
Reviewing Employment Support Services
We know from national data that the employment levels of people with learning disabilities, with mental health conditions and young people with SEND entering adulthood are unacceptably low.
The 2014 Care Act is clear about the requirement for commissioners to support disabled people to gain and retain work. Despite this, employment levels for disabled people are unacceptably low – and falling.
We believe this is because of two main causes:
At NDTi, we are committed to the right of all people to engage in and benefit from real, paid employment. Employment offers financial rewards, the chance to use existing skills and develop new ones, self-respect and opportunities to contribute to and be valued by the community.
This applies to:
We recognise that because of perceptions about ability, health, stage of life, support needs, confidence or history some people need highly skilled support to attain, maintain and fully engage in employment.
Employment may be working for an employer or being self-employed but all cases it means being paid the proper rate for the job and benefiting from the same rights, opportunities and responsibilities as other workers.
We are able to offer a range of employment focused consultancy, service development and training supports.
In particular, by drawing on the evidence of what works, we can support commissioners and providers to increase local employment levels of disabled people through:
We know from national data that the employment levels of people with learning disabilities, with mental health conditions and young people with SEND entering adulthood are unacceptably low.
NDTi has completed the most comprehensive research ever into the cost effectiveness of local authority and NHS commissioned employment supports for people with learning disabilities and people with mental health conditions. Funded by the National...
Early intervention is essential with young people who are labelled as having special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) if they are to have a life of work rather than a life in services. We know...
An NDTi study into employment supports identified that there was limited evidence of people using their social care Personal Budget (PB) to support them to gain or retain paid work (click here to read more).
Experience shows that employers are very willing to employ people with learning disabilities, with mental health conditions and young people with SEND. IT is important to present employers with the business case for giving people...
How meeting through Shared Lives led Andy and James to form 'Local Social', a community interest company, that has changed both their lives.Author: Andy Cooke
Learning Disability Programme Lead, Madeline Cooper-Ueki, discusses our role in changing the direction of current learning disability practices in the UK.
As part of our work on the Erasmus project to learn about Pathways into Employment for young people with Disabilities, one of the participants, Sterre Ploeger, has contributed a graphic representation of her story.
Shaun Picken, from My Life My Choice, talks about how work has changed his life and what, in his opinion, still needs to change for people with learning disabilities to ensure that they can live...
If you are an employer, we need your help...
"A new cross-government strategy, supported by an effective delivery plan, should be a priority for whoever ends up in power after June 8th"
Two stories from parents voicing their concerns over the claims made by Rosa Monckton and supported by Libby Purves in a recent article claiming that “We are letting down people with learning difficulties if we...
Calls to pay people with learning disabilities below the minimum wage fly in the face of the evidence – not to mention the law.
Three important resources have been launched this week that aim to help authorities, education providers and career advisers provide a more inclusive approach to employment for young adults following evidence that school leavers with special...
Back in 2014 we published research into employment support for people with mental health problems and learning disabilities which is, as far as we know, the most thorough to date. It showed that public money...
Commissioned by the Education & Training Foundation, NDTi has produced two case study videos showcasing how local authorities and further education providers work together to support learners with SEND to achieve their aspirations, including progressing...
A series of videos from Castle School talking to us about how their World of Work programme ensures that young people with SEND are supported throughout their education to achieve meaningful employment.
Supported employment through partnership working Recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce
Employing people with a mental health condition, a learning disability and / or autism.
Last year the NDTi worked with 8 demonstration sites across England to help the sites to develop and share good practice around how they prepare and support young people with special educational needs and disabilities...
With growing interest and discussion around the topic of employment supports for disabled people we’ve updated our summary evidence to ensure that the people making investment decisions can be informed by the latest evidence before...
Read about our research into the use of Personal Budgets for Employment Support.
This report highlights to what extent are people using Personal Budgets (PBs) to purchase support into paid work and the factors that encourage and discourage the use of PBs to help people gain or retain...
NDTi were asked to find new information from councils and the NHS about what works best when investing money to support disabled people into work.
This report for the National Institute for Health Research’s School of Social Care Research (SSCR) is the final report from the two year study on employment support for disabled people investigating the relationship between investment...
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