News

The Power of Procurement in Action

14/07/22

With the current economic climate, good news is often in short supply, which is why we're delighted to share this Supported Business success story from Alistair Kerr, the BASE Scotland Chair. It's a fantastic evidenced based example of collaboration between Scottish Government Procurement, Scottish Prison Service Procurement, a Tier1 Construction Company & BASE Scotland Network, that cuts across a number of Scottish Government Policy intents supporting people living with disabilities or who are disadvantaged is some unique way to achieve individual goals and ambitions.

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Welsh employment support services extended

27/04/22

The Out of Work Service and In-Work Support Service, which are helping Welsh people to rebuild their lives, will be extended until 2025.

The Out of Work Service helps the most vulnerable and those "furthest away from the labour market". It is specifically focused on providing long term support to people recovering from mental health or substance misuse issues. The service provides support through a national network of peer mentors – people who have themselves recovered from issues such as mental ill-health or substance misuse. 

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DfE publishes Supported Internship support contract

06/04/22

DfE has published details of its Investment in Supported Internships Programme support contract. The contract is split into 2 lots: one to strengthen delivery of the Supported Internship programme and one to deliver job coach training. Bids are invited before 13 May and must be submitted through the Jaggaer e-procurement portal.

The DfE wants to build the capacity of the SI programme and are aiming to double the number of SIs from c.2,250 internship enrolments per annum to c.4,500 per annum by 2025.

 

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Supported Internship quality framework published

06/04/22

The Supported Internship Quality Framework has been published. It was developed for the Department for Education by the Education and Training Foundation and their centres of excellence. The framework has been developed over the last 6 months and aims to improve the quality of Supported Internships (SIs) provision and outcomes. BASE has fed into discussions and we have asked for a review of the framework in 12 months.

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IPES performance statistics

04/04/22

DWP has published statistics for the Intensive Personalised Employment Support (IPES) programme following a Freedom of Information request from BASE. The statistics have not been publically available until now despite IPES starting delivery in late 2019.

The data shows that there have been a total of 6044 programme starts since December 2019. 1071 lower threshold outcomes have been achieved so far resulting in 787 higher threshold outcomes.

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DfE publishes the SEND Review

29/03/22

The Department for Education (DfE) has today published the SEND review. The Green Paper, SEND Review - right support, right place, right time, launches a consultation that seeks responses by 1st July 2022. BASE will be seeking member views on the SEND Review proposals before submitting a response.

The review has identified 3 key challenges facing the SEND and alternative provision system:

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Supported Business webinar

03/03/22

BASE promoted a webinar for Supported Businesses on 17 February. The aim was to update businesses on current policy and to get feedback on the pressures that they currently face.

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Guide to London's Supported Internships

01/03/22

The West London Alliance has published its 2022 West London Guide to Supported Internships. It contains the details of 32 supported internships in London and incorporates a map in the centre pages showing their locations.

Over 450 young people with learning disabilities are now undertaking Supported Internship programmes in London every year, with an average employment achievement rate of over 60%.

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DfE tender: Strengthening the Supported Internships Programme

21/02/22

The Department for Education has published details of engagement on a tender exercise for a programme to strengthen the delivery of Supported Internships. Supported Internships (SIs) are a work-based study programme for 16-24 year olds with SEND who have an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan, who want to move into employment and who need extra support to do so. SIs are designed to equip young people with the skills they need to secure and sustain employment through learning in the workplace.

The DfE is considering its commissioning approach for the delivery of the 'Strengthening the Supported Internships Programme' contract. We want to build the capacity of the programme and are aiming to double the number of SIs from c.2,250 internship enrolments per annum to c.4,500 per annum by 2025. We anticipate awarding contracts up to a total maximum value of £8,000,000 including VAT:

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Mencap seeks changes to apprenticeship eligibility

07/02/22

Mencap has published a report about supported apprenticeships that argues for changes to the eligibility criteria. Mancap wants a cognitive assessment to replace the current requirement of an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), Statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN) or Learning Difficulty Assessment (LDA).

Mencap surveyed apprenticeship employers and training providers to gauge their views on the minimum standard flexibilities for apprentices with a learning disability or learning difficulty (LDD).

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