Levelling up!

As we rightly celebrate all those young people celebrating where their A Level and BTEC results will take them next, I'd also like us to take a moment to reflect.

In June, as part of our response to the SEND Review Green Paper, we asked our families what more can be done by employers, providers and government to ensure that young people with SEND can access, participate in and be supported to achieve an apprenticeship, including through access routes like Traineeships.?

The requirement for GCSE Maths and English is a clear barrier standing between our children with SEND and their ability to take their next steps. Many will have missed months of school owing to lack of suitable special school placements and are therefore not ready to be entered for these exams. Instead, where appropriate, TCES students are entered for functional skills qualifications. As well as giving them valuable skills, these qualifications create an important sense of success that may have been lacking in their academic experience thus far.

Children who have already been disadvantaged by the education system, should not then experience the double whammy of being disadvantaged by the world of work.

That's why I wholeheartedly agree with TCES parents who say:

• Tailored neurodiverse apprenticeships should be created which recognise young people’s talents and achievements.
• Far from scrapping diversity training we need more diversity training when it comes to employers understanding neurodiversity. This should mean many more feel able to successfully employ people like our students, who want to work and need to be given the chance in a supportive environment.
• More organisations should be encouraged and supported to offer work placements so that neurodiverse young people can gain the skills and experiences they need to live fulfilled, employed lives. I'm pleased to say that The Hub cafe next to our TCES North West London school is one such workplace.

High stakes qualifications cannot be the only way we measure young people's worth; it's time to place proper value on skills and experiences that have been gained through equally hard work, and often against significant odds.