Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that school work experience placements are accessible to students living with disabilities.

Work experience is an important aspect of the support pupils receive to follow rewarding learning and training pathways which lead to fulfilling careers.

The department works with The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) to support secondary schools in providing pupils with multiple interactions with employers from year 7 to year 13 in line with Gatsby Benchmark 6 - Experiences of the Workplace. This 2023/24 financial year, the department has asked CEC to drive this agenda forward at pace to increase workplace opportunities, targeting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This is in response to evidence that these pupils are less likely to access work experience opportunities than their peers.

The CEC Careers Hub network has been asked to use a proportion of their Hub Delivery Fund to stimulate meaningful employer-led activities to increase the quantity and quality of opportunities for young people to engage in encounters of the workplace. Within the fund, there is a focus on alternative provision, SEND and Pupil Referral Units across all year groups. One funded activity, ‘Let’s Explore VR’ delivered fully immersive experiences to SEND pupils across the Liverpool City Region, who faced social barriers to accessing and engaging with workplace careers insights and traditional work experience. The activity provided unique and engaging insights into a variety of workplaces, careers and sectors using virtual reality to transport the students into the world of work.

The CEC’s training is designed to promote SEND inclusion. The CEC have developed SEND awareness training for their Enterprise Coordinators and Enterprise Advisers and provide SEND Careers training to Careers Leaders and special educational needs co-ordinators in schools, to support the development of careers plans and employer experiences appropriate to the needs of students with SEND. There are now 38 named SEND specific Enterprise Coordinators in place across 31 Careers Hubs. Enterprise Coordinators are trained professionals who work with a cluster of 20 schools and colleges to build careers plans and make connections to local and national employers. In addition, 300 Enterprise Coordinators have undertaken masterclass training to gain an understanding of how to support schools, colleges and special schools with young people with SEND.

Supported internships are a study programme for young people aged 16 to 24 who have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan and want to move into employment. They equip young people with the skills they need to secure and sustain employment through learning in the workplace.

The department is investing approximately £18 million until 2025 to build capacity in the supported internships programme and support more young people with EHC plans into employment.

In the 2023 Spring Budget, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced up to £3 million to pilot extending supported internships to young people with learning difficulties and disabilities without an EHC plan by March 2025. The pilot is being rolled out in 12 local authorities.