We seek funding to employ a full-time Job Coach for two years to support our young people - all of whom have severe autism and complex learning difficulties - into work.

Prior's Court already provides a successful vocational skills training programme. In our dedicated Young Adults' Centre, our young people learn work skills in horticulture, riverbank maintenance, house-keeping, laundry, catering and labelling and 44% of them in some form of work placement.

However, we want to build on this. Our newly opened Bakery, Bread & Beyond will provide an accredited bakery training programme and a real-world work environment in which young people with severe autism will move through taster sessions, work experience and trainee roles into paid work. It is based on a similar project in the States that is successfully placing people with severe autism into work.

The Job Coach will work alongside the Master Baker and Vocational Instructors to identify suitable work placements in local bakeries for the young people who 'graduate' from the training programme.