What the Getting a Life Programme Set Out to Do
Why Getting a Life Exists
Getting a Life was created to challenge a stubborn assumption: that young people with a severe learning disability cannot work, or that employment is an unrealistic ambition for them. The programme set out to replace that assumption with a clear expectation. Paid employment should be the normal, anticipated outcome of growing up, including for young people with the most significant support needs.
The mission was never simply to create a few jobs or pilot projects. It was to change the culture around transition, so that families, schools, colleges and social care teams all begin from the question: what kind of work does this young person want to do?
Making Paid Employment the Expected Outcome
The central aim of the programme is to make paid work the default destination for young people with a severe learning disability as they move into adulthood. Rather than accepting day services or volunteering as the only options, Getting a Life promotes real jobs with real wages and real contracts.
This means raising expectations early. When employment is treated as a possibility from the start, planning, funding and support can be arranged around it instead of being bolted on as an afterthought.
Working Across the Whole System
The programme recognised that no single service can deliver employment on its own. Getting a Life therefore works with schools, colleges, local authorities, employers, families, and employment support providers to build a joined-up pathway.
- Supporting young people to explore their interests and strengths.
- Helping families understand that paid work is possible.
- Encouraging employers to open real vacancies.
- Training staff to deliver personalised employment support.
The programme also shares practical tools and stories so that good practice can spread from one area to another rather than being locked in a single project.
Changing Expectations, Not Just Services
At its heart, Getting a Life is about culture change. The programme set out to shift the conversation from what young people cannot do to what they can do, with the right support in place.
Paid employment should be the expected outcome, not the exception, for young people with a severe learning disability.
A key part of this work is listening to young people and their families. Their ambitions shape the programme, and their successes show what becomes possible when expectations change.
How the Programme Measures Progress
Getting a Life tracks whether young people are actually moving into paid work, and whether the systems around them are changing. Progress is measured not only in job outcomes but in attitudes, planning and partnership working.
- Raise awareness of what is possible.
- Build employment into transition planning.
- Develop personalised support that fits each young person.
- Share learning so change lasts.
| Focus Area | What Getting a Life Aims For |
|---|---|
| Expectations | Paid work seen as a normal outcome |
| Support | Personalised help to find and keep a job |
| Systems | Joined-up transition from school to adulthood |
By keeping the focus on paid employment, Getting a Life set out to create lasting change for young people with a severe learning disability and for everyone who supports them.
