Our pilot programme for young people with mild to moderate learning disabilities started in September 2017 and is operating in Islington and Kent, with 90 students enrolled.

DFN-MoveForward provides young people on the programme with long-term specialised support, to enable them to move into sustained paid work. It starts in Year 9 and continues beyond entry into paid employment, ensuring students are supported on every step of their journey into work.

This half-term, young people are enjoying lots of exciting business insight days, one of the key features of the programme. These days offer the students the chance to visit different employers, learn more about the career options on offer, and find out what skills, experience and qualifications are needed to get a job.

DFN-MoveForward staff have organised an exciting and mixed programme of insight days to cover a broad range of careers that students have shown an interest in.

Young people who are thinking about working in the media will be visiting the BBC Radio 1 and 1 Extra studies at the BBC headquarters in Oxford Street, central London. They’ll find out about the different roles in radio, have a career talk and Q&A  and get a tour of the studios.

Also lined up is a trip to The Mill, an Oscar-winning film, animation and special effects company, again based in central London but with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The company won its Oscar for work on Gladiator and has also worked on the Harry Potter films and gaming including Fifa 18.

Young people will get a careers talk covering positions across the company including finance, creative and marketing, and learn about internships and runner roles and how to apply. There will also be a session on virtual reality and a tour.

For those interested in careers in art and design The Goldsmiths Centre has created a special jewellery making session tailored to the needs and interests of the young people. They will get the chance to make a pendant or letter key chain.

A number of DFN-MoveForward young people are thinking of working with animals so we have arranged an insight day at the headquarters of The Dogs Trust. There will be an activity on animal welfare and a talk on the different roles at the charity.

Finally, an insight day at Fitness First will support the students who are keen to explore opportunities in the leisure industry. There will  be a tour of the club, a chance to design a workout aimed at young people and the opportunity to learn about the variety of jobs in the sector.

Vincenza De Falco, one of the DFN-MoveForward coaches, said: “The networks and contacts that we have at ThinkForward have helped us to put together a great programme for half-term and these are opportunities that the young people wouldn’t have if they were not on DFN-Move-Forward.

“Insight days are all about opening up opportunities and exposing students to careers that they might be interested in, and also showing them different careers. Many of these young people are only familiar with school and college life, so getting insights into the working environment more generally are really useful.  It’s also really motivating for them.”

Fourteen young people from ThinkForward were thrilled to attend a workshop for secondary school students at the Google Academy in Victoria, London.

Internet Citizens is an initiative run by  Google and YouTube in partnership with UKYouth. Aimed at 13-18 year-olds, the workshops are designed to help young people navigate the internet in a safe and positive way.

Our students, seven each from City of London Academy Islington (CoLAI) and George Green’s in Tower Hamlets, were welcomed to the beach-themed offices (complete with beach balls, beach huts and giant deckchairs) with a delicious breakfast, then it was down to business with around 100 other young people from the capital.

Energetic hosts Alain Clapham and Efe Ezekiel kept the momentum going throughout the day as they led four sessions covering areas including hate speech, echo chambers, emotional manipulation and fake news. Young people were given support on how to participate safely and responsibly on the web and tips on how to use tools such as comment moderation and flagging.

Lauren, a Year 10 George Green’s pupil said: “I learned new things especially not to believe everything that goes on in social media. I won’t trust everything I read on social media now.”

Her fellow George Green’s student Georgia said: “I learned about the difference between hate speech and free speech. It’s important to understand so you don’t get into trouble. Also, I wouldn’t have checked information before, but I am more likely to check it now. It’s important to know if something is true because if someone has spread something that’s not true it could really upset someone.”

Kieran from CoLAI took part in an interview with YouTuber Nadir Hahdi who has his own YouTube channel Beni, and who produced a video to Happy by Pharrell Williams – Happy British Muslims -that’s been viewed more than two million times.

After the day, Kieran commented: “I think that it’s really good to show people the difference between hate speech and free speech and that you should not cross the line. I understand that a lot better now. I also learned now to recognise fake news which is a good skill, and to make sure you look into news before you share it, to make sure you don’t spread things that are wrong.”

Robbie, the ThinkForward coach at CoLAI felt the day had been useful for his students on two levels: “I feel comfortable now knowing that they are better equipped to navigate the web and social media content more safely.  They have a good understanding of how to deal with negativity they may face online and have an insight into how their comments may affect others.

“Another benefit was that the students got to see a new office space, which gave them exposure to a very different – and trendy –  working environment.”