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Supporting employment for learners with SEND in the Arts sector
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Authors
Editors
Date
2026
Educational Level
ISCED Level 4 Post-secondary Non-tertiary Education
Curriculum Area
Geographical Setting
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Abstract
To widen access to creative-sector careers for young people with SEND, Luminate Group led partnership work as an ETF Employer Spoke with Leeds Heritage Theatres through the Grand Futures Leeds Arts Network. Challenges included barriers to arts participation, inaccessible recruitment processes, and low SEND representation across venues. Actions involved adapting recruitment procedures, developing the Adapted Cultural Exchange programme, restructuring work-experience delivery over sustained weekly sessions, training staff using inclusive practice tools (e.g., social stories, visual supports), and coordinating multi-partner placements across arts organisations. Evidence of impact includes increased student awareness of arts career pathways, strengthened staff confidence, inclusive recruitment reforms across partner venues, employment of three autistic staff members by Leeds Heritage Theatres, and SEND provision becoming a routine component of arts-sector workforce development efforts.
Description
Keywords (free text)
further education, 16-19 education, inclusion, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), employer liaison, creative-sector employment