Leaving School Soon?

Leaving school can be exciting, and may be a little scary, for both the school leaver and their family.

The NDIS supports participants leaving school through its School Leaver Employment Supports (SLES), which can be funded in the final year of school. 

SLES is designed help participants make the transition from school into the workforce. Everyone’s path will be different and will depend on likes, goals, interests, and the kind of work they’re interested in doing.

In our recent Facebook Live event with Katrina from SLES NDIS | School Leaver Employment Support | breakthru Breakthru, they shared the following information:

Here’s a handy list of things to include on your invoice to speed up the processs

To be eligible for SLES, you need:

• To be in your final years of school
• Have an NDIS plan, including a goal to gain employment
• Provide supporting documentation e.g. a Functional Capacity Assessment from an OT and support letters from other health care providers
• And / or an Individual Transition Plan (ITP)

School leavers with SLES funding will be eligible to receive support for a maximum of 2 years. These supports are focused on improving employment opportunities and work-readiness. Examples include: 

• Assistance finding work experience opportunities
• Training and education 
• Key skills development:
  • Time Management
  • Travelling
  • Money Handling
  • Taking Instructions 
  • Understanding Workplace Expectations 

After these 2 years of support preparing to be ‘work ready’, most participants will transition to Disability Employment Services (DES) to receive ongoing support to enter the workforce or further training and education.  

The NDIS has a helpful book called Let’s talk about work | NDIS which the school leaver can work through with their family, a trusted friend or support coordinator if they have one.

If their NDIS plan doesn’t already include the budget ‘Finding and Keeping a Job’, ask your planner for a plan review to include it. Having this budget means the participant can access a range of services to support them in making the transition from school to work.

Another option is to use the ‘Improved Daily Living’ budget, which can also be used to help find a job by supporting the participant with tasks and skills like creating a resume or learning interview techniques.

The team at Breakthru can help participants almost anywhere across the east coast of Australia – SLES NDIS | School Leaver Employment Support | breakthru – like to see a case study from a participant? Watch this short video of Ethan! Ethan’s Employment Journey at OneBlink – YouTube

The team at Plan Tracker can help get the most from a NDIS Plan and SLES support. Give them a call on 1800 549 670 or chat via Live Chat.

Good luck and happy graduation!