BASE has secured funding to deliver the next stage of Employment is Everyone's Business (EEB) during 2017. EEB's aim is to improve employment outcomes for young people with special educational needs and disabilities who are in receipt of Education Health and Care (EHC) plans. This project complements the DfE's focus on young people with additional needs, the National Development Team for Inclusion's (NDTi) Preparing for Adulthood initiative and is aligned with BASE's championing of best practice in employment support.
As part of the 2017 project, BASE will deliver support, advice and guidance to help Berkshire through:
- Sharing knowledge and good practice that currently exists within Berkshire to support all areas in achieving better employment outcomes for young people with SEND
- Constructively challenge the system to do things differently to ensure more young people with SEND leave education with jobs and sustainable careers;
- Develop more effective study programmes with the core aim of employment which includes supported internships;
- Develop effective employer engagement strategies across agencies and providers to the benefit of young people with SEND with approaches embedded into the LEP;
- Ensure young people with SEND and families understand what works to get jobs and sustainable careers.
- Embed and develop the employment pathways for the 6 Berkshire areas.
The original EEB project was funded by the Department for Education (DofE) until 31 March 2016 and was jointly delivered by BASE and NDTi .It lead to three guides being produced which demonstrate best practice in the transition of young people with disabilities from education to employment.
The three guides comprise :
- How to support young people with special educational needs & disabilities into employment- A planning guide for schools, colleges and careers advisers on how to work with young people from year 9 onwards to understand the world of work and to think about their skills, interests and work aspirations.
- Engaging with employers- A guide for colleges on employer engagement on how to identify and work with local employers to understand their business needs and promote the skills and aspirations of individual young people.
- Employer engagment & the SEND Reforms - A guide for local authorities on how to connect with and understand employers and ensure that employment support for young people sits alongside authority-wide strategies for employment, housing and individual funding.