Supporting the achievement
of deaf apprentices
Friends House, Euston
11 Jan 2017
NatSIP
• National Sensory Impairment
Partnership is a partnership of
organisations working together to
improve outcomes for children and
young people with sensory impairment.
• Includes charities, professional bodies,
local authorities and schools.
National Deaf
Children’s Society
• Leading UK charity for deaf children and
young people
• Support young people up to age of 25
• Provide advice and guidance for
parents, young people and
professionals
• Help other organisations to include deaf
young people in their activities
Today’s aim
• Delegates to meet the needs of deaf and hearing
impaired apprentices and fulfil your duties under the
Equality Act 2010.
• Through receiving practical info on:
– Reasonable adjustments
– Funding
– Communication support and technology
– Assessing needs
– Maths and English support
Agenda - morning
10.40 Apprenticeship policy
Susan Arrand, Department for Education
11.10 Challenges to apprenticeships
Simon Harris, National Deaf Children’s Society
11.30 Reasonable adjustments & support
Martin McLean, National Deaf Children’s Society
11.50 BREAK
12.05 Needs assessments / Maths & English support
Nicki Harris & Jill Bussien
12.45 Access to Work funding
Debbie Vale, Department for Work & Pensions
Agenda - afternoon
13.45 Skills Funding Agency funding
Martin McLean & Simon Harris
14.00 Perspective of a deaf young person and
their employer
Jan Sheldon & Lucy Michaels, RAD
14.30 Technology demonstration
Chris Bowden, National Deaf Children’s Society
15.00 Groupwork: Scenarios & action plans
15.40 Further resources & questions
16.00 Finish
Apprenticeships – Challenges
for Deaf Young People
• Going to refer to a report which followed a small
project undertaken for NDCS by a team of Future
Leaders.
• A total of 72 parents of DYP, 19 DYP and 20
apprenticeship training providers responded to the
survey.
• Small sample but results were in keeping with other
related research projects.
Some interesting stats
to begin with!
• 41% of DYP achieve five A* to C grades at GCSE
• 57% of general population achieve five A* to C at
GCSE
• There is a need to avoid accentuating this gap during
apprenticeships
The Challenge of
Information & Advice
• DYP and their parents state that more information is
needed before an apprenticeship is started.
• Many providers are unaware of advice and support
available to deaf young people
• Some advice from education and guidance professionals
is under-informed or just plain wrong!
• Much information comes from the internet
Quotes from Parents about
bad information and advice
“We were informed that deaf children could not do
apprenticeships…..”
“School’s sixth form only interested in UCAS (…) when we
asked about support and guidance for apprenticeships,
the school said we had to be “independently proactive.”
“Both of my children were told they were not
able to do apprenticeships”
The Challenge of
Communication
• Deaf young people report day to day challenges due to
lack of hearing aid technology or adjustments by
employers
• Deaf awareness amongst employers and providers is
generally low
• Where completion has been an issue, communication
and deaf issues have been the greatest problem.
A lot of communication in the workplace tends
to be verbal
The Challenge of
Communication from Providers
Perspective
• Quality of work does not suffer from deafness. However,
communication and social interaction can be difficult
• Obstacle to completion is understanding of deafness and
communication
• Deaf young people lack confidence to ask for help and
might be anxious
The Challenge of
Communication – Really
Important!
I have no idea what
the interviewer is
saying! How can I
get the job?
Telephone
interviews put deaf
people at a serious
disadvantage –
“the apprenticeship
is fine, however
the difficulty is the
application
process”.
The Challenge of Getting an
Apprenticeship in the First Place
• The hardest part of getting an apprenticeship is generally
reported as finding one in the first place
• Known to be a challenge for hearing young people too…..
• But is magnified with deaf young people who might not be
able to network as effectively, and lack confidence
competing against high numbers of well qualified
candidates.
• Unemployment in deaf adults is significantly
higher than for hearing people.
The Challenge of English
as a Second Language
• BSL users will have English as a second language
• From summer they will be able to be assessed in BSL
levels 1 and 2 instead of in English.
• Lesser proficiency in English does not mean that they are
unable to competently learn and perform in a job role
• Reasonable adjustment must be made including extra
time in tests and communication support at interviews
• Option to attain English Literacy still open
Solutions from the
floor?
What solutions come to mind that would help overcome the
barriers / challenges identified?
Deaf Friendly Apprenticeships
• NDCS committed to tackling problems head-on as are other
charities supporting young people with sensory impairments.
• Youth Development & Partnerships team has purpose of
helping others to provide deaf friendly opportunities.
• The team is recruiting three deaf apprentices to work on
this project
Thank You!
The rest of this day will help develop understanding and
remove and overcome barriers.
Hope you enjoy it!
Reasonable
adjustments
• All providers have a duty to make
reasonable adjustments under the
Equality Act 2010
• Sometimes not always clear what is
meant by ‘reasonable’
• Some adjustments cost nothing
• Funding available for communication
and learning support
Communication tips
-
Get their attention before speaking
Ensure your face is visible at all times
Speak clearly and naturally
Use visual cues
Reduce background noise
Speak one at a time
Never give up!
Using communication
support
• BSL interpreters and speech to text
reporters at today’s event
Other common forms of support are:
• Notetakers
• Communication support workers
Using Communication
Support
DO:
• Book as far in advance as possible
• Provide information about learning sessions to
support workers in advance
• Speak at an average pace
DON’T:
• Talk directly to the support worker instead of the
apprentice
BREAK
Skills Funding Agency
• £150 a month for apprentices requiring
additional support
• Learning support funds up to £19,000
• Exceptional learning support funding for
costs above £19K
• Thorough assessment of needs
required
LUNCH
Group exercise and
individual action planning
• 20 minutes as a group to work on an
allocated scenario followed by 10
minutes to feed back to everyone else
• Following the plenary you will have
some time to write an individual action
plan to take back to your organisation
Additional Resources
• Breaking the Sound Barrier – guide for
employers
• Personal profile templates for deaf
young people
• Information for deaf young people and
parents on apprenticeships