Department for Education – Supplementary written evidence (YDP0077)

House of Lords Public Services Committee

Supplementary written evidence from Hannah Sheehan, (Director, Skills Journey Directorate) and Liz Franey (Deputy Director, SEND and AP System Outcomes and Experiences Division), Department for Education

Thank you for the opportunity to address the Public Services Committee on Wednesday 17 January, alongside the DWP/DHSC Joint Work and Health Directorate, on the subject of the transition from education to employment for young disabled people. As requested, we are writing in regard to the further questions put by Committee members to officials from the Department for Education (DfE). DWP is responding to Q10 and Q 14-19. Both departments are providing responses to Q9.

We would like to thank The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) for providing a significant contribution to this written evidence, including detailed information on their remit, the support they offer to improve SEND careers practice and a selection of case studies.

Q1. Liz stated that there shouldn’t be a distinction between the tailored support in preparing for adulthood for all children with additional needs, and that: “schools and colleges will focus on the needs of the child rather than what piece of paper they have”. Is there anything in place to compel, encourage, or monitor whether that tailored support is provided to all pupils with SEND, whether or not they have an EHCP?

The SEND Code of Practice is clear that all children and young people with SEND should be prepared for adulthood.

All local authorities must set out the support available to help children and young people with SEND move into adulthood as part of their local offer. This should be co-produced with children, young people, and their families to ensure it meets local needs.

We expect activity to support effective preparation for adulthood to be embedded within provision across every age and stage of education, starting as early as possible.

Careers guidance is an important element of the support that is made available to help young people with SEND to make successful transitions. Careers leaders should work closely with the relevant teachers and professionals in their school or college, including the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) and inclusion teams, and the careers adviser, to identify the guidance needs of all pupils and put in place personalised support and a transition plan.

Q2. What mechanisms are there for schools to share best practice in supporting transitions into employment?

The Department for Education's Universal Services contract brings together free SEND-specific continuous professional development (CPD) and support for the school and Further Education workforce to improve outcomes for children and young people. The contract includes Centres of Excellence in SEND delivering sessions to meet the needs of the FE sector covering emerging themes and areas of support. Events run by Employer Spokes share effective practice for FE providers and employers that result in meaningful employment opportunities for learners with SEND. Universal Services also provides Community Networks which aim to build and strengthen community join-up for SEND and to identify regional priorities and encourage sharing of useful intelligence and practical solutions. The groups have a particular focus on Preparation for Adulthood.

As part of the reforms set out in the Improvement Plan, we are developing good practice guidance to support consistent, timely, high-quality transitions for children and young people with SEND and in alternative provision. This will ultimately look at transitions between all stages of education from early years, including between primary and secondary school, and will focus initially on transitions into and out of post-16 settings.

We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions, Change Programme Partners and key partners from the SEND and post-16 sectors, including the Association of Colleges and Natspec, to develop the guidance. We are working with young people with different types of need, including those with and without EHCPs, to co-produce the guidance to ensure it improves experiences and outcomes. We will also involve parents and carers. This guidance will feed into the National Standards as they are developed. We will consider how this is reflected when reviewing and updating the Code of Practice. 

As Hannah explained to the Committee, the department funds a national network of Careers Hubs, delivered through the CEC. They play an important role in bringing together schools, colleges, apprenticeship providers and employers to break down the barriers to opportunity experienced by many young people. As of September 2023, 92% of all schools and colleges and 81% of special schools are now in a Careers Hub, covering every region of England. Specialist support is in place including:

• Section 41 schools and specialist colleges are eligible and encouraged to join a Careers Hub.
• Independent special schools are eligible for Careers Leader training, supporting leaders to drive high impact careers education across their institutions.

All Careers Hubs are now part of an Inclusion Community of Improvement sharing good practice and developing resources with practice centred around SEND.

Many Careers Hubs have a localised offer which is tailored to support collaborative working of SENCO’s and Careers Leaders. This work has been supported by CEC through initiatives such as an online masterclass for Enterprise Coordinators to promote joined-up work in ensuring effective transitions for young people.

CEC is launching training modules to support SENCO’s working with Careers Leaders. They promote ways the EHCP process can play a part delivering effective careers education and provide content and guidance on helping young people prepare for adulthood.

The CEC also supports schools, colleges, and specialist institutions to meet provider access legislation requirements.[1] The CEC has developed tailored resources for Provider Access Legislation in SEND Settings and shares best practice in developing and delivering tailored encounters within SEND provision.

Q3. Lord Willis asked whether you had a per-person figure for the amount spent on careers support for young people under the age of 18 – please could you supply this?

1. Please could you also supply a total figure of the amount spent on careers support, broken down by where this money is directed (Eg, £X to the CEC, £x to National Careers Service etc.)

As Hannah Sheehan set out during the evidence session, the department does not allocate funding directly to education providers or on a per pupil basis. We fund infrastructure support, delivered through The Careers & Enterprise Company, that is designed to support every secondary school and college to deliver high-quality careers programmes, in line with the Gatsby Benchmarks. Funding is focused on building capacity at the front line:

• Bringing employers, educators and providers together through Careers Hubs. Hubs get more employers and providers into schools and colleges and target support where it is needed. 
• Training and supporting careers leaders in schools and colleges to lead whole school and college careers programmes
• Practical digital tools and resources, which help schools and colleges to drive and track performance on their careers programmes.

We are providing the CEC with grant funding of up to £32.5 million in 2023-24. All grant funding agreements are published on the CEC’s website. Schools and colleges are expected to fund any additional careers activity from their existing budgets.

We do not break down the funding for the National Careers Service by age group.

For 2023-24 the budget for the National Careers Service is £39.5m for the community-based provision (telephone helpline, webchat and face-to-face advice in the community) and £13.5m for the website.
 

For the National Careers Service, £115 is the average amount DfE spends to serve each customer into a successful outcome via the community-based provision (webchat, telephone helpline and face-to-face). A successful outcome for an individual can be career management, or progression into learning or a job.

Young people aged 13 to 18 can access the National Careers Service website including webchat and the telephone helpline which is supported by local community-based career advisers. Adults over 19 can access the service via these channels and are also eligible to access community based face-to-face provision.

Q4. What consideration has been given to requiring schools careers leaders to have specialist training in careers support?

Through CEC, around 3,200 Careers Leaders have completed accredited training (as at end December 2023). Careers Leaders are leading high impact careers programmes in schools and colleges, supporting better outcomes for learners:

• Schools/colleges with trained Careers Leaders improve standards (an average of 5.7 Gatsby Benchmarks achieved vs 3.2 with no training and outside Careers Hubs).
• Quality assured digital and physical resources have been accessed by 84% of the Careers Leader workforce.
• Careers Leader Training also includes a dedicated SEN Toolkit. All CEC commissioned training providers are required to deliver bespoke support and learning and signpost to appropriate resources, to Careers Leaders working at or with special schools.

Q5. What (1) number and (2) proportion of education providers have tracked declining performance against the Gatsby benchmarks in each of the past five years?

The department’s careers statutory guidance sets an expectation that all secondary schools and colleges should use the internationally recognised Gatsby Benchmarks to develop their careers programmes. The benchmarks are non-statutory but provide a framework around which schools and colleges can develop their careers programme in line with their legal duties.

CEC’s data shows what % of schools and colleges used the Compass evaluation tool to report to CEC.[2]  It does not show what % of schools and colleges did not use the Gatsby Benchmarks. CEC’s data over 3 years based on reporting shows that: 

• 2022/23: 4,534 (90.5%) schools and colleges reported using Compass (therefore 9.5% did not report using Compass) 
• 2021/22: 4,200 (84%) schools and colleges reported using Compass (therefore 16% did not report using Compass) 
• 2020/21: 3,893 (78%) schools and colleges reported using Compass (therefore 22% did not report using Compass) 

There has been steady improvement in levels of Gatsby Benchmark achievement, rising from 2.1 to 5.5 average benchmarks fully achieved in the last 5 years (2018/19-2022/23; 5.6 for SEND institutions). Where benchmarks are not fully achieved, institutions are meeting the majority of sub-benchmarks and as such working towards full achievement.

The CEC’s impact page sets out how benchmark data is triangulated with other data and how achievement drives positive outcomes for students and employers.

In the context of this overall national improvement, looking at all schools and colleges that reported in both years, we can see some variability in reported performance for individual institutions in each of the last 5 years:

• In any one year, at least 16.2% (or one sixth) of schools and colleges reported a decline in the number of Gatsby Benchmarks fully achieved in their institution (see Fig.1 below for numbers and percentages, for all schools and colleges that reported in consecutive years in each of the last 5 years).
• This decline was highest (32.4% of schools and colleges reported a decline) between 2019/20 and 2020/21, showing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on careers provision.
• On individual benchmarks, the largest decreases were seen during the COVID-19 pandemic (between 2019/20 and 2020/21 academic year) in Benchmark 6 – Experiences of the workplace (20.1% of schools and colleges reporting a decrease from the previous academic year), Benchmark 5 – Encounters with employers and employees (15.6% of schools and colleges reporting a decrease from the previous academic year) and Benchmark 7 – Encounters with further and higher education (11.8% of schools and colleges reporting a decreasing from the previous academic year).
• There has been a bounce back on progress against all of these benchmarks nationally:
• Institutions fully meeting Benchmark 5: 2020/21/ 56% – 2022/23 80% (24%pts increase)
• Institutions fully meeting Benchmark 6: 2020/21/ 36% – 2022/23 64% (28%pts increase)
• Institutions fully meeting Benchmark 7: 2020/21 33% – 2022/23 52% (19%pts increase)
• There is a SEND-specific version of the CEC Compass Tool to enable institutions to evaluate their careers activity against the Gatsby Benchmarks. Similar levels of decline in consecutive years can also be seen in those schools and colleges reporting using our SEND-specific questionnaire.

Fig 1: Number and proportion of schools and colleges reporting decline in number of benchmarks achieved

Source: CEC end of year Compass data, 2018/19 - 2022/23

Benchmarks are reset at the start of each academic year. The circumstances that the institution is operating in may have been adversely affected by factors such as leadership and staffing changes, and this may result in a decline in that year.

A sophisticated digital infrastructure has been developed to underpin the work of Careers Hubs and support Careers Leaders:

• SEND institutions achieve well on the Gatsby Benchmarks (5.6/8 - above the national average of 5.5/8) and do better when it comes to workplace experiences and interactions with further and higher education – both crucial for helping young people transition to work or further training.
• The mass adoption of digital tools has generated significant data and insights, driving efficiency and increasing impact. Over 90% of schools and colleges report against the Gatsby Benchmarks using Compass and there has been near universal, voluntary adoption (>3400 schools) of Compass+, which facilitates a wider range and depth of reporting and insight.
• Careers Leaders are also supported by a suite of resources and training modules.

As part of our work on quality assurance, the CEC has developed the Careers Impact System to test the effects of an independent review on the continual improvement towards and quality assurance of achievement against the Gatsby Benchmarks. This has included the testing of peer-to-peer reviews in SEND and AP institutions and expert reviews in SEND institutions. We will use the evaluation of this work to further develop the quality assurance of careers in schools and colleges. The tool has been independently evaluated as an effective quality assurance system.

Q6. Hannah mentioned the specialist training on SEND that the Careers Enterprise Company provided for hub leads and careers leaders in school. (1) How, and by whom, is attendance at this training funded?; (2) Is this training compulsory for (a) hub leads, or (b) careers leaders; and (3) how many (a) careers leaders and (b) hub leads have completed this training?

Careers Hubs have specialists in SEND provision as standard practice across the network. CEC create and share localised resources to support SEND students in mainstream and specialist SEND institutions:  

• All new Enterprise Coordinators complete SEND induction training by default through CEC's strategic partnership with Talentino, a provider that delivers specialist SEND careers programmes for special schools, mainstream schools and FE colleges. This includes training for 38 SEND specific Enterprise Coordinators across the Hub network.
• Career Leader training includes modules and resources tailored to supporting students with special educational needs and disabilities.
• Careers Hubs support SEND communities of practice which include training and resources on inclusive practice. This support is for SEN students in mainstream settings as well as specialist SEND institutions.

The CEC works in partnership with Talentino, with Community of Improvement (COI) funding provided through a strategic partnership contract. Best practice is shared regularly through the COI with both Hub leads and Enterprise Coordinators.

Other strategic partners include the British Association for Supported Employment (BASE), the National Association for Special Educational Needs (NASEN), NATSPEC; and other SEN specific providers who co-create resources and toolkits with the CEC. The aim of these resources and toolkits is to support neuro- diverse young people, and those with SEN to understand and feel confident approaching the world of work.

Over 320 Enterprise Coordinators and Hub leads have undergone masterclass training since the programme started in 2020.

Hannah explained to the Committee that Ofsted carried out a thematic review into careers guidance in schools and colleges during 2023. The review found that in the most effective careers programmes, a qualified careers adviser delivered personalised guidance to all pupils, with particular attention given to pupils with SEND and from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“SENCos worked closely with the careers leader and careers adviser to ensure pupils received high-quality personalised careers guidance and kept a record of the individual guidance given to each pupil.”

Building on this, Ofsted has also conducted a review of SEND in special institutions and alternative provision. This is expected to be published in February 2024.

Q7. Liz noted that schools played a key role in ensuring that young people understand what support is available to them at key transitions. How is this monitored? What work has been done to assess awareness of schemes available to young disabled people seeking (or in) employment.

SEN specific schools are supported in a number of ways within the careers infrastructure:

• Dedicated SEND Enterprise Coordinators are partnered with schools and colleges to help improve their careers education programme.
• Enterprise Advisers support schools and colleges and are experienced at working with young people with SEND. 
• Localised Labour Market Information (LMI) platforms specifically support SEND young people and their families. They have been developed in around 22 Career Hubs to date.
• Specially designed transition resources support young people with SEND.
• Careers Leaders are supported with a range of resources, such as the My Skills My Future programme, which contains lesson plans on skills development, employability and employer engagement activities. The content aims to develop awareness of key sector areas and raise the aspirations of young people with SEND and showcase the different pathways available to them.
• Two specific programmes focus on SEND within CEC’s wider Effective Transitions Programme (backed by JP Morgan). The programmes have gone through a thorough external evaluation, before a year two project which is exploring scalability (more than double the original cohort) and applicability to another group of young people (students in mainstream schools with EHCP’s)

Careers Hubs are expanding the scope and impact of their SEND offer:

• SEND schools are well engaged in Hubs - 82% of SEND institutions participate.  
• SEND schools are outperforming mainstream against Gatsby Benchmarks (5.6 in 2022/23 as compared with 5.5 national average). In particular, SEND schools achieve more than mainstream schools against:
• Benchmark 3 (Addressing the needs of each pupil) (+15.4%pts), 
• Benchmark 6 (Experiences of workplaces) (+9.4%pts) 
• Benchmark 7 (Encounters with further and higher education) (+13.7%pts) 
• 25.5% of SEND institutions fully achieved 8 benchmarks, compared with 19.4% of all institutions. 
• CEC has designed a bespoke version of its digital Compass system (which enables all schools to track and drive performance on careers education) to tailor need around SEND institutions.  
• Insight Briefing: Gatsby Benchmark results for 2022/23 found that in 2022/23, 87% of students in a SEND/AP Schools had experience of a workplace during year 12, year 13 or above. This represents a 5%pts increase from 2021/22. 
• In 2022/23, 87.8% of SEND institutions had information on their website about careers aimed specifically at students, while 91.2% considered feedback from students. 95.4% of SEND institutions had also worked proactively with the local authority and careers advisers for students.

Below are two examples of support provided through Careers Hubs at key points of transition:

• Supported Insight Scheme (D2N2 Hub) - Improved self-management skills. Creation of a portfolio of evidence to demonstrate achievements to potential future employers. The impact of the scheme has led to long-term employment for young people with SEND needs in 2021 and 2022. The programme reaches students in AP and SEND institutions over a 36-week period with weekly interventions and meaningful encounters with employers. 
• Passport to Hospitality and Passport to Retail (Worcestershire Careers Hub) – The Careers Hub developed a formal partnership with NOCN to enable SEND students the option of obtaining a formal qualification linked to specific industry sectors rather than just undertaking a generic employability qualification. Resources/modules were created to mirror the formal NOCN qualification format but were split into separate units which could be delivered flexibly to match the student’s pace of learning. By embedding these units within the existing qualification, the Hub offered students from SEND schools, both locally and nationally, the opportunity to not only learn more about a potential industry sector they would like to enter once they have left education but would actually increase their employment opportunities by securing a formal qualification with direct links to industry.

As part of our c.£18m investment into the Supported Internship programme, NDTi have created the Internships Work One Stop Shop which provides information and resources to young people seeking advice on Supported Internship. Alongside, supporting young people the One Stop Shop provides advice to Employers, Local Authorities and Providers.

Q8. When do you expect the guidance on good transitions to be published?

We will publish guidance to support effective transitions between all stages of education, and into employment and adult services by the end of 2025.

Q9. Are you aware of good practice by employers or employers organisations in recruiting or supporting young disabled people in employment?

CEC offers training and support for employers to make sure their outreach programmes are as inclusive as possible. Specific tools are developed to help employers better understand and work with young people with SEND. 

CEC’s new Employer Standards support employers to track and evaluate their educational outreach. Standard 2 ‘Be inclusive’ gives employers a clear framework to ensure outreach is inclusive of all young people, comprising:

• Identify areas of need: Deliver careers education activities in schools, special schools or colleges where most need has been identified
• Break down barriers: Specifically seek to engage under-represented groups and those facing barriers to accessing the pathways into your industry or workforce
• Be relatable to build trust: Consider the relatability of the messenger (person delivering a careers education activity). Can young people relate to this messenger, and do they believe in/trust the message being delivered?
• Actively challenge stereotypes and preconceptions: Strive to eliminate unconscious or other biases (e.g., towards certain occupations, genders or groups of people) in how you communicate with young people
• Be adaptive and accommodating: Make adjustments or adapt your approach for those with SEND and ensure that any resources you produce are inclusive for all young people you work with.

Below are three examples of employers and organisations recruiting young disabled people or supporting them in employment:

• Birmingham Careers Hub has a SEND Community of Practice includes several Cornerstone Employers. Through this group, employers learnt that adults with learning disabilities in Birmingham are 4 times less likely to be employed than the national average. Many young people with disabilities are not being supported into positive destinations such as supported internships, inclusive apprenticeships, or employment. This disparity in employment rates for SEND students galvanized employers to take action. Cornerstone Employers Wilmott Dixon, Jacobs and HS2 formed a working group which developed into a new employer networking group ‘Inspire for Higher’ with a mission to change the future for young people with SEND in Birmingham.

Following the launch of the Community of Improvement, the Careers Hub facilitated 10 Young People who work as ambassadors for the project; inspired new Enterprise Advisers (Avanti West Midlands, Gordon Franks, National Grid, Serco, Wilmott Dixon, Jacobs and HS2); and developed an ongoing programme of engagement. Through their ambition to move from awareness raising to delivery within schools, the group have co-created targeted SEND transition pathways to support more young people with SEND into employment.

• DPD, a Cornerstone Employer in the Black Country, worked with the Black Country Careers Hub to address an identified lack of SEND-specific employer encounters and work experience projects; with the aim of inspiring other employers to engage with SEN pupils, and SEN specific schools- in a new way. The program improved Compass scores within local SEN schools by helping them to achieve GB 3,4,5 and 6; and has actively improved intake, with DPD taking on 8 participating pupils onto a supported internship and developing new EA connections.

• Let’s Explore VR Project (Liverpool Careers Hub) - Let’s Explore was first conceptualised to deliver fully immersive experiences to SEND pupils across the Liverpool City Region, who faced social barriers to accessing workplace careers insights and traditional work experience. The aim was to improve awareness and confidence levels in pupils, encouraging them to further explore career opportunities. The project team from Juice Immersive and the LCR Careers Hub have produced three original pieces of content. These originals have been rolled out by the LCR Careers Hub team to approximately 5000 young people in LCR schools, colleges and events since the project launched in 2021.
• Let’s Explore Housing – Regenda Homes & The Learning Foundry
• Let’s Explore the Visitor Economy – Knowsley Safari
• Let’s Explore Advanced Manufacturing – Shawton Group.

Cooper Gibson Research will be producing case studies assessing whether the policy investment has improved the quality of Supported Internships and if the policy investment has improved employment outcomes for young people with Education and Health Care Plans (EHCPs) as part of the evaluation of the c.£18m investment into SIs. Previously, we’ve used the following case studies: 

Harry’s experience of his Supported Internship SEND Liverpool preview 1.mp4 (dropbox.com)

Castle School’s World of Work Programme which focuses on skills and produced with our lead partner National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi) - Case Study: World of Work Programme, Castle School (youtube.com)

Q11. Please could you share an organisational chart to outline how career hubs are structured, led, and by whom, and with how much, they are funded?

At a system level, the CEC underpins local leadership via Careers Hubs and Careers Leaders. The CEC provides national infrastructure, a digital backbone, quality assurance, resources and support.

CEC oversees and co-ordinates 44 Careers Hubs covering all areas of England, bringing together secondary (and in some cases primary) schools, colleges, businesses, local authorities and careers providers. Careers Hubs play a key role in connecting education to local employers and the local economy. They are co-funded by the CEC and local partners, aligning national strategic priorities with local intent and delivery:

• 92% of schools and colleges are voluntarily enrolled in regional Careers Hubs. Through co-ordination, challenge and support, Hubs improve careers performance (an average of 6 Gatsby Benchmarks are achieved for schools and colleges in Hubs for the longest time vs 3.2 for those not engaged). See CEC’s impact page for more information on the impact of Careers Hubs and how this uplift in performance leads to better outcomes for young people and employers.
• Careers Hubs bring together groups of Cornerstone Employers, who represent local growth sectors and play a local leadership role in encouraging employer engagement
• Careers Hubs across the country also receive SEND training as standard which informs their work with schools and colleges.

Careers Hubs are an inherently place-based solution through their partnerships with local bodies. Local labour market information and representative employer insight is embedded within their strategic direction.

At an organisational level:

• Career Hubs are led by a Strategic Hub Lead, who is part funded locally, and by the CEC. They oversee strategy across the Careers Hub and alignment with local and national skills policy
• Operational Hub Leads oversee delivery of the Hub strategic plan and team management.
• Enterprise Coordinators support schools and colleges in their area to deliver 21st century careers education, through innovative employer engagement, and close working and support with Careers Leaders. 

Q12. Have you conducted any evaluation on the quality of the courses offered to disabled people by further education colleges?

Assessment of quality is delivered by Ofsted. As part of their FE and skills inspection handbook, inspectors must evaluate the extent to which the education and training provided meets the needs of all learners, including the quality of education, specifically including learners with SEND and those who have high needs. The department for the Further Education Commissioner provides active support for the sector on a range of aspects, this includes the offer of active support for quality improvement for high needs provision.

Q13. How many supported internships have been provided to people with EHCPs in (1) 2022, and (2) 2023?

*known data issues following change in collection

From 2023, the data collection changed from aggregated figures at local authority level, to a person level collection. This has been a major change in approach and as such care should be taken when using SEN2 data. We are working internally with analysts to look at data collections to ensure that we're accurately reflecting the number of enrolments for supported internships in our published data.

Thank you again for the opportunity to provide evidence on behalf of the Department for Education at the session. I hope this response has been useful.

24 February 2024

15