NHS England Choices College Sunderland

05/05/2026

We have had the BEST afternoon at Sunderland College. We were invited by their immersive learning manager to experience the igloo. Wow! So many amazing learning opportunities in it. We explored the world, walked the streets of Amsterdam, flew through the rings of Saturn and ended on a dance off and brought Christmas forward with Santa’s Grotto.

Thank you for the invite. We loved it

24/04/2026

🚨Feel Good Friday 🚨

How is this for inspirational?

Supported Internships can make a real difference to a young person with SEN, and their journey into employment and independence.

With tailored support to match each individual, and with placements available across a wide variety of sectors - could we be the programme for your next steps?

Applications are open now for September 2026 👇
https://choices.envelope.host/s/?ref=U3VwcG9ydGVkSW50ZXJuc2hpcC02N2JmYjQ3ZTRhNGM3

24/04/2026

We recently had the pleasure of meeting with Charlotte from Inspire in South Tyneside, who shared more about the fantastic work they do to support people across the local community.

It was great to learn more about the positive impact Inspire is making and the wide range of support they offer.

We’d encourage everyone to take a look at their website to find out more about the amazing work they do 👇

Programme Calendar - https://book.plinth.org.uk/calendar/8dQfF9APZHq0DWOWoleP

Inspire South Tyneside - https://help.plinth.org.uk/IST

24/04/2026

🚨Feel Good Friday!🚨

We’re incredibly proud to share some fantastic news from our South Tyneside cohort

Our intern Courtney was nominated for a PROUD Award by her work placement – and we’re thrilled to say she went on to win!

Courtney was presented with her award on stage at the South Tyneside Council PROUD Awards ceremony, a truly well-deserved recognition of her hard work, dedication, and positive impact.

Congratulations, Courtney – we’re all so proud of you

🥳🥇🌟

30/03/2026

👏Celebrating Jorja on National Supported Internship Day!

Jorja joined our team as an intern from Choices College in February. Young people who attend Choices College have either a learning difficulty, learning difference and/or autism.

Jorja quickly found her way around the building, supporting with admin tasks and helping customers on reception. Although she was a little nervous at first, Jorja soon settled in and her warm smile and cheerful personality shone through. Her cheeky laugh is always good to hear!

On reception, Jorja handles customer queries, processes payments and books classes for members. Jorja also supports our Admin Team Leader with back of office administration tasks.

As an inclusive and supportive employer, The Parks Sports Centre and North Tyneside Council ensured Jorja received the right training to enable her to succeed in her tasks, develop new skills and gain valuable qualifications for her transition into work. Our staff are skilled in supporting people with learning differences and we received great support from the college to help prepare for Jorja's placement.

The whole team has worked together to support Jorja, with special thanks to her mentors, Rose and Helen. The Parks Sports Centre and North Tyneside Council are proud to promote an inclusive working environment and to partner with NHS England to give young people the opportunity to gain genuine work experience in a supportive and encouraging environment.

We have thoroughly enjoyed having Jorja with us and we wish her every success in her future career. We are very proud to celebrate Jorja on National Supported Internship Day and would encourage other organisations to offer young people similar opportunities to learn and gain valuable work experience.
England Choices College Northumberland

27/03/2026

Crazy about Fashion!!

Our crazy about fashion intern worked so hard during her placement that she was offered a job. She does tiktok lives for new fashion launches, sorts new stock, has her own group of customers, updates social media with new products and greets everyone with a smile.

Great work! Well done!

27/03/2026

Another Intern Gains Employment!!

This intern had one dream and one dream only, to work in Sunderland hospital. After taking part in our work experience programme at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital he joined the supported internship. He worked in the Linen room and domestics and even asked to try all the shifts to see he could manage the job. With a great work ethic and demonstrating professional behaviours he gained employment within the hospital. He is now responsible for his own ward.

Proud as punch! Amazing achievement.

27/03/2026

Another Success story. One of our interns loved anything fitness related and had his placement at Everyone Active. An apprenticeship came up so he trained hard for the swim test having to swim 50 meters under 1 minute, swim 100 m continuously on front and back, treat water for 30 seconds, surface dive and pick an object up from the bottom of the pool and and climb out unaided. He took the initiative to train out of hours and when he had time on shift. He also attended an interview with management from the centre and was successful.

We couldn't be prouder!

Well done!

27/03/2026

This National Supported Internship Day, we are proud to celebrate the achievements of our interns, mentors, and colleagues who make supported internships such

27/03/2026

AMAZING SUCCESS AND HIGHEST AWARD YOU CAN GET!!

Our Intern worked hard to overcome barriers with telling the time and with help from the staff at his placement and reasonable adjustments he literally flew. He gained a permanent position at the Hilton Hotel and has recently won Employee of the Month, which involves a weekend stay at an exclusive 5* retreat with his own private butler and then attends the award ceremony. We were thrilled when we heard this wonderful news. Amazing and we are so proud of you!!

27/03/2026

Bishop wearmouth garden centre are one of our amazing placement providers. Thank you 😊

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DaWHvSN7N/

We are proud to support Choices College with Supported National Internship Day. We are raising awareness of these amazing young individuals who work so hard to gain the skills to get them employment ready. Supported Internships are a proven and effective - transition pathway to employment that we are proud to be part of.

27/03/2026

Meet another successful intern who always dreamed of becoming a porter. We secured him a placement at Sunderland Hospital and he impressed the team so much there that they offered him a contract. He now works 20 hours per week and does 25000 steps everyday!! YES! How amazing!

27/03/2026

Meet one of our successful interns. He joined us with a diagnosis of Autism and has since excelled socially and independently. He now holds down a permanent job aswell as attending social groups. He wants to move out of home and have his own house, how amazing is this?

27/03/2026

It's National Supported Internship Day and here at Sunderland Choices College we are shouting about our learners and their success stories.

We are proud of each and everyone of our learners in all that they achieve.

18/03/2026

Our interns embracing the careers fair today at the Stadium of Light. They did so well approaching the different stands there and using their customer service skills. Feeling so proud of them.

The skies the limit.

10/03/2026

We just HAD to share this wonderful post from NTH Solutions of one of our students from way back in 2017-18 who continues to thrive and inspire the colleagues around her

Today we’re celebrating Ward Hostess Hazifa, one of our colleagues who was nominated for the University Hospitals Tees Wonder Women campaign as part of International Women’s Day celebrations.

Hazifa is the kind of colleague everyone wishes they had, described as "always early, always committed, and always ready to help."

Her positivity and eagerness to support patients and colleagues alike make a real difference on every ward she steps onto.

Described as 'going the extra mile' every day and with a smile. Her dedication shines through in everything she does.

27/01/2026

What a fun day at placement! 👏 ⭐

27/11/2025

⭐Good news story⭐

Lexi was an intern within our Newcastle cohort, and during his time with us he completed a bespoke employability bootcamp set up in partnership with Primark following employer engagement visits to the Newcastle branch.

Lexi worked incredibly hard and, after taking on all he had learned during his Employability Skills classes with us, he smashed his interview and was offered a seasonal contract last Christmas, which he was over the moon with.

However, after impressing his managers with his commitment and hard work, we are proud to announce that he has now secured permanent employment with the company!

To celebrate Lexi and his journey from internship to employment, Primark have featured him on their careers page! 👉🏻 careers.primark.com/en/lexi-retail-assistant

20/10/2025

Now THIS is a success story!

Luke told us when he joined our programme that his dream job was in the police; but without any previous work experience on his CV this was a challenge!

We arranged placements for him in Portering and Security at North Tees Hospital, explaining the importance of building transferable skills and growing his experience and knowledge.

We were over the moon when he was offered paid employment with North Tees following all of his hard work in placement, and then again when he transferred into the security department. It’s always a pleasure to bump into Luke whenever we are visiting other students in the hospital and we have always loved to catch up on how he’s getting on

Imagine how we all burst with pride upon hearing that after 6 years of hard work, dedication and skill development, Luke has achieved his dream job and has been accepted into the police!

Thank you as always to the wonderfully supportive teams within NTH Solutions who have cheered Luke on and given him the tools for success.
Please join us in wishing Luke the absolute best of luck for his onward career journey, he is a testament to how Supported Internships can help you achieve any dream you set your mind to!

26/09/2025

We are proudly working with Sunshine Co-operative who work with our learners on placement whilst they're on our Supported Internship.

One of our learners from last academic year has been offered a job with them and we are so proud of him for putting the hard work in and being offered this amazing opportunity.

Claire, Maggie and Andrea have been a MASSIVE support to our learners and have recently discussed with the BBC about their concerns with the Government funded Access to Work programme. Access to work is Government funded scheme that is in place to help people with SEND and Autism into work and provide essential support.

See the article below:

The Sunshine Co-Operative says hurdles with a government grant are letting down employers and staff.

17/07/2025

underway for the class of 2025 in North Tyneside.

All students have shown incredible determination this last year and we are all very proud of the progress you've all made. Huge well done to each and everyone

North Tyneside Council
North Tyneside Employment & Skills