AEIAG0044

Written evidence submitted by the National Deaf Children's Society

Whether the current CEIAG system is serving young people with special educational needs and disabilities

Our evidence suggests that there are large failures in the CEIAG system to properly support most deaf young people with making informed choices about their futures and prepare them for moving into the world of work.

In 2020 we released a report, Deaf young people’s experiences of careers advice and support [1] which presented the findings of focus groups with over 100 deaf young people across the UK. We found that there was a widespread absence of specialist or tailored careers advice for deaf young people, that professionals had limited aspirations for them and there was a lack of support to enter the workforce.

Since the report was released, we have conducted further focus groups with deaf young people around the subject of careers and employment which continue to reveal that the majority of deaf young people are not receiving careers guidance that meets their needs. Even deaf young people attending a specialist school for deaf students were poorly informed about their rights and employment support.

Important information is not reaching deaf young people and this includes information about and examples of:

rights to reasonable adjustments that can be made in the workplace and job interviews by employers under the Equality Act 2010
what support and technology can be accessed at work (e.g. sign language interpreters, radio aids to assist listening, etc)
the Government’s Access to Work scheme which can cover the costs of support and technology at work
programmes that support disabled people to find work (e.g. Work and health programme)
what jobs are open to deaf people and the small number of roles which they might not be permitted to do

The National Deaf Children’s Society tries to play a role in providing the above information to young people and their families. However, we rely on schools, colleges and local authority services to signpost and to make use of our resources. Deaf young people sometimes report insufficient focus on moving into work within their schools and majority of guidance very orientated towards preparing young people for university. Given that deaf young people are more likely not to take academic routes after 16, they are disproportionately affected by a lack of information about the range of routes to employment young people may take.

We think the Government’s statutory guidance for schools and colleges on tailoring careers guidance for students with special educational needs and disabilities [2] is generally sound. However, we have little evidence from deaf young people and their families that good practice recommended within the Government’s guidance is being followed. In 2021 only 9% of parent members with deaf young people aged 14-18 reported that their child had received deaf-specific career advice and 36% stated their child had received no careers advice at all.

Whether and how the Government should bring responsibility for CEIAG under one body, for example a National Skills Service, to take overall responsibility for CEIAG for all ages, and how this might help young people navigate the CEIAG system

After the National Connexions Service was disbanded in 2013, research by the University of Manchester [3] identified widespread belief amongst professionals that it had reduced the degree of independent careers advice available to deaf young people and their families. It was reported there was a lack of guidance that was specialist enough to understand the strengths and needs of deaf young people.

With schools and colleges responsible for securing careers guidance for young people, this has led to a very fractured system where there is little consistency in the quality of careers advice given to deaf young people. Some deaf young people talk very positively about the generic advice and guidance they get at school. However, others point out that it can be very limited and predominantly focused on further academic study rather than about the full range of options available to them at 16.

A single body for provision of CEIAG may help to improve access to qualified careers professionals across different parts of the country. The National Connexions Service used to provide disabled young people access to specialist careers advisors and this is something that could be quite feasible to provide through a national organisation. However, we would anticipate that even with a body for provision of CEIAG that schools and colleges would still need to play a leading role in supporting young people to prepare for employment through their careers programmes. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland still have a single body for provision of CEIAG. However, we have not seen any evidence that young people in these nations are better prepared to move into employment.

Whether organisations like the Careers and Enterprise Company and the National Careers Service provide value for money to the taxpayer

We believe both the Careers and Enterprise Company and the National Careers Service could play a greater role in the Government’s aim to narrow the employment gap between disabled and non-disabled people.

The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) has produced useful resources (e.g. toolkits and templates) to support schools and colleges to provide good quality careers support for disabled young people. However, other than the production of resources, it is not clear what strategy the CEC has to specifically address the needs of young people with SEND.

The National Careers Service (NCS) has previously contracted out provision of careers advice for deaf adults who use British Sign Language (BSL). However, it is not clear whether this service has been maintained. There has been no deaf-specific service we are aware of for those under 18 or those deaf young adults who may not be fluent in BSL.

The NCS could help secure access to tailored careers advice for disabled young people through its helpline or webchat service. It is illogical that this provision is not available.

Whether the proposals for CEIAG in the Government’s Skills for Jobs White Paper will effectively address current challenges in the CEIAG system

We believe that the proposals outlined within the White Paper will be insufficient to address the state of careers guidance for disabled young people. The White Paper does not address the fact there is no statutory duty to ensure disabled young people have access to tailored advice and guidance which could help empower them to move into employment.

There are also no initiatives or policies that could specifically enable disabled people to gain more work experience. Deaf young people face greater barriers in accessing opportunities such as volunteering or youth clubs to develop the softer skills that employers seek (e.g. communication skills, team working, confidence etc). Access to good quality transition planning could help them identify accessible opportunities to gain softer skills.

We view the Department for Education’s review of education for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) as an important opportunity to improve CEIAG for deaf young people and are asking for the following:

The SEND Code of Practice needs to refer to the Gatsby Benchmarks and the responsibility of schools and colleges to address the needs of each student.
Schools and colleges should be required to work together with specialists to ensure disabled students receive appropriate guidance specific to their disability.
Local authorities should be required to have representatives on careers hubs to ensure links between their provision for young people with SEND and that of schools and colleges.
A legal duty on school and colleges to work together with local authorities to ensure disabled leavers have information about employment support programmes (e.g. Access to Work).
The Department for Education should consider how to increase accountability of the quality of careers guidance received by disabled young people.

The Skills White Paper does state that the National Careers Service (NCS) website will become the single source of Government careers information for young people and adults. We believe this has the potential to a be a helpful step in ensuring disabled young people receive information specific to their needs. The NCS website does now have some information relevant to disabled people, but it needs to be considered how disabled young people will come across it and engage with the information.

March 2022