Beacon Support provides a variety of support to help apprentices to flourish and succeed  when studying and working.

We are pleased to provide:

· Learning Support

· Mental Health Support

· Assistive Technology Training.

If you are considering an apprenticeship, you may find the following information helpful.

Although you will not be eligible for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) or student finance, there are other funding sources available you can apply for.  These include up to £19,000 per year from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).  This learner support funding is payable to training providers to ensure you are fully supported and is open to all apprenticeship levels, including degree apprenticeship courses.

You are also able to apply for Access to Work funding.  You can find out more about this funding on our Workplace page. This grant can help you to pay for work related needs, such as mental health support. 

Having a disability means you are entitled to reasonable adjustments, such as extra time for assessments.  You can read more about reasonable adjustments in this guide: Disability Rights UK 

You may also be able to have specialist support, which will be tailored to your needs.  For instance you may need specialist equipment such as an ergonomic chair, or large screen.  Assistive technology can help you with planning, researching, note taking, task management, etc.  Human support, delivered by learning coaches, can help you to develop specialist strategies, for instance effective time management and organisation, to help you achieve key goals such as meeting your deadlines.  

The support you are given is to ensure that you are not at a disadvantage when compared with your non-disabled peers.  It should also help you to identify your many skills and strengths and find the right strategies to harness these so you reach your full potential.

How do you apply?

Once you have had your needs identified you should liaise with your training provider and employer. You will need to complete the funding applications, which will include providing the required documents

Neurodivergent apprentices’ working and learning journeys can be transformed by our package of support. The support package is person centred, and so tailored to the apprentice’s needs, including how many support sessions they require. Support may include the following: 

· Social strategies and support such as communicating effectively, using public transport, managing conflict.  

· Academic strategies and support such as assistance with portfolio planning, organising materials, time tracking to evidence time spent learning new things, confidence building in areas such as presentations and interviews – helpful for the End Point Assessment (EPA).

· Wellbeing strategies and support such as managing anxiety, mood tracking, journalling, solution focused approaches, signposting to 24/7 emergency services.  Apprentices can personalise the app to anticipate difficulties that they may experience and be supported to input the strategies that they will find helpful

· Personal strategies, such as achieving behaviour change, improving focus, increasing productivity, brain boosting, improving memory.

As part of our holistic approach to apprenticeships we are delighted to provide My-Prompt Plus, our executive dysfunction resources orientated system.

My-Prompt Plus is designed to support and improve executive function. Its different zones will assist with planning, organisation, memory, task management, focusing, wellbeing and managing overwhelm.

Our specialist coaches can help apprentices to apply My-Prompt Plus's specialist strategies to their studies, work and personal life.

Our personal support will help apprentices to:

· Increase in confidence

· Understand and harness individual strengths

· Improve academic performance

· Improve wellbeing

· Develop personal skills

· Utilise a wide variety of tools and techniques, including assistive technology