Education and training services

Tender description

Contract for an approved provider list for the provision of a high needs study programme for young people with complex needs (High Needs Learners) (Lot 1) and supported internships for young people aged 16-25 with SEND (Lot 2) (‘the Contract’). The Approved Provider List (APL) will ensure the continued delivery of High Needs Study Programme (HNSP), designed to meet the individual requirements of young people with profound and multiple learning difficulties and disabilities. These pathways bring together a holistic package of support and intervention from a range of professionals across education, health and care. The provision is targeted at those high needs learners (HNL) between the ages of 16 and 25 who have complex and/or profound learning needs. The purpose of a HNSP is to enable young people to progress to learning that will lead to independent living, community participation and/or employment wherever possible. This is achieved by identifying the learner’s needs, the right support and the appropriate provision. These pathways are learner-centred and delivered in partnership by a range of Providers in order to ensure that the individual needs of young people are met within their local community. The development of localised post 16 options for young people with severe and complex needs, and the development of highly specialised HNSPs, supports the Council’s priority to develop local provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), to keep families together and enable children and young people wherever possible to grow up and access provision in their local communities. Through these developments there have been an increased number of young people accessing local provision. The authority aims to increase the number of Supported Internships (SIs) across the county. In September 2017 there were 3 providers delivering SIs for 30 young learners across North Yorkshire. The authority aims to increase SI delivery from 30 to 53 young learners, a 76 % increase, by September 2019, with a further increase of 126 % from 53 to 68 learners by September 2020. In order to achieve this, the authority wish to increase the number of training providers offering SIs by 66 % from 3 to at least 5 by September 2019 and by 133 % from 5 to 7 by September 2020. It is anticipated that further year on year growth in both learner numbers and the number of providers delivering SIs will continue. The provider will support delivery of the following objectives: • increase the percentage of young people with a learning difficulty or disability, who want to work, in paid employment; • build up experience for a CV, demonstrating that the young person has the skills and willingness to work; • change the perception of employers about employing people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities; • change the perception of the young person’s family that they can work; • improve skills in English and maths that enable the young person to be better prepared for work, including handling money, interacting with the public, and practising interview skills; • help the young people to become independent travellers.