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Education options for over 16s

Explore educational options and support available if you have special needs and disabilities (SEND), such as college, university, traineeships, and more.
Meet the Managers meeting rescheduled

Our Meet the Managers meeting scheduled for Tuesday 27 January has been rescheduled to Thursday 12 March.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

Apprenticeships
Higher education

Higher education can be an option after completing college, sixth form, or an apprenticeship for many young people. It is open to anyone who is over 18 years old and has successfully obtained a level three qualification, such as A level or a BTEC, or has completed an Access Course. Find out more about applying to university.

Short courses

Our adult education courses can help you nurture your creativity, develop your business skills, or advance your career. Find out more about short courses and adult education.

Sixth form

There are a variety of sixth form colleges in the area, that you can attend post-16.

Supported internships

Supported internships can help young people with complex needs, and higher support needs, to access employment. You can get on-the-job training, and the chance to become familiar with the workplace. You need to have either an education, health and care plan or a current Learning Disability Assessment to apply.

You can also read about young people's experiences of supported internships, find accessible fact sheets and watch a video on the Preparing for Adulthood website.

These organisations offer supported internships:

Traineeships

A number of organisations also offer traineeships in the borough:

While you’re doing a traineeship, you can claim jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) if you’re 19–to–23 years old. You can also apply for an Access to Work grant if you’re 16 to 24 years old and you have a disability or health condition.

Training

Training is an important way to:

  • gain new skills
  • improve existing skills
  • learn about areas that you're interested in

Training can be either:

  • classroom based
  • a mix of learning in a classroom and a working environment – this is called on-the-job training

Where you can get training

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