With National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi)
Supported Internships were one of the really good ideas from the Children and Families Act 2014. Though often unpaid, disabled young people with EHCPs were able to participate in supported work, gaining valuable experience and often ending with an offer of paid work.
Surprisingly, local authorities were very slow on the uptake—even years after implementation, few areas had established supported internship programmes and those that did had only a few places available. The charity, National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi), oversees the Internships Work programme we wrote about here. Now, its new report looks at how Supported Internships in Somerset are improving participants’ wellbeing and creating valuable and rewarding futures. That also means value for society and the economy, with a nine times return on investment, as the NDTi team has written about here.
Somerset leads the way in Inclusive Employment: Young People with SEND making their mark by NDTi
Our new report explores Somerset’s transformative supported internships programme, highlighting one proven pathway to increase employment opportunities for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). It coincides with the recent extension of the Internships Work programme and the Government’s response to the House of Lords report on the barriers and solutions to supporting young disabled people into work.
Over the past three years, more than 180 young people with SEND have taken part in Supported Internships across the county, in the South West of England. Delivered in partnership between local colleges, employers, job coaches, and Somerset Council, the programme gives young people real work placement in sectors including health, leisure, tech, and engineering.
The results speak for themselves.
Young people who were once unsure about their future are now thriving in paid jobs, gaining confidence, independence, and new skills. For example,
- Sophie is now a swimming assistant leading lessons for local children.
- Isla, once too anxious to speak in public, now works full-time in the IT department of a local hospital.
- James, previously overlooked in traditional interviews, now thrives in an aerospace company’s business intelligence team.
The report puts a figure on that success:
- Over £355,000 in social and economic value created
- For every £1 invested in the programme, more than £9 is returned to the community
- Strong improvements in wellbeing, independence, and reduced reliance on public services
Transforming communities for the better
But behind these numbers are stories of personal transformation and a powerful message for Somerset.
“This work shows that with the right support, young people with SEND can absolutely thrive in the world of work,” says Dr Victoria Mason-Angelow, the report’s author. “More than that, they can reshape how employers and communities think about ability, contribution, and potential.”
The programme has already expanded from one site at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton to ten across the county, with seven more in the pipeline for September 2025. Employers are keen to stay involved, with many creating permanent roles for their interns and describing the benefits for their whole team.
Somerset was also one of just 12 local areas chosen nationally to pilot Supported Internships for young people without Education, Health and Care Plans—helping reach even more young people, including those who are care-experienced or have faced exclusion from mainstream education.
Somerset’s work offers a timely example of how inclusion can work in practice—not through cuts, but through investment, relationships, and the belief that everyone has something to contribute.
Internships Work: Extended to improve supported internships
This report lands at a crucial time, as interest in supported internships continues to grow.
In May, the Internships Work programme—funded by the Department for Education and delivered in partnership by NDTi, DFN Project SEARCH, and British Association for Supported Employment (BASE)—was extended for a fourth year, now running until March 2026.
“We are delighted to be able to continue the Internships Work programme for another year. We will continue to work alongside British Association for Support Employment and DfN Project SEARCH. The next phase of the programme will enable our regional leads to further support 144 local SEND employer forums. We will be providing more employer engagement training and facilitating the Employer Ambassador Network. We will also be developing peer reviews within the quality assurance framework and providing further training for job coaches, building upon the 1,387 already trained.”
Kieran Watt, Programme Manager for Internships Work at NDTi
Since its launch in 2022, the programme has:
- More than doubled the number of Supported Internships to over 4,500.
- Helped 1,562 young people into paid work in the past year alone.
- Trained over 1,387 job coaches and engaged 800+ employer ambassadors.
This additional year focuses on sustaining momentum: scaling best practices, supporting 144 local SEND employer forums, enhancing peer review frameworks, and piloting new models for young people without EHCPs in 12 local areas.
Adding to the growing body of research on supported internships, Cooper Gibson Consulting, which has already published an interim evaluation of the Internships Work programme, will release a full evaluation report by the end of this year.
Government response: Endorsing Supported Internships
The Government has also formally responded to the House of Lords’ Think Work First report, an initiative that Julie Pointer, Associate at NDTi, wrote about in detail.
In its response, the Government accepted recommendations on supported internships, including:
- Honouring the previous Government’s pledge to double the number of supported internships, and taking steps to ensure as many young disabled people as possible are eligible. (Recommendation 3)
- Increasing the number of supported internships, through ambitious, time-bound targets and greater uptake within the public sector. (Recommendation 4)
- Expanding eligibility beyond those with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), while maintaining a focus on young people who require high levels of support. (Recommendation 14)
These commitments signal a clear and continued Government endorsement of supported internships.
Looking ahead: a model worth scaling
The Somerset report is more than a local success story—it’s growing evidence that Supported Internships work. With a £9 return on every £1 invested, the case for expansion is both moral and economic.
We hope this report is the first of many that spotlight the real value—financial, social, and personal—of building inclusive employment pathways for young people with SEND.
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Also read:
- SNJ’s 80 practical recommendations to solve the SEND Emergency
- The Lords publishes a “blueprint” to help young disabled people “thrive in work” saying too many are “written off”
- Supported Internships opening doors to employment for young people with SEND
- How H&M and WorkFit helped my daughter who has Down syndrome gain purposeful, paid experience of work
- SEND Improvement: Supported internships without EHCPs, plus “incredible”, “unforgettable” disabled children’s short breaks
- Making Supported Internships work so young people with learning disabilities and autism can thrive
- Supported Internships help disabled young people feel valued and socially included
- Far-reaching recommendations to boost SEND transition to adulthood as Ofsted/CQC find systemic “longstanding weakness”
- Think work first: Supporting young disabled people into work
- Beyond EHCPs: Why Inclusion Needs More Than a Document
- The Unacceptable Truth: 20 SEND legal rights at risk from the Government’s SEND reforms
- How health and family support systems are failing children starting school
- WEBINAR RECORDING! The implications for children’s legal rights to EHCPs and EOTAS of the Government’s SEND proposals
- When things go right: Shining a light on SEND Practitioners making a positive impact [Giveaway!]
- From suspicion to support: why the Government’s child protection reforms matter for disabled children
- Have your say on the future of transport for disabled children and young people
- Unison voices major concerns over SEND reform health plans for sick and disabled children out of school in the EOTAS consultation
- Top Tips for the EOTAS & EHCP consultation: Protect your child’s rights to statutory SEND support
- Navigating constraints: Why a former PCF chair thinks the current model is missing the mark for families
- Dear Secretary of State for Education, Lucy Powell: an Open Letter from Special Needs Jungle and SEND legal charity SOS!SEN
- Research: Disabled young people define inclusive education as “learning in the place that’s right for them”
- Why every child deserves Portage, wherever they’re born
- Mainstream SEND Funding: A simple explainer, another consultation, and why it really matters
- What might the SEND reform proposals mean for specialist tutors, alternative provision and EOTAS?
What kind of government is “bold” enough to scrap statutory EHCPs from vulnerable children?May 16, 2025
The SEND reforms in the Schools White Paper reveal rights given, and rights stripped awayFebruary 24, 2026
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She is a rare disease & chronic pain patient advocate with Ehlers Danlos syndrome.
- The Unacceptable Truth: 20 SEND legal rights at risk from the Government’s SEND reforms - September 9, 2026
- Dear Secretary of State for Education, Lucy Powell: an Open Letter from Special Needs Jungle and SEND legal charity SOS!SEN - August 4, 2026
- Research: Disabled young people define inclusive education as “learning in the place that’s right for them” - July 30, 2026
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