Advice
Disabilities
To find out about support available to young people with disabilities in Hackney, visit the Hackney Local Offer site. You’ll find information about activities, education, money and personal budgets.
If you’re looking to join a youth club, Young Hackney activities are inclusive and our centres are fully accessible. Please contact Young Hackney or your local youth hub to talk to staff about the support we can offer.Support with work
Prospects/Shaw Trust
Prospects/Shaw provide independent impartial careers advice and guidance to anyone aged 13 – 25 with an Educational Health and Care Plan (EHCP). Speak to your school’s SENCO if you need help with this. Contact bryan.taylor@prospects.co.uk or phone 07769 648664 for information.
Supported Employment
Hackney Council’s Supported Employment Service helps Hackney residents with disabilities or health conditions to find work matched to their individual needs and interests.
What we offer
- A dedicated advisor to support you on your employment journey
- Help with CVs, job applications and interview coaching
- Support for employers to make adjustments to the interview process
- Help explaining your health condition to employers
- Support to make changes or adjustments in the workplace
- Help to keep your job and progress in your chosen career
- Access to in work support
For more information, please contact Naina Kent, Careers Advisor, at naina.kent@hackney.gov.uk, phoning 020 8820 7172 or texting 07775 018102.
Scope
Scope, the disability charity, also offers several programs to help young disabled people in London over the age of 16 with work. Support could include things like helping you write a CV, job applications, and interview practice, as well as support once you’re in work. All of these services are free of charge to access, and you can self-refer through their website.
These are the current programs Scope currently offer:
Starting Line
Starting Line is a pre-employment training programme for disabled people at the start of their journey into work. Starting Line will support you to:
- Grow in confidence, assertiveness and independence
- Develop your interview skills
- Find volunteering, training or employment opportunities
- Talk about disability in the workplace
Training sessions will be:
- Up to 2 hours long
- Held 2 times a week for 7 weeks
Location: Scope Head Office, Here East, Olympic Park or online sessions
Website: www.scope.org.uk/starting-line
Contact: startingline@scope.org.uk
Career Pathways
Career Pathways is an independent careers advice service for disabled people aged 16-25. You will be offered up to 3 one-hour sessions with an advisor to:
- Make you aware of all the career options and employment routes open to you
- Develop your career goals and create an action plan to help you achieve them.
Location: Scope Head Office, Here East, Olympic Park or online sessions.
Website: www.scope.org.uk/career-pathways
Contact: careerpathways@scope.org.uk
Kickstart
Kickstart is a one-to-one support programme for disabled people who are applying for jobs. You will get help from an employment adviser to help you understand and achieve your career goals, including:
- Confidence building
- Writing your CV
- Searching for jobs
- Preparing for interviews
- Ongoing support once you’ve found a job, with things like pay and reasonable adjustments.
Location: Scope Head Office, Here East, Olympic Park or online sessions
Website: www.scope.org.uk/kickstart
Contact: kickstart@scope.org.uk
Useful websites
Visit the Hackney Local Offer site, where you will find a full list of activities for young people with disabilities; information about statutory assessments, Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans; special schools and advice for families.
The Short Breaks website lists activities for young people with disabilities. Short Breaks allow a disabled young person to have an enjoyable break away from their main carer and give their carer a break from their caring responsibilities.
Prospects have careers and employment guidance available to young people with disabilities. This support can be accessed via drop in sessions or alternatives can be arranged. For more information: hackneycareersserviceplus@prospects.co.uk or call 020 8356 2664