Supported Internships

Creating Outstanding Futures

Supported Internships

Creating Outstanding Futures

What is a supported internship?A supported internship is a type of study programme aimed at young people, aged 16-24, who have an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP), and want to move into employment and need extra support to do so.

The overwhelming majority of young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN) are capable of sustainable paid employment if they have the right preparation and support.

Colleges that offer courses which are designed to provide pathways to employment should have a clear focus on preparing students with SEN for the workplace. This includes identifying the skills that employers value as well as helping young people to develop them.

What could a working week look like: 3 days in Supported Internship placement 1 day appropriate level maths and English

classes studied at college

1 day vocational study at college, building employability skills such as customer service and independent travel skills.

Aim of a supported internship To achieve sustainable paid employment

for the intern is the key aim of a supported internship

To support the intern to develop the skills valued by employers and to enable them to demonstrate their value in the workplace

To develop the intern’s confidence in their own abilities to perform successfully at work

To build up their experience for a CV, demonstrating that the young person has the skills and willingness to work

To change the perception of employers about employing people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities

To change the perception of the young person’s family, demonstrating that they can work

To improve the intern’s skills in English and maths, ensuring the young person is better prepared for the world of work, gaining skills such as handling money, interacting with the public and practising interview skills

To help the young person become a confident independent traveller to commute to work

What is an Educational Health Care Plan?An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) describes a child or young person’s Special Educational Needs (SEN) and identifies educational, health and social needs as well as setting out the additional support required to meet those needs.

An EHCP also includes any health and care provision that is needed. It is a legal document, written by the local authority, and is intended to ensure that children and young people (up to the age of 25) with an EHCP receive the support they need.

This will also include any career aspirations, goals and ambitions the person may wish to achieve in the future.

EHCPs are for children and young people who have a special educational need or disability that cannot be met by the standard support that is available at their school or college.

FundingThe main source of funding for supported internships is provided by the Education Funding Agency (EFA). However, there are additional sources of funding which can be used to supplement these funds.

EFA funding for study programmes is based on an assumption that on average, full-time programmes will include at least 600 planned learning hours. To count for funding purposes, planned hours that make up a coherent study programme must be timetabled, organised and/or supervised by the institution and be within that institution’s normal working pattern.

Whilst a supported internship is a study programme for students with additional support needs, in most circumstances a supported internship can be delivered using core funding - programme funding and disadvantage funding - in combination with other support such as Access to Work.

Where a young person requires more significant support, then high needs funding arrangements may apply and local authorities have the prime responsibility for planning and commissioning funding for those high needs students.

Benefits to the employer

Gets you involved in a new, ground-breaking project.

It’s FREE!

The UK has ten million disabled customers, which equates to 20% of all customers, with a combined annual spending power of £80 billion. Having a disability-inclusive workforce can enable employers to understand and access this sizeable market better.

Access to specialist job matching.

The college act as a free recruitment company, helping to reduce your recruitment costs.

Interns may have skills currently lacking in existing staff (e.g. high functioning autism can result in young people having significantly above average accuracy).

Money-saving due to job carving.

In-work training provided by job coach.

It acts as an extended working interview which gives you an increased chance of getting the right person for the job.

Increased diversity of workforce to reflect your customers and society.

Disability awareness training for staff (provided by the college).

Contribution to society and helps meet a business’s corporate responsibility.

Helps with achieving equality and diversity targets.

Improved staff retention (evidence of lower staff turnover amongst people with a disability).

Potential supervisory or mentoring opportunities for junior staff which can improve motivation and morale.

Your competition is offering internships!

Helping people with learning difficulties to reach their full potential in the workplace

Induction and settling inIt is important for an intern to be offered an induction to the workplace and for the job coach to negotiate with the employer some form of settling in period, where both intern and employer are offered extensive support.

It is often appropriate to begin the induction period before an intern formally starts in their role. Useful activities can include:

A visit by the intern with a job coach to show them around the work environment

Face-to-face meetings between the employer, college staff and job coach to discuss the structure of the programme and the needs of the individual intern (with or without the intern present)

The intern to attend the workplace to shadow a colleague in a similar job role for one or two days.

Induction might also include an employer’s standard induction processes for all staff, with the job coach adjusting elements to ensure accessibility and/or providing additional information.

Training needs analysis and role of the job coach The job coach will work very closely with both the employer and the intern during the initial training period. In particular, the job coach will need to understand the tasks and responsibilities of the intern’s role and the standards expected.

The job coach may then support the intern through a training programme led either by the employer, or in discussion with the employer, or undertake the training requirements themselves and devise an approach to deliver the training to match both the employer’s needs and the intern’s preferred learning style.

Cross-referencing the information about the job, gained from job analysis, with details about the learner’s abilities, which are acquired through vocational profiling, gives the job coach an idea of the skills gap they will need to address during the internship placement.

As the young person adjusts to a new environment and new responsibilities, ‘teething problems’ may occur (e.g. an intern struggling with punctuality or wearing the incorrect clothing). During this period, the job coach may need to apply their negotiation skills to ensure that the employer allows the intern the time required to adapt to the job role, whilst impressing on the intern the need to meet the basic requirements of the role and supporting them to do so within agreed timescales.

Whilst determining any reasonable adjustments needed, is likely to be a factor at the job matching stage, in the first few weeks of a placement, that the job coach may need to provide the employer with support in implementing these adjustments in a way that works for both intern and employer. This initial period in the workplace also provides an opportunity for the job coach to support the intern’s colleagues and line manager to understand the specific needs and abilities of the intern.

Helping people with learning difficulties to reach their full potential in the workplace

Creating Outstanding Futures

518 8223

Peterlee CampusWillerby Grove, Peterlee, Co. Durham, SR8 2RN

Houghall CampusHoughall, Durham, Co. Durham, DH1 3SG

The Technical Academy1 Palmer Road, South West Industrial Estate, Peterlee, Co. Durham, SR8 2HU

Working in Partnership with EDC

If you would like more details on the supported internship programme,

our specialist staff are on hand to guide you through every stage of the process.

To discuss more details or request an appointment, please call the College’s Supported

Internship Coordinator on 0191 518 8284 or email rachel.thom@eastdurham.ac.uk