Parents and Carers
- SEN Support in Mainstream Schools
- SEN Support in School Meetings
- Choosing a School or College
- Education Health and Care (EHC) Needs Assessments, Plans and Reviews
- Appeals and Mediation
- Attendance and Exclusions
- Transitioning Between Schools or Settings
- Early Years
- SEND Funding
- Transport to School and College
- Preparing For Adulthood (PfA)
- Making a Complaint
- Health Needs and Education
- Elective Home Education (EHE)
- School Admissions
- Disability Discrimination
- Children's Disability Register
Preparing For Adulthood (PfA)
Discussions about moving into adulthood and into adult services, should start early and from at least year 9, when children are around 13-14 years old. High aspirations are crucial to success. Discussions about longer term goals should focus on the child or young person’s strengths and capabilities and the outcomes they want to achieve. Preparing for Adulthood includes both the transition into post-16 education, and the transition from post-16 education into adult life.
If your child has an EHC Plan there should be a focus on preparing for adulthood within each EHC Review, from year 9 onwards.
Supportive and timely transition planning is very important for young people with SEND, and professionals should help them to make this transition as smooth as possible. Many children will have been working with professionals for a number of years, and the transition may feel challenging.
If you are concerned about the transition to adulthood, you can ask to speak to your child’s education provider. You can ask for a meeting to discuss this and any planning or support that might be available.
Where children and young people are transitioning between health and social care teams, you can also ask their current support team for guidance.
The SEND Code of Practice sets out the following themes that need to be considered when preparing for adulthood:
- higher education and/or employment – this includes exploring different employment options, such as support for becoming self-employed and help from supported employment agencies
- independent living – this means young people having choice, control and freedom over their lives and the support they have, their accommodation and living arrangements, including supported living
- participating in society, including having friends and supportive relationships, and participating in, and contributing to, the local community
- being as healthy as possible in adult life.
The SEND Code of Practice says that preparing for adulthood planning, in the review of the EHC plan, should include:
- Support to prepare for higher education and/or employment. This should include identifying appropriate post-16 pathways that will lead to these outcomes. Training options such as supported internships, apprenticeships and traineeships should be discussed, or support for setting up your own business. The review should also cover support in finding a job and learning how to do a job (for example, through work experience opportunities or the use of job coaches) and help in understanding any welfare benefits that might be available when in work.
- Support to prepare for independent living, including exploring what decisions young people want to take for themselves and planning their role in decision making, as they become older. This should also include discussing where the child or young person wants to live in the future, who they want to live with and what support they will need. Local housing options, support in finding accommodation, housing benefits and social care support should be explained.
- Support in maintaining good health in adult life, including effective planning with health services of the transition from specialist paediatric services to adult health care. Helping children and young people understand which health professionals will work with them as adults, ensuring those professionals understand the young person’s learning difficulties, or disabilities and planning well-supported transitions is vital to ensure young people are as healthy as possible in adult life.
- Support in participating in society, including understanding mobility and transport support, how to find out about social and community activities and opportunities for engagement in local decision-making. This also includes support in developing and maintaining friendships and relationships.
Children become ‘adults’ at different ages for different purposes. It can be quite confusing for both the young person and their parents.
Education and Training
Young people are expected to participate in education or training up to the age of 18, and in practice should continue to the end of the academic year in which they turn 18.
There are a number of ways they can do this – at school, or college, on an apprenticeship or traineeship, or by a combination of work placement and formal learning.
Young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan can retain the plan until they are 25, as long as they are still in education or training and still require a high level of support. In order to be able to continue in learning beyond compulsory school age, there must be evidence that the young person is still making academic progress.
Benefits
Children become ‘adults’ in the eyes of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) at the age of 16.
Parents can choose to stop claiming Child Benefit, but if the young person is still in full-time education they can continue to receive it.
The young person will also receive benefits in their own right, such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). A responsible adult (usually a parent) may become their Appointee, taking responsibility for all social security benefits.
Health
Children transfer to the adult departments of health services at 18 years old.
They should be provided with a Health Passport to take with them to all appointments and should be invited by their GP for a review of their health every year.
Social Care
Children transfer to adult Social Care teams at the age of 18.
They may first come under a Transitions Team dealing with young people moving from school, to college or to work, and considering the kind of support required under the Care Act 2015.
There is likely to be an assessment of their needs to clarify what level and kind of support is required.
Mental Capacity
From the age of 16 a young person can be assessed for their capacity to make informed decisions.
Usually, no assessment is made until it is necessary e.g. where a major decision needs to be made and there is some disagreement about what is best for the young person. It is often a social worker who would make the assessment of capacity.
Person centred planning is a term that is used to describe a process that aims to put parents, children and young people at the centre of planning and decisions that affect them.
When children and young people are meaningfully involved (with the help and guidance of parents) it can change their attitude and behaviour and enhance their learning to ensure that everyone involved is an active partner in plans that are about them.
You may find this video by the Council of Disabled Children helpful:
The education health and social care plan and the person-centred connection
What is person-centred planning? Person-centred planning is a term used to describe a process that aims to put parents, children and young people at the centre of planning and decisions that affect them.
When children and young people are meaningfully involved with the help or guidance of parents this can change their attitude, behaviour, enhance their learning and ensure that everyone involved are active partners in plans that are all about them. It's a simple philosophy but in order to make it all happen it requires the help of professionals trained in this approach and also for families and friends to think differently.
For an EHCP to be person-centred it requires everyone involved in the 20-week assessment process to begin by knowing the aspirations, hopes and dreams of the child or young person. In order for a person-centred EHCP to be created it requires certain questions to be asked and considered during the assessment process, including identifying areas of strength, skills and talents alongside needs. It is essential that sufficient detail is identified in order to fully understand and appreciate exactly what it is that's meaningful to the person and what good support looks like to make that happen. It is vital that it reflects what's possible not just what is available.
The first two of these questions are important to - what is valued and what makes life worth living? And important for - what support is required to enable a healthy and safe life and a sense of belonging to the community? This information can also be used to create a one-page profile which can be included in section A or simply be kept with an EHCP. A one-page profile is literally a sheet of A4 handwritten or produced on the computer with a photo or picture in three parts - what we like and admire, what makes life worth living? And what does good support look like?
Another pair of questions that will be used when developing the EHCP include ‘What's Working?’ This establishes what's going well and probably should therefore continue and ‘What's Not Working?’ What needs to be reviewed and changed.
What are outcomes?
Outcomes are a way of identifying the steps required to take the child or young person forward in their life towards their aspirations. Although outcomes need to be measurable it is essential that they are personalised, relevant and ambitious, otherwise they are not person-centred.
The EHCP should ensure that all the strategies, support and services are clearly specified in the provision sections of the EHCP. F G, H1 and H 2 and are sufficient to achieve the outcomes.
Services and support are only part of what people want and need to live the life they would choose for themselves. Knowing what services you need can only come after planning what sort of life you want.
How can you find out more or access local services and support?
You can find out more about the SEND reforms and the education health and care planning process by visiting the local offer page on your local authority website. Here you'll be able to find impartial information, advice and support and learn about all the services that are available to you. Parents who require additional support are referred to their local Information Advice and Support Service. Further information including useful resources on how to write good quality EHCP plans can be found at councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk
The Education Act 1997 states that all Maintained schools and pupil referral units (PRUs) have a statutory duty to ensure pupils from Year 8 until Year 13 are provided with independent careers guidance.
Academies (including 16-19 academies) and free schools are subject to this same duty through their Funding Agreements.
Further education colleges also have equivalent requirements in their Funding Agreements. Their duty applies to all students up to and including age 18 and will apply to 19 to 25 year olds who have an EHC plan.
This information has been directly copied from: the NHS guidance on preparing for adulthood, where you can find more information.
This is usually called “Transition”. This word can mean lots of different things in healthcare, so we call it Preparing for Adulthood.
- Preparing for adulthood begins at 13-14 years or Year 9 in school.
- It is about telling you what to expect in the future.
- It is giving your family this information so that they can offer you advice and support.
- It is about empowering you and your family to know what changes to expect.
- Some people need more time, or different support to other people. Everyone is unique. It is about giving you time to prepare.
- We think it is important for everyone to have this information regardless of your condition.
Information for young people and carers with Life Limiting illness at the Together for Short Lives website.
If you still see one of our nurses or therapists as you get older, you might need to move to an adult service between the ages of 16-19 years, this is called a 'Transfer' or 'Transition'.
Some people might need to stay in children’s services longer, depending on which team you see (19-25 years).
Some people may just see a nurse or therapist for a few appointments and might go back to seeing their GP for health advice.
It is important that you and your family/carers feel empowered and supported to learn about these changes, and how you can become as independent as possible when accessing adult health services.
It is essential that the care you get is appropriate for your age and needs as you grow into an adult. Adult bodies are different to children’s bodies.
Some young people who have special educational needs and/or disability, or their carers, may become eligible for adult care services, regardless of whether they have an EHC plan or whether they have been receiving care services without one.
Under the Care Act 2014, the local authority, when requested to, must carry out an adult care and support assessment where there is significant benefit to a young person, or their carer, and in doing so they are likely to have needs for care or support after turning 18.
Care and Support Assessments for adult care must take place at the right time for the individual. There is no set age when young people reach this point and as such, assessments should take place when it is of ‘significant benefit’ to them.
You can request a Care and Support Assessment from the Local Authority. The assessment will decide if your young person, or you, are eligible for care and support. It will also detail the transition to adult services plan and will include outcomes, views and wishes that matter to you.
Care services are free for children, but adults have to pay towards the cost of some services.
If you need support around Social Care please contact the following teams:
Nottingham City: Whole Life Disability Services - Ask Lion - Nottingham City Directory
Nottinghamshire County: Preparation for adulthood: support from the countywide Transitions Team - Nottinghamshire County Council
Nottingham City Local Offer - Preparing for adulthood
Nottinghamshire County Council Transitions
Nottinghamshire County Council Preparing For Adulthood Team
Nottinghamshire County Local Offer
Nottingham City Council Welfare Rights Service
Nottinghamshire County Council Benefits Advice and Information
Nottingham City Council. Work and Disability
Nottinghamshire County Council. Employment Support for People with a Disability
Job Centre Plus - Looking for work if you're disabled
Preparing for adulthood (The National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi)
Annual reviews in year 9 and beyond advice (IPSEA)
Person centred planning advice (Council for Disabled Children (CDC)

SEND Local Offer
The Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council SEND Local Offers are a great resource for finding events, support and activities in your area.
City Council County Council