New training salon opens doors to brighter futures for young people with SEND

A pioneering new training hub will help young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) take their first steps towards rewarding careers in the hair and beauty industry.

The fully-equipped Precision Training Hub, based at the recently opened Life Skills Hub Next Steps in Hull city centre, will provide personalised, industry-focused training designed to build confidence, independence and employability.

While the site will primarily offer new opportunities to students in years 12 and 13 (age 16-19) and bridge the gap between secondary and further education, the hair and beauty training is open to new students aged 14 through to adulthood.

Existing students may also be able to benefit from training in the hub alongside their studies at Life Skills Hub Next Steps.

Young people from across Hull, East and North Yorkshire, and North and North East Lincolnshire who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) can access the training, or it can be self-funded.

The Precision Training Hub is run by James Cardwell, Health, Social Care and Beauty Coordinator, who is a fully qualified hair and beauty coordinator and therapist with experience of running his own salon.

He has worked in the industry for more than 20 years, and has also been an A&E nurse with the NHS.

James said: “The Precision Training Hub will provide young people who might otherwise be disadvantaged with an opportunity to become industry-ready at an early age, so they’ll be able to progress into work or further training.

“They will also develop transferable skills that will allow them to pursue careers in other sectors, if they choose to, as well as the resilience and confidence to be successful in life.

“It will be a therapeutic and holistic approach to learning, tailored to the specific needs of these young people, and we’re incredibly proud to help them discover their potential and take meaningful steps towards a brighter future.”

The Precision Training Hub features hair washing basins, nail desks, hair stations and mannequin doll heads for hair style trials.

Students will also train with live models to gain hair and beauty industry experience in a supported and controlled environment.

They will cover core skills including hairstyling, blow drying, shampooing and conditioning, and also develop the social skills to be able to interact comfortably with clients.

Programmes are also all portfolio-based, so learners won’t face the anxiety of sitting exams.

Katy Langfield, Life Skills Hub Inclusion Lead, said: “The Precision Training Hub is ideal for young people who reached 16 and possibly didn’t finish school with the qualifications they hoped for.

“Learners can receive one-to-one support or train in groups of up to four, with additional support from a SEND teacher.”

Following one or two years at the hub, depending on individual assessment, learners will be supported to progress to Level 2 hair and beauty training with other education or training providers.

Katy said: “Students can learn the foundations they need at a lower level with us, possibly up to six hours per week, before starting at Level 2.

“We’ve had a lot of demand from the young people we work with and there is a gap between leaving school and beginning Level 2 training.

“If they don’t have the required skills to start their training, students can get frustrated and drop out, so this gives them the grounding to work towards that in a supported environment.”

Life Skills Hub Central in Endike Lane, north Hull, opened in 2024 as a specialist independent SEND school for young people, aged 10 to 16.

Life Skills Hub Next Steps was recently given the go-ahead by Ofsted inspectors to offer extended support to 15 post-16 learners from September, extending the provision.

The post-16 students who may have experienced trauma, have gaps in learning, or are neurodiverse, study maths and English alongside enrichment subjects such as physical education or art and design, health and economic education, and relationships and sex education.

They will also receive careers advice and guidance, complete work experience, have independent travel training, and take part in enterprise projects to teach them about business.