Getting a Life

Finding what needs to happen to ensure that young people with learning disabilities achieve full lives

What is Getting a Life?

Currently less that 10% of people with learning disabilities are in paid employment. This is far lower than the employment rate for all disabled people (48%) and for whole of the working age population (75%).

Getting a Life aims to identify what needs to happen to ensure that young people with learning disabilities leave education and go on to achieve paid employment and full lives.

How does it work?

There are twelve Getting a Life demonstration sites:

Herefordshire
Kent
Lincolnshire
Manchester
Medway
Norfolk
North East Lincolnshire
North Tyneside
Oldham
Richmond Upon Thames
Somerset
Torbay

Each of these sites has secured senior commitment from key local delivery services:

Adult Social Services
Children’s Services
Learning and Skills Council/Further Education Colleges
Jobcentre Plus

Each site is working with approximately 30 young people who have learning disabilities, including many with severe learning disabilities.

Each demonstration site has a project team that includes young people and their families alongside senior decision makers from schools, colleges, children and adult social services in local authorities, Job Centre Plus, Connexions, Learning and Skills Council and supported employment agencies.

What are the aims of the programme?

The programme seeks to:

identify and demonstrate good practice in enabling young people with learning disabilities to leave school, get paid employment and have full adult lives
explore how to bring together assessment and funding streams from different national and local policy areas, including SEN assessment and transition planning, Connexions, LSC and post-16 education, Jobcentre Plus (including New Deal and Access to Work) and adult social care assessment and day service funding
inform Government about what works and what needs to be changed at a policy level.
develop a learning community to gather and share good practice.

How is the programme run?

Getting a Life is a three-year cross-government programme jointly funded by the Office for Disability Issues and:

Each organisation made a financial commitment for the three-year life-span of the project, which began in March 2008. No additional funding has been provided for services in the pilot sites.

More information can be found on the Getting a Life website.