A COLLEGE for young adults with disabilities could opening an outreach centre in Bradford in September if new plans are approved.

Henshaws Specialist College in Harrogate has applied for planning permission convert two vacant office units at Listerhills Science Park into a centre for students aged from 16 to 25, with a wide range of disabilities, to prepare them for living independently and the world of employment.

If it gets the go ahead from Bradford Council, the development would create six full time jobs.

Initially the centre will cater to around eight students, but this will expand to around 20 at any one time.

Students with special educational needs and disabilities be able to use the Bradford centre and have access to the college’s services, including support for them and their families through the transition to adulthood and respite care and residential support where appropriate.

The college says that the outreach centre will help students to enhance their employability skills, with the aim of gaining long-term paid employment, through both educational progression and a college curriculum.

As part of this, there will be an introduction to social enterprise and students will be expected to manage their own enterprises within the centre.

Students will be able to study on a supported internship course, gaining work placement experience and pre-employment training.

For students who want to continue into further education in Bradford, there will be a development course to prepare for the next stage of their education.

Part of the centre will be used to help students gain independent living skills, such as self-care, home skills and food technology.

Principal Angela North said: “We already have some students with more complex needs from the Bradford area, but this initiative will remove the barriers of location and distance for another group of special school leavers. Our mission has always been to support students to go ‘beyond expectations’ and we are delighted to be able to extend this to Bradford.

“Our long experience of working with young adults with a wide range of special needs means we understand how important it is that they are treated as individuals. One student might need assistive technology to help them communicate while another might need to learn how to budget and shop for food for a meal. We work with them to find out how we can assist them to achieve their maximum potential.”

The centre will also offer therapies, such as visual impairment support, speech and language therapy and assistive technology.

One local student who has already benefited from the skills he learned at the college is Luke Demaine, now in his second year of a BTEC course in IT at Bradford College.

Luke, from Bingley, who has been blind since birth and has learning disabilities, was able to help cook Christmas dinner for his family for the first time last Christmas.

Angela said: “Luke’s progress at College was amazing and I want to be able to see similar outcomes for other young men and women from across Bradford.”