SEN Work Experience & Placements - Careers Mentoring
The Pitch
Problem statement
‘Only 5 - 7% of adults with learning disabilities are in paid employment’ - NHS Digital 2021, making them vulnerable to poor mental health and unsuitable housing. Young people with learning disabilities can struggle to navigate social norms and find it hard to build friendships and networks that for many are their route into employment, and finding a supportive social network. Employers, colleges and charities need to adapt to provide developmental opportunities for young people with learning disabilities, who can then add diversity to the workforce. As young people reach school leaving age, developmental opportunities for those with learning disabilities are hard to find.
Solution
artsdepot’s SEN Work Experience & Placements programme helps young people with learning disabilities access self-development opportunities that can significantly improve their life outcomes. By providing insights into creative industries roles through a group learning programme, followed by 10 week (1 day per week) work placements we help young people build self-confidence, communication skills, and experience of managing money, travelling and working independently – helping young people to develop skills and experience that can support them onto the next steps of their lives. On completion of placements participants have an arts award qualification, work experience and a referee.
Why are we best placed to deliver?
artsdepot has delivered this programme since 2018 - adding work placements in 2021/22 - in 2024/25 we successfully secured work placements for all participants of the group learning phase - one of those on a 12 month paid placement 2 days per week within our technical team. We have built a recruitment process working alongside BELS (Barnet Education & Learning Service) SEN Careers support team working with Barnet Mencap and AAFK Charity. We developed placement host partners with Chickenshed, Community Focus, Apex Projects and others. 5 young people with SEN are now in part time paid employment from our last two cohorts of SEN Work Experience & Placements Programme.
Focus Areas
Delivery plan
Budget breakdown
| SEN Careers Coaching 3 sessions per participant @ £100 = £300 x 10 participants | £3,000 |
| Project Manager - 5 days liaising with participants and coaches @ £200 per day | £1,000 |
Beneficiaries
10 people
Who will benefit
Expected impact
• Participants develop new friendships and social skills working in groups outside of their normal school or home network. • Participants build self-confidence and communication skills presenting their ideas to the group. • Participants earn Arts Awards – often their first qualification. • Participants gain experience and narrative that supports applications/ CV’s and interviews for a course, voluntary or paid role. • Participants gain an insight into the inclusive arts world and wider roles required to run an arts centre. • Participants work independently providing support towards career pathways, enabling them to test out different roles, and employers to work out how to diversify their workforce. This funding will support careers coaches enabling us to provide support as participants work through their placements and consider opportunities beyond. The coaches will meet them at 8-12 week intervals to help them review job searches and plans for careers and training.
Track record
‘I have really enjoyed taking part in the work experience programme. I found out about it through AFK charity who are supporting me to find paid work. My Employment Coach at AFK is helping me to write this as I have dyslexia and Autism. At first I was nervous as I didn’t know what to expect but everyone has been really friendly and supportive. I loved learning all about different parts of the theatre and how it is run. From this experience I know I really want to work front of house in a theatre. Staff at Arts Depot have told me I am really good at this. Before I joined the programme I was mostly at home looking for work getting very bored and feeling a bit low. At Arts Depot I enjoy having some structure to the week, learning new things and meeting new people.’ This young person is now employed part time Front of House at artsdepot.