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<p>In the ‘Skills for Jobs’ White Paper, published in January 2021, we announced the
introduction of a three point plan to enforce provider access legislation (the ‘Baker
Clause’, commenced in 2018). This requires that all maintained schools and academies
provide opportunities for providers of technical education and apprenticeships to
visit schools to talk to all year 8-13 pupils, including those with special educational
needs and disabilities (SEND). This plan includes creating clear minimum legal requirements,
specifying who is to be given access to which pupils and when. This is an important
step towards real choice for every pupil.</p><p>Through the Careers & Enterprise
Company (CEC) we support careers leaders in schools and colleges to design and deliver
careers education programmes tailored to the needs of young people with SEND. As part
of this work, the CEC has worked with the Gatsby Foundation and Disability Rights
UK to create support material to help schools and colleges use the Gatsby Benchmarks
to deliver high-quality career guidance for students with a wide range of needs and
disabilities.</p><p>As set out in the National Disability Strategy, we will work to
improve supported internships in England, including updating guidance and, through
our contract/grant delivery partners in financial year 2020-21, developing a self-assessment
quality framework for providers, and helping local authorities to develop local supported
employment forums. In addition, the CEC continues to encourage employers to provide
work experience and supported internships for young people with SEND.</p><p>We are
also encouraging more young people to consider apprenticeships through our Apprenticeship
Support & Knowledge (ASK) programme which reached over 600,000 students across
England in the last academic year. As part of this, we are working with 40 schools
through the ASK Development Schools project to support students who have the potential
to progress into a traineeship or apprenticeship but who are facing significant personal
barriers, including disabilities.</p><p>In partnership with Disability Rights UK,
we have launched a Disabled Apprentice Network to provide valuable insight and evidence
on how to attract and retain disabled people into apprenticeships. We have also improved
our ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ and ‘Find a Traineeship’ services to allow people to
identify Disability Confident employers offering opportunities.</p><p>We are also
taking several measures to raise awareness of traineeships and increase uptake. We
have created a new online collection of free resources for schools including factsheets,
case studies and a guide for teachers. We are also working with the National Careers
Service and the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that young people understand
the different options available to them and are supported on the right path.</p>
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