“Getting involved with the supported internship scheme has been an absolute joy!”

Chloe is Family Fund’s Information and Support Manager, in the charity’s support delivery team. She currently manages Alice, one of our supported interns. You can read Alice’s story here.

“In the service delivery team, we help families access the additional information and support they might need, alongside the grants we provide. This includes running workshops and e-learning courses, and providing website resources and over the phone support. We do this on a range of topics, like checking benefit entitlements, mental health and wellbeing, or help using technology.

Hiring a supported intern to join the team

“Family Fund’s supported internship programme started in 2021, to support young disabled people into work. It runs in partnership with Blueberry Academy, a local education provider in York.

“In 2022, we were asked if we’d like the opportunity to have a supported intern in our team. It was a great opportunity and of course we said YES! We created a job specification detailing the role they would take on, and tasks they would support us with.

“The team at Blueberry Academy then went back to their students to see who may be interested, and supported those who wanted to complete an application. On the big day, we interviewed two potential supported interns. Both candidates created insightful presentations about themselves, their passions and their reasons for wanting a supported internship.

“Both applicants were very impressive. They both received an internship offer with Family Fund, and we were extremely lucky to have Alice join our team!”

Working with Alice

“Alice has been with us for five months so far. She has completed some truly amazing pieces of work for the team.

“When Alice first joined in September 2022, she started her internship working on our Digital Skills project, a service that supports families who have an iPad to learn more about how the iPad can best work for their disabled child’s needs.

“Alice has attended one of our face-to-face workshops, delivered by Apple accredited trainers, and has provided the team with feedback from her experience as a young autistic person. She researched how being digitally excluded can have a direct impact of the quality of life of families.

“In the second half of her internship, Alice has been researching the current support available for parents raising a disabled young person about to transition into adult services. She has been looking at organisations who provide help and advice in this area, and identifying gaps. From her findings, Alice is now creating an action plan to create her very own workshop to support families raising a disabled young person transitioning into adult services.”

What Alice has brought to the Service Delivery Team

“Alice came into our team with a true passion and determination to support other young people with autism, like herself.”

“Alice’s passion to support all families is in keeping with Family Fund values and she has shown herself to be a highly valued member of the wider team.”

Where completing the varied tasks, Alice has shown a desire to connect with other staff teams where she can. She has confidently presented for members of our First Contact Team, met with some of our Communications and Events teams, and shown a passion to learn more about how our Research team works to understand our families’ stories. Everyone in the office loves to see her friendly smile when she is in the office!

The supported internship scheme from my perspective

Getting involved with the supported internship scheme has been an absolute joy! We are a small team of five in Service Delivery. Having Alice join us has brought a different perspective to our whole team.

“I have learned a lot about myself, both as a manager and a colleague, and I have Alice to thank for that!”

The programme delivered by Family Fund and Blueberry Academy is truly supportive to everyone involved, from the supported intern, their support staff (known as job coaches) and the Family Fund team.

There is a real drive to ensure that, as a Disability Confident Employer, Family Fund is truly supporting young disabled people to find employment. This programme shows that.”