'SEND' children in Oxfordshire to benefit from career advisors
They'll be experienced teaching assistants who will help them improve their education and career outcomes.
Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who are based at some of Oxfordshire’s specialist schools, are set to benefit from support provided by career advisors.
The advisors will be teaching assistants who have has experience working with young people with SEND, they will be helping them improve their education and career outcomes.
The aim of the scheme is to provide support for young people with additional needs so that they gain more choice and control over their future. It will allow them to prepare to live as an independent adult, further education, or the workplace.
Hannah Gordon, assistant headteacher at Fitzwaryn School in Wantage said:
“It’s going to empower them to make their own decisions and to have a real understanding of the world of work, what's next, where their strengths lie.”
“Over 50% of them are only go out into the big wide world and they end up unemployed because they don't know how to access work.”
“They know that the careers advisor understands them, understands where they're coming from, what they want, what they need. They know the best ways to communicate with these children to get the best answers from them.”
“If they want to go into employment, if they want to go on to college or they want to try and work towards a supported internship or anything like that, having their careers advisor on site readily available whenever is going to be incredible.”
The career advisors will be based at seven specialist schools, spread across the county, and overseen by Oxfordshire County Council.
The scheme is being funded by a grant from the Department for Education.