Search results for ‘Subject term:"learning disabilities"’ Sort:
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Support on the job
- Author:
- LITTLE Mathew
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Young People Now, 24.7.12, 2012, pp.22-23.
- Publisher:
- Haymarket Business Publications Ltd
Young people with special educational needs seeking jobs often come up against reluctant or inflexible employers. The Realistic Opportunities for Supported Employment Project (Rose) at Havering College of Further and Higher Education works with students with learning difficulties when they have finished Havering College courses, and actively seeks to find them paid employment. It uses job coaches to work alongside them in the first weeks of work. One young person explains how the Rose project has helped him. The article also draws parallels with the Rose project and the recently announced government supported internship pilot scheme.
Merthyr Tydfil youth supported employment project
- Author:
- GARFITT Joy
- Journal article citation:
- Llais, 89, Autumn 2008, pp.12-13.
- Publisher:
- Learning Disability Wales
The Youth Supported Project matches teenagers who have learning disabilities with similar aged non-disabled peers to support and assist them to learn their jobs and become independent. This article describes the work of the project which gives young people opportunities to learn and grow together.
Supported internship trial for 16 to 24 year old learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities: an evaluation: research report
- Authors:
- COOPERGIBSON RESEARCH, DISABILITY RIGHTS UK
- Publisher:
- Great Britain. Department for Education
- Publication year:
- 2013
- Pagination:
- 149
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
One of the initiatives proposed in the 2011 special educational needs (SEN) green paper ‘Support and aspiration: a new approach to special educational needs and disability’ was supported internship, providing structured study programme for students aged 16 to 24 with a learning difficulty assessment (LDA). The Department for Education commissioned CooperGibson Research, in partnership with Disability Rights UK, to undertake an evaluation of the trial to determine whether the supported internship trial had been effective in enabling colleges to support young people with different learning difficulties and/or disabilities to progress into sustainable employment. The evaluation also examined how the initiative had been delivered and any lessons learned from the set-up, design and delivery; also, whether the initiative provided value-for-money. Of the 190 young people who completed a supported internship, 36% gained paid employment, including apprenticeships (5%); 26% gained voluntary work; 4% were progressing to further education or training (or in a small number of cases continuing their internship); and 25% had no employment, paid or unpaid, or plans for further education or training. This report describes the methodology, the different approaches to setting up trials (including 10 case studies), and the perceived benefits of the trials, employment, education, other outcomes, and how the key principles of supported internships have been managed and met. It makes recommendations regarding: publicity and raising awareness; eligibility criteria; employer engagement; and supporting interns. (Edited publisher abstract)
Raising aspiration: widening participation in supported internships
- Authors:
- ALLOTT Susan, HICKS Tom
- Publishers:
- Remploy, Mencap
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 12
- Place of publication:
- Leicester
Joint report by Mencap and Remploy which looks at the effectiveness of supported internships in providing a route into paid employment for young people with learning disabilities and special educational needs. Supported internships provide personalised study programmes based primarily at an employer’s premises, which include on-the-job training provided by expert job coaches. Job coaches provide support to employers, increasing their confidence of working with interns, and also provide support at the end of the internship for those young people not offered a paid job. The report also looks at some of the challenges of delivering and scaling up the provision of supported internships, which include employers not recognising supported internships as a model of good practice, lack of awareness of local authorities, and lack of long-term funding. It then puts forward proposals to help address these challenges. The report argues that supported internships could form a key part of Government aspirations to reduce the disability employment and calls for a cross-Government marketing campaign and a sustainable, ring-fenced funding stream to help agencies running and planning supported internships. (Edited publisher abstract)
Supported work experience and its impact on young people with intellectual disabilities, their families and employers
- Authors:
- BEYER Stephen, MEEK Andrea, DAVIES Amy
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 10(3), 2016, pp.207-220.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: The Real Opportunities project set out to implement a number of the approaches identified through research that can assist transition to adulthood in nine local authority areas in Wales. Supported work experience was delivered by small job coaching teams in each area. The purpose of this paper is to establish the impact of the work experience and employment teams by describing the placements provided, any change in the skills of young people, and the responses to the placements by employers, young people and their families. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected over 24 months by participating employment services. Questionnaires were administered to employers. Interviews were carried out with a sub-sample of young people (24) participating and a family member (25). Findings: Over a 24-month period 297 young people received supported work experience. In total, 262 young people had an intellectual disability, 35 an autistic spectrum disorder. Up to three placements were delivered to each person, averaging five weeks per placement, with 405 placements in total. In total, 62 per cent of those with two placements had a different category of second work placement to their first. These numbers demonstrated that work experience in community placements is possible with support. Young people improved work skills significantly between first and second placements. Employers reported high satisfaction rates with the young person’s work in a range of key performance areas and company benefits from participation for other staff, company image and customer relations. Interviews with 24 young people and 25 of their family members reported satisfaction with support and placements. Six young people had paid work now, and 33 per cent said they would get a job at some future time. Families reported changes in young person’s outlook but their view of prospects of employment remained pessimistic due to the external environment. Research limitations/implications: Implications for future research are discussed. Practical implications: Implications for transition are discussed. Originality/value: The paper provides new insight into the impact of a large number of supported work experience placements. (Publisher abstract)
Project SEARCH: a new model of supported employment?
- Author:
- KAEHNE Axel
- Journal article citation:
- Learning Disability Today, 15(1), January 2015, pp.22-24.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
Reports on the evaluation of Project SEARCH UK programme, an intern-based supported employment programme originally devised in the USA. The evaluation examined employment outcome data from 17 participating sites in the South West of England. In the programme a business, often a hospital, takes the lead in developing the internships. It also commits to take on 60 per cent of its interns after graduation for full time employment. The programme is primarily open to young people with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum conditions who are in their last year of school or college. Outcomes found that Project SEARCH graduates had a significantly higher rate of finding employment than in other supported employment programmes. It was also successful in offering opportunities to people with a range of learning disabilities. Interns also found work in a variety of roles. The evaluation demonstrates that Project Search is a valuable addition to supported employment programmes in the UK. (Edited publisher abstract)
Supported employment for young people with intellectual disabilities facilitated through peer support: a pilot study
- Authors:
- KAEHNE Axel, BEYER Stephen
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 17(3), 2013, pp.236-251.
- Publisher:
- Sage
- Place of publication:
- London
The article reports the evaluation of a small-scale–supported employment project in a local authority in England. The study examined whether or not the peer support model could be used to deliver supported employment to a group of young people with intellectual disabilities. The authors utilised a mixed-method approach involving activity data, family interviews and a postal survey with participating employers. Five families took part in the study. The findings show that families viewed the project positively, although it was insufficiently embedded in the wider transition planning. The study indicates that the peer support model may represent a useful addition to the conventional supported employment efforts for this population. However, more research is needed to demonstrate the benefits of peer support over and above the benefits of conventional supported employment for young people in post-school transition. In particular, producing a better evidence base on the exact impact of peer support on service users’ experiences is recommended. (Publisher abstract)
Comparing transition expectations of young people with moderate learning disabilities with other vulnerable youth and with their non-disabled counterparts
- Authors:
- CATON Sue, KAGAN Carolyn
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 22(5), August 2007, pp.473-488.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This article uses data obtained from a study that examined transition experiences of young people with moderate learning disabilities. A comparison is made between those experiences and the experiences of both other vulnerable young people and non-disabled youth in the UK. It was found that non-disabled youth experience extended transitions with events that signify adult status taking place well into young people's 20s. On the other hand, vulnerable youth transitions are often (out of necessity) rushed, with young people having to take on responsibility beyond their years. The results of the study demonstrate that for young people with moderate learning disabilities the experiences of transition more closely mirror those of other vulnerable youth than they do the non-disabled population.
Models of support for people with learning disabilities post-secondary school
- Author:
- MURPHY Eoin
- Publisher:
- Northern Ireland Assembly. Research and Information Service
- Publication year:
- 2014
- Pagination:
- 30
- Place of publication:
- Belfast
This paper provides a general overview of the approach taken by the countries of Scotland, Sweden, Canada and the USA in supporting people with learning disabilities and Special Education Needs (SEN) who have completed secondary education. The countries were selected as examples of some of the most advanced in the way in which they provide support for people with learning disability who wish to continue their education or enter training or employment. The paper was produced for the Committee of Employment and Learning as part of its inquiry into post Special Educational Need provision in education, employment and training for those with Learning Disabilities. (Original abstract)
Can peer support help with the employment challenge?
- Authors:
- KAEHNE Axel, ALLAN Julie
- Journal article citation:
- Learning Disability Today, August 2011, pp.30-32.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
The first Youth Supported Employment Programme (YSEP) was launched in Calgary, Canada, in 1994. YSEP aims to emulate the career paths of non-disabled young people by organising Saturday and evening jobs for young people with learning disabilities and by teaming them with a non-disabled peer supporter. YSEP was first piloted in the UK in 1999 and has recently been implemented and evaluated in Manchester. Results from the evaluation were encouraging although the number of participants was small. Five young people were recruited and were supported in the workplace by peers; support was successfully phased out to all but one of the young people. There was also some evidence that participants developed some social contacts during the project. Employers were positive about the project and the majority indicated that they would hire young people with learning disabilities again.