Step Up case study - Disability (DARE) – A quiet start, a strong journey. Now planning what comes next!
Focus on people who have a disability, are aged 16 years or over and are unemployed or economically inactive. The stories highlight the impact of support provided to enhance opportunities to gain qualifications and progress into work or stay in work.
The participant is a 17-year-old male who left school early due to personal circumstances before completing his GCSEs. At the point of enrolment, he had no formal qualifications and was shy, reserved, and lacked confidence.
He enrolled on the ‘Step-Up to Restart' programme as an alternative route into education. A key barrier identified early on was his difficulty adjusting to a classroom environment alongside peers; however, consistent support from Mentor, which included 1.1 meetings and including him in group tasks, helped him with his confidence.
He successfully completed the Step-Up programme and progressed to a Level 2 qualification, which he is on track to complete This progression represents a significant achievement, particularly as he would not have met the entry requirements for a conventional course without the programme.
Mentor also supported participant to meet with the college Careers Office to explore future progression routes. This support has helped him begin to plan next steps, as he was concerned that his lack of qualifications could disqualify him in applying for other courses.
Overall, the Step-Up programme played a key role in rebuilding confidence and enabling progression into further education that would otherwise not have been accessible.
Participants comments at the end of the course included:
‘I am happy with how the course is going. It has built my confidence, and I think it will continue to do so. All the staff are helpful and the classes are a nice environment to work in.’