Woodlands Meed’s Careers and Transition Fair was held this month at The Kings Church in Burgess Hill. The Meed’s Job Club (MJC), which delivers Woodlands Meed’s Career Programme, organised and ran the event as part of their program of initiatives to help get and prepare their students and young people into work placements along with developing and delivering a progressive and meaningful programme of learning, working with employers and external partners.

The event brought together local employers, day and transitional services and further education providers. All the exhibitors were passionate about recognising the potential of people with SEND in the world of work and the value of giving young people an opportunity to make a valued contribution to society. 

Woodlands Meed students from Key Stage 3 to Key Stage 5 visited throughout the day, along with SEND students from other local School including St Pauls, Warden Park, Burgess Hill Academy and St Mary’s School & 6th Form College in Bexhill. Parents and staff were invited to visit the event in the afternoon along with other young people with SEND from different provisions locally to share the positive impact of this event beyond just those at Woodlands Meed.

The feedback from those who attended described the event as a great success and incredibly valuable in giving young people a chance to gain a detailed insight into work possibilities and of the future opportunities available. The businesses who attended felt it also provided them with an insight into working with young people with SEND. One exhibitor commented, ‘the students were great and many were very curious, it was great to be able to inspire young minds’. The students also provided positive feedback ‘it was good and I got to see how many options there were for me’.

The MJC wants to support local businesses to become more inclusive whilst enabling students to reach their full potential. We are keen to talk with any businesses who may be interested in providing a small group of students with work experience opportunities such as a visit to their premises/workshop for a tour, coming to college to talk about your job/business or offering formal work experience.

To find out more, meet the Woodlands Meed team and other like-minded businesses looking to become more inclusive and diverse - Mims Davis, MP and DWP Youth Employment Minister will be opening the next MJC Business Networking event held at Woodlands Meed College in May, to find out more or attend this event please email careers@woodlandsmeed.co.uk