Practical Opportunities, Stronger Strategy: Inside our SEND Community of Practice

26 Aug 2026

The Central London Careers Hub’s SEND Community of Practice brought careers leaders, employers, and Hub specialists together to turn shared challenges into new contacts, concrete opportunities, and stronger plans.

Careers leaders in SEND settings are often balancing two connected priorities. They need suitable, accessible opportunities for young people now, and they need the time and support to improve the careers programme that will serve learners in the years ahead.

Sophie Grubb, Anna Hirst and Kirstie Hubbard from The Central London Careers Hub designed this term’s SEND Community of Practice around both needs. Held in 2026 and shaped by feedback from SEND schools, the session combined direct employer insight with strategic support, peer learning, and clear routes into further activity.

The aim was practical: to help SEND schools access more work experience and employment opportunities, widen the range of employers their learners encounter, and build confidence in using the support available through the Careers Hub. It also created space for careers leaders to learn from one another and challenge limiting assumptions about what young people with SEND can contribute to in the workplace.

Starting with What Schools Asked For

Planning began in February with outreach to employers and conversations across the Hub’s Industry Partnerships team. Rather than assembling a broad panel with little connection to the audience, the organisers invited partners already committed to working with SEND schools and able to offer concrete next steps.

Hospitality Connect, CareTrade UK and Mitie each brought a different perspective. The agenda also included current and forthcoming Teacher Encounter opportunities, led by Hub Industry Partnership Coordinators, and a peer case study from Vanguard School on using the Careers Impact System.

All SEND schools in the Hub network were invited. The session was designed not as a one-way presentation but as a working community. Careers leaders could ask detailed questions, test ideas against the realities of their own settings, and make connections they could use after the event.

Employers Made the Opportunities Specific

Andi Fletcher from Hospitality Connect introduced the breadth of careers within hospitality and discussed how roles can be shaped around the strengths of SEND learners. For one attendee, this challenged a narrow view of the sector. They could immediately see students who would be well suited to hospitality and valued discovering how many different roles exist.

Katherine Dymond from Caretrade UK outlined programmes including Job Seekers Plus and the Autism Project, giving schools clearer routes towards specialist employment support. Mel Dovey from Mitie shared learning from work with 16 schools, including how programmes can be adapted for SEND cohorts.

That specificity was important. Careers leaders did not leave with a general invitation to “get in touch”; they gained names, programmes and possible routes forward.

Connecting Activity to Whole-School Improvement

The Community of Practice also looked beyond individual encounters. Hub colleagues Jamie Fox and Kirstie Hubbard shared current and forthcoming Teacher Encounters, helping careers leaders see how employer insight can reach learners through curriculum staff as well as through the careers programme.

A case study from Vanguard School then explored the Careers Impact System: why the school chose to use it, how the process supported reflection, and why colleagues would recommend it. Attendees could ask practical questions about booking a Careers Impact System Day and how it might support their own priorities.

The combination gave the session its strength. Employer partners offered immediate possibilities for learners, while Hub specialists and school peers helped careers leaders consider the structures needed to make those possibilities part of a coherent, progressive offer.

As one participant reflected: “The event was useful and helped me gain three new employer contacts.” Another said the discussion had clarified the process for booking a Careers Impact System day, while a third planned to join a future Teacher Encounter after learning that these opportunities form an ongoing programme.

From a Meeting to a Working Network

A Community of Practice becomes valuable when the conversation continues beyond the room. The employer links, Teacher Encounters, and strategic tools shared during the session all gave participants a reason to take a next step.

The discussion also helped the Hub respond more precisely to need. Information from schools, including learner feedback gathered through tools such as the Future Skills Questionnaire, can inform future encounters. One example was a planned engineering-focused Teacher Encounter with COWI, supported by an accessible Future of Engineering comic that careers leaders could take back into their settings.

This created a useful cycle: schools shared what their learners and staff needed; the Hub connected those needs with relevant employers and resources; careers leaders tested the opportunities in their settings; and the learning fed back into the network.

What the Model Shows

The SEND Community of Practice demonstrates that operational opportunity and strategic improvement do not need to sit in separate conversations. Bringing them together helps careers leaders move from inspiration to action.

For employers, the model provides a trusted route into SEND settings and insight into how engagement may need to be adapted. For schools, it offers practical contacts alongside tools for strengthening their wider careers programme. Overall, this supports a more responsive network in which good practice, honest questions and new opportunities can travel between settings.

Most importantly, it keeps the focus on possibility. When careers leaders and employers have the right connections and support, more young people with SEND can encounter industries, roles, and pathways that recognise their strengths.