Department is working closely with the DWP on these issues.
Every child and young person, regardless of their individual needs, deserves the opportunity to thrive, succeed and achieve. However, we are aware that there are challenges in the SEND system, and the Government have made a clear commitment to addressing them. We are prioritising early intervention and inclusive provision in mainstream settings, as we know that early intervention prevents unmet needs from escalating and supports children and young people to achieve their goals while still being alongside their peers. We are committed to working with the sector to ensure that that approach is fully planned and delivered in partnership.
We have already begun the work by appointing a strategic adviser on SEND to engage with sector leaders, practitioners, children and families; we have established an expert advisory group on inclusion, to improve the mainstream-education outcomes and experience for children with SEND; and we are setting up a neurodivergence task and finish group to provide a shared understanding of what provision and support in mainstream educational settings should look like for neurodivergent children and young people, within an inclusive system. We recognise that these are complex issues, and we need a considered approach to deliver the change we want to see in a sustainable way that will deliver the outcomes we want for young people.
I again thank my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton for bringing this matter forward, and all who have contributed to the debate. I know we all care passionately about ensuring that there are high-quality pathways to employment for young people with special educational needs and disabilities. I have seen at first hand the great work done by employers, local authorities and education providers to break down the barriers for young people with additional needs.
Supported internships are a key part of the Government’s mission to ensure that all young people are supported to achieve the skills they need to be successful in the workplace, regardless of their background. We have made a clear commitment to address the challenges raised today, to support all children and young people to achieve and thrive, and to improve the wider SEND system. I am determined that progress will be made.
I conclude by thanking all those who work in education and employment in the interests of children and young people with SEND throughout the country. I know that they share the desire—and we are determined to work with them—to deliver the very best for all our children and young people, including those with SEND.
Question put and agreed to.