NAHT – Written evidence (YDP0036)

The transition from education to employment for young disabled people

NAHT welcomes the opportunity to feed into the Committee’s inquiry into the transition from education to employment for young disabled people.

 

NAHT is one of the largest professional associations for school leaders, representing members across Northern Ireland, England, Wales and the Channel Islands. We represent more than 35,000 head teachers, executive heads, CEOs, deputy and assistant heads, vice principals and school business leaders. Our members work across: the early years, primary, special and secondary schools; independent schools; sixth form and FE colleges; outdoor education centres; pupil referral units, social services establishments and other educational settings.

 

In addition to the representation, advice, and training that we provide for existing senior leaders, we also support, develop, and represent the senior leaders of the future, through NAHT Edge, the middle leadership section of our association. We use our voice at the highest levels of government to influence policy for the benefit of leaders and learners everywhere.

Executive Summary

The challenges disabled young people face are many and varied. They include those within education - such as access to the right qualifications, reduced flexibilities due to narrow accountability, and the insufficient capacity in external support services. But they also include wider systemic and societal barriers such as ill-informed attitudes, low employer awareness and the fact many disabled young people will be simultaneously managing transition from child to adult support services.

NAHT does not believe this inquiry should focus solely on those with EHCPs – not all disabled young people with special educational needs have an EHCP and not all disabled young people have SEN. Hidden impairments present particular challenges for young people, and this needs further scrutiny.

Support for career guidance is crucial, as are the lessons to be learnt from international best practice. Without the appropriate funding, training, and resources disabled young people are at risk of being disadvantaged. The right to work for disabled young people should be safeguarded and progressively realized and policy should reflect this aim.

Support across all types of education and employment needs to improve, and be funded sufficiently. The whole system should enable disabled young people to be confident that disability itself is no barrier to achievement, future employment and a successful life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

General

What barriers do young disabled people face when leaving education and entering the job market and workplace? Does this differ between different conditions or disabilities, and if so, how?

  1. The range of qualifications young disabled people have access to, to enable them to progress into employment must not be a barrier. NAHT previously raised concerns that reducing the range of qualifications available could be a barrier to successfully moving onto training / apprenticeship / employment.

 

  1. Whilst acknowledging that not all disabled young people have SEN, it is worth noting for those that do, the range of needs of students identified as requiring SEN support and those with EHCPs is extensive and it is therefore vital that there is a suitably broad range of accessible qualifications available.

 

  1. The experience for students with SEND must be in line with their mainstream peers in terms of the rigour and external moderation of a qualification, to enable the same level of external recognition of achievement. The implication otherwise is that we value their learning, progress and achievements less. A wide range of qualifications at level 2 and below must continue to exist; there is great value for some students in being able to access a qualification that enables them to succeed and engage with education.

 

  1. Qualifications at level 1 and below enable learners to achieve tangible outcomes which may include accessing the voluntary sector, independent or semi-independent living, having the skills to participate in social settings and living a full life with family and friends. Although perhaps not directly contributing to the economy, these qualifications are valuable, have identifiable outcomes and add value to the lives of all within a community.

 

  1. Study at level 1 and below can be vital for students to attain personal, social and employability skills, and can also play a wider role in motivating students and improving wellbeing. This is particularly true for pupils with SEND who are over-represented in entries to level 1 Technical Awards (53% of entries), and entry level and level 1 qualifications not included in performance tables (66% and 29% of entries respectively).

 

  1. It is important to recognise that a much wider range of qualifications than GCSE’s is necessary to assess the achievements of all pupils at the end of key stage 4. Ignoring, or restricting, those other qualifications may appear to have a minimal impact when looking at the wider population of students, but this could have a disproportionately negative impact on groups of students such as those with SEND – including disabled young people - and other vulnerable students, for example those who may have had a period out of education for a range of reasons. Such detrimental impacts may include: a deterioration in mental health; low self-esteem; increase in representation of these groups of students in the criminal justice system; isolation; and unemployment.

 

  1. There are a wide variety of barriers that young disabled people face when leaving education and entering the job market and/or workplace. Below we outline some of the key areas, as raised by our members.

 

  1. It is of course important to note that disabled young people are not a homogenous group, and the type or size of the barrier faced, will depend not just on the type of impairment they may have, but also how this intersects with other characteristics, such as ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or special educational needs which can in turn create their own difficulties when transitioning from education to the workplace. It is therefore vital that this inter-section is considered as part of any recommendations made by the committee.

 

  1. Disclosure concerns: in a 2022 international review hosted by Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway[1], the fear of disclosing a disability was one of the most significant barriers facing young people leaving education and entering employment. This was exacerbated by the interplay of this issue with a number of other barriers – e.g., young disabled people who already experienced inflexibility in education and the wider world, may feel that disclosing their disabilities upfront may reduce the flexibility they are afforded by employers and, therefore, affect their future employment prospects.

 

  1.                     Attitudinal barriers: where prospective employers, who have not accessed relevant training, have pre-conceived ideas about prospective employees and do not understand what a disabled young person could bring to a vacant role.

 

  1.                     Lack of flexible working: Action for Children explain this issue on their website as follows, ‘…for many people with disabilities, flexible hours are a crucial part of being able to manage their condition, especially if it’s one that can flare up with little notice. If employers aren’t able to be flexible with working hours, they should be open to discussion when it comes to working location, if it also meets business needs. There is no one-size-fits-all approach for this issue, so making sure to work with employees to find a solution, rather than seeing it as an annoying problem, is key to success and happiness.’

 

  1.                     Lack of variety in contract types: full-time employment, even with flexible hours, isn’t always an option for some disabled young people. Whether that’s because of other responsibilities, energy levels as a result of a medical condition, or needing to attend regular appointments, research shows that disabled people are more likely to work part-time than non-disabled people.

 

  1.                     Unfair workplace: diversity is key to the workforce. Considering the needs of disabled people is an essential human right. However, many employers do not appear to understand that it makes for a wider range of skills and experience in the team, which can be beneficial to the success of the business.

 

  1.                     For those young people accessing health and social care services, during the move from education to employment, they may also be simultaneously managing the transition from child to adult health / social care services alongside looking for a job.

This can bring additional challenges which may include changing health / social care practitioners, differing expectations and transfer of responsibilities.  Between the ages of 16 and 18, the child should start a "transition" to adult services.

This should involve all the services that support areas like:

    1. health and social care
    2. mental health
    3. education
    4. financial benefits for the young person and their family
    5. work
    6. housing

 

  1.                     It is important to note that transition in the context of disabled children and young people is not solely about moving from child to adult support services successfully between 16-18, although clearly this needs to improve. There are a range of crucial transitions that have an equally significant impact upon a disabled young person throughout their education journey, e.g. transition into KS4 and choosing qualifications; transition at 16 into education, training or apprenticeship and then from 18 further transition into FE, training or employment.

 

  1.                     Government guidance makes clear that planning for transition from education into employment should begin when a child is in Year 9 at school (13 or 14 years old) at the latest, but even then this is not always a smooth process. This can be a daunting experience as the young person is often expected to take on decision-making responsibility for themselves, maybe for the first time. One additional barrier to this can be the capacity of health and social care professionals to take an active role in this transition process.

 

  1.                     Clearly barriers can vary according to the young person’s specific conditions. For example, for those young people who use a wheelchair, some employers may not have well developed accessibility plans – which is clearly not an insurmountable challenge for the employer to resolve but is one that the young person should not have to instigate or solve by themselves. Whilst for others, a hidden disability, such as autism, may bring specific anxieties about certain types of workplace or workplace practices – e.g., fixed hours may work better than variable shift patterns.

 

How far do barriers to young disabled people accessing other public services, such as health and care services, present a barrier to young disabled people accessing the workplace?

  1.                     As outlined in our previous response (para 17 above), the dual challenge of managing job applications / employment and simultaneously moving from child to adult support services can be overwhelming for disabled young people.

 

  1.                     Ensuring that health, social care, and other support services are fully involved in transition planning (government guidance suggests at least from Year 9 onwards) for disabled young people is essential but can also be hugely challenging. This remains true even if a disabled young person with special educational needs has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) into adulthood.

 

  1.                     Where health and social care practitioners are able to be involved in transition, the benefits can be significant. However, the current capacity in support services, especially when looking at certain specific specialists e.g., mental health practitioners, means that often the number of disabled young people who would benefit from their involvement outstrip the capacity of support services to be fully involved.

 

  1.                     Other essential services, such as transport, can also have a significant impact upon disabled young people accessing employment. Where the use of public transport also requires assisted arrangements, the booking process can be cumbersome and unreliable, and the reduction in available staff (such as additional railway platform and on-train staff) can create additional issues for both young people and their employers.

 

  1.                     Where accessibility reasonable adjustments are required for employment, the capacity and speed of response from health and social care practitioners can create additional issues for disabled young people, creating delays in starting dates or affecting the level of work they can undertake from their first day of employment. This is why transition planning for any move to employment must begin from Year 9 onwards at the very latest, or at least two years prior to the young person considering leaving school education, and an alignment of child and adult services is essential.

 

Scope of the inquiry

We have not focused this inquiry specifically on the experiences of young people with an Education, Health, and Care plan when they leave education and enter employment. What are your thoughts on this approach, and are there particular benefits or drawbacks to it? What other focused approaches could the inquiry take?

  1.                     In principle, NAHT welcome the approach undertaken in this inquiry – all disabled young people need to have their voices heard when looking at potential improvements in the education to employment transition process.

 

  1.                     NAHT does not believe the inquiry should focus solely on those with EHCPs. We believe that the enquiry needs to recognise that not all disabled young people with special educational needs have an EHCP. However, in reporting its findings, the inquiry should do so in a way that clearly illustrates any differences in experiences between those disabled young people with EHCPs and those without. Especially if there are positive improvements to recommend from either experience.

 

  1.                     One of the issues in the current SEND system, is that EHCPs are viewed as a ‘magic ticket’ for access to support for children and young people. However, school leaders believe that ALL children and young people with SEND deserve the specific, fully funded support that meets their respective needs – this should be the same when they move into the workplace.

 

  1.                     One area to consider, however, is the experience of those young people who have a hidden impairment that, for whatever reason, was not identified prior to leaving school. There is some evidence to suggest that a significant proportion of the youth justice system population have a hidden disability (such as autism) that was not identified (and therefore not supported) during their statutory education. Learning from their experiences, especially about why their transition from education into employment may have failed, could prove invaluable.

 

 

Support for young disabled people

How effectively do education systems provide careers advice, guidance and support which meet the needs and career aspirations of young disabled people? How could this be improved, and what examples of good practice are there in the UK and abroad?

  1.                     The OECD published a 2022 report on 'Disability, Work and Inclusion'[2] which analysed data from across 32 OECD nations. It concluded that mainstream career guidance must be accessible for young people with disability and offer flexible courses targeting the person’s individual needs and addressing their barriers.

 

  1.                     The report further states that support and protection is essential; given the large share of youth with disability who are NEETs, it is key to support their transition to the labour market while providing adequate social protection. 

 

  1.                     NAHT believes that good quality careers education, advice, information, and guidance (CEIAG) is vital to all pupils in our schools, in particular for young disabled people who may be facing greater challenges than most in pursuing their chosen career.

 

  1.                     Whilst many schools have a very strong understanding of the aspirations and needs of the young people in their care, including disabled young people, we have continually stressed the need for CEIAG to be appropriately resourced and of a high standard in order to support all pupils to make the best choices and maximise their life chances.

 

  1.                     The Children and Social Work Act introduced compulsory Relationships Education in primary schools, compulsory Relationships and Sex Education in secondary schools and Health Education (both mental and physical) became statutory from key stages 1 to 4. This statutory content represents the majority of Personal, Health, Social and Economic (PSHE) education but the decision was made that the ‘E’ in PSHE, which covers economic wellbeing and careers, would not be made statutory and this was a missed opportunity which, if taken, would have helped to embed and integrate careers education across the primary and secondary curriculum.

 

  1.                     NAHT believes that careers education should begin in primary schools by helping pupils to understand how working hard at school can bring fantastic opportunities in later life and giving primary age pupils an insight into different careers.

 

  1.                     The Primary Futures initiative run by the charity Education and Employers and the NAHT works with schools to broaden horizons, challenge stereotyping, and bring learning to life from an early age. Primary Futures provides primary-aged children the chance to meet inspirational and diverse role models from the world of work. People who can help children see the relevance and importance of school and the subjects they are studying. People who can excite and motivate children, broaden their horizons, and raise their aspirations and in so doing improve education.

 

Do staff in schools and other education settings providing careers guidance and advice have the appropriate training and resources to support the needs and aspirations of young disabled people?

  1.                     Despite clear support for the provision of high quality CEIAG from school leaders and the clear framework provided by the Gatsby benchmarks, current provision remains underfunded and therefore inconsistent.

 

  1.                     A further necessary element in developing the quality and consistency of provision of CEIAG at secondary level is a need for an increased number of independent, well trained and well-resourced careers advisors and action must be taken to meet this need. The withdrawal of funding for independent careers education in schools has created a particular shortage of advice and guidance about vocational and technical routes. Funding should be provided to all schools to enable them to access independent provision and facilitate its delivery to pupils.

 

  1.                     This independent provision is also important for helping young people navigate ‘future jobs’ (i.e. prepare for those that might not yet exist); some estimates say that up to 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 have not even been invented yet. 

 

  1.                     Without the appropriate funding, training, and resources there is a risk that young people, particularly those who may need additional support or require more complex requirements to effectively transition into the workplace, are at risk of being disadvantaged.

 

How do far do staff in education settings engage with employment support services and schemes such as Access to Work, supported internships, or disability employment advisors in order to support young disabled people?

  1.                     Whilst education staff will aim to engage with all relevant support services, as part of their careers programme for their pupils, as outlined above, their ability to do some consistently and effectively is hamstrung by the under resourcing of careers education and the limited access to independent careers advisors.

 

Public services as good employers

How accessible are careers in public services to young disabled people when they are first entering the job market? Are there public services which very effectively recruit disabled people, and services where significant improvement is needed?

  1.                     It is fundamentally important that disabled people are able to access a career in the public services, including schools – or indeed anywhere else they choose - in a way that treats the no less favourably than anyone else, and that active steps are put in place to ensure that this happens. 

 

  1.                     Many disabled people who can work - and who want to work - face unhelpful and unnecessary barriers in the career choices they are able to make. These include fewer opportunities to develop their skills and gain experience, obstacles around accessibility and transport, and even today negative attitudes in the workplace.

 

  1.                     Considering schools as workplaces, the (limited) evidence suggests that there is significant work required to reduce the barriers to recruiting and retaining disabled educators, and this becomes more acute the more senior the role.

 

  1.                     Whilst there is limited data collected as part of the School Workforce census, the Department for Education has previously suggested that it may be as few as 1 per cent of teachers are disabled.

 

  1.                     Recent evidence from a University of Cambridge study[3], found that disabled teachers continue to experience discrimination, not because of the innate prejudice of colleagues, but because of the general pressure on schools created by various performance targets, which makes it difficult for them to accommodate staff with different needs. These pressures are exacerbated by the current funding crisis in schools, making it increasingly difficult for schools to be able to provide the more costly reasonable adjustments some disabled education staff may require.

 

  1.                     It is also worth highlighting the link to the aging school estate, which can create additional barriers to accessibility for many disabled educators.

 

What could public services employers learn from best practice elsewhere, including overseas, about recruiting and retaining young disabled people? What are the barriers to implementing such good practice?

  1.                     Article 27 of the UNCRPD places an onus on the UK government to ensure that the right to work for disabled young people shall be safeguarded and progressively realized.

 

  1.                     The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has made a number of targeted concluding observations to promote and enhance the realisation of this right.  Recommendations include;
  1. The development of a national strategy for the recruitment and employment of persons with disabilities in the must  the private and public sector and in the open labour market,. The strategy should include;
  2. baselines and targets specifically for young people, 
  3. consideration of public-private partnerships with cooperatives and the private sector in order to increase the employability,
  4. the provision of reasonable accommodation, flexible time arrangements, appropriate training for work and measures to prevent harassment and other forms of discrimination at the workplace;
  5. affirmative action measures with penalties are applied to employer who fail to comply with the quota.[4]

 

  1.                     In terms of specific examples of best practice the European Association of Service Providers with persons for disabilities has some useful information[5] and the European Employment for All awards[6] has some specific examples of actions and initiatives employers can undertake to ensure effective retention;

 

Support for employers

How effective are government programmes which support or encourage employers to employ disabled people, particularly young disabled people? Does this differ by condition or disability? How could they be improved?

  1.                     The Department for Education’s focus on improving diversity is currently too limited, piecemeal, or even forgotten (an example being the Early Career Framework).  To improve recruitment and retention from a diverse range of backgrounds, it is vital that DfE embed a strategy across all facets of its work.

 

  1.                     DfE should also consider the effectiveness of its strategies in securing greater diversity in the pipeline into leadership. School leadership can be isolating, and this can be exacerbated for individuals who are under-represented in leadership.

 

  1.                     As part of the ‘statement of intent’ the Department for Education previously committed £2m to funding nationwide equality and diversity hubs to support aspiring leaders, including those from ethnic minority backgrounds, into headship. However, funding for Hubs was discontinued after 2020. While such initiatives are not a panacea, they play a critical part in support aspiring leaders from a diverse range of backgrounds to progress.  It is essential that appropriate, long-term resourcing is provided by the government, coupled with proactive and explicit strategy.

 

  1.                     Evidence from NAHT’s Disabled Members Network, indicates that the pressures of school leadership, particularly workload and the stress associated with high stakes inspection and accountability, can act as a barrier to progression for disabled teachers and leaders.

 

  1.                     Such pressures can affect openness about disability status (particularly for those with hidden impairments), contributing to teachers and leaders feeling a need to ‘mask’ their impairments.  This impedes access to reasonable adjustments, and in more extreme cases, cause symptoms to worsen, and potentially lead to additional time away from work or even having to leave the profession all together.

 

  1.                     It is incumbent on DfE to create a more open and supportive working environment for disabled teachers and leaders, including funded support, advice and resources for employers (and governors); from recruitment through all key career stages, including phased retirement. 

 

Enforcement of the rights of disabled people in the workplace

How effectively are the rights of disabled people upheld and enforced in the workplace? What barriers do young disabled people face in accessing the support (including legal support) that they need and are entitled to? How could enforcement mechanisms be improved?

Is the present legal framework sufficient, in theory and in practice, in dealing with disability discrimination faced by young disabled people transitioning from education to work?

  1.                     One of the key limitations faced in regards to upholding and enforcing the rights of disabled people in the workplace is the practice and application of reasonable adjustments. 

 

  1.                     Although employers are required to consider and make reasonable adjustments by law, the impact of this legislation is limited by a need for further criteria in regards to what is reasonable and necessary, and by funding implications of reasonable adjustments.

 

  1.                     The need for further criteria clarifying what must be deemed reasonable often facilitates the categorisation of necessary and achievable adjustments as unreasonable, creating a distinct barrier for disabled people in accessing work and rendering the legislation insufficient. 

 

  1.                     Equally, in the current climate, particularly in the public sector, employers often struggle with the cost implications of necessary adjustments and therefore deem them unreasonable on these grounds. 

 

  1.                     A centrally funded initiative which could be utilised to fund and facilitate reasonable adjustments would likely play a significant role in shifting the willingness and ability of employers to facilitate reasonable adjustments and therefore improve the rights of disabled workers.

 

  1.                     Recent TUC analysis revealed 391,000 (one in 10) disabled people dropped out of work in the UK last year. A further 555,000 (one in seven) started work with a new employer.

 

  1.                     Disabled people can leave their jobs for many reasons. One preventable reason is when employers fail to carry out their legal duty to make – and keep in place – the reasonable adjustments their disabled staff need to do their jobs. 

 

  1.                     NAHT would suggest government consider the TUC’s work on ‘Reasonable Adjustment Passports’ as it would be useful in this area of enforcement. Consideration could perhaps be given to the development of ‘Reasonable Adjustment Passports’ for disabled young people, with relevant support from external support services, prior to them leaving education whether that be at school, college or university.

 

September 2023

 

 

 

[1] ‘Barriers and Facilitators in the Transition From Higher Education to Employment for Students With Disabilities: A Rapid Systematic Review’

[2] Disability, Work and Inclusion - Mainstreaming in All Policies and Practices 2022

[3] Disabled teachers face significant workplace discrimination despite drive for more inclusive schools 2021

[4] IDA’s compilations of CRPD Committee’s Concluding Observations 2023

[5] European Association of Service Providers with persons for disabilities

[6] European Employment for All Awards