Young People
- Using the Website and Accessibility
- My Education
- My Options
- My EHC Plan and Annual Review
- Exclusions
- SEND Support at University
- My Travel and Transport
- My Money and Benefits
- My Job
- My Housing
- My Relationships
- My Mental Health
- My Activites and Engagement Opportunities
- My Transition to Adult Social Care services
- My Transition to Adult Health services
- Appeals
- Complaints
- Disability Discrimination
- What It's Like to Be Me
- My Easy Read Guides
Independent Living
The Care Act includes matters such as a person's control of their day-to-day life, suitability of living accommodation and their contribution to society. It requires local authorities to consider each person's views, wishes, feelings and beliefs.
Depending on where you live, you can contact either Nottinghamshire County Council or Nottingham City Council to discuss your options.
I feel like this is a really life-changing opportunity to have independence. To me, independence means you need to start doing things on your own. It makes life more mature and happier, and I'm more interested in more fun and exciting things. What does independence mean to you? Independence, for me, and working with young people means being able to live your life the way you want, to be able to make decisions, to make informed decisions, and to be able to make mistakes and learn from them. What is your support like? Our support is very person-centered. It's very much tailored around each individual we support. If they're like dutifully, then they step back a bit and let me do it. If I'm doing something, they let me do it, but they check in to make sure I'm doing it right, politely encouraging me to do stuff myself. For example, last week, Sarah went to bowling for the first time. She walked there on her own. I got a text message from her saying, "I'm here safe." So I texted back saying, "Fab! Have a lovely evening. I'll see you at quarter to nine." Then there’s Tom, who’s coming in new and watching him for the first time, making his dinner, putting it in the oven. I know it sounds silly, but making his dinner and putting it in the oven without us there—he didn’t need us watching. Tom is now going off to his farm independently; he is now working there independently without us. It's the little things that lead to the bigger things. It's not about treating everybody the same. I think that's an incorrect belief some people hold. It's about treating everybody as an individual and making sure that we raise the playing field for everybody so that they have access to the same opportunities. Gardening Course: I do math and English, and I do a gardening course. There we grow a variety of bench flowers, potatoes, and leeks. Integration: We're seeing a shift to mainstream colleges working with our young people on a local offer a lot more, which enables the young people to access their local facilities, which is what should happen. That means more integration. Opportunities: What we really wanted to do during this time was to maximize opportunities for young people going through transition to access mainstream college, to develop independent living skills. That means managing a tenancy, looking after pets, or also setting up their own micro businesses or small social enterprises like Thomas, who appears to be in a bird box enterprise. So it's always about looking for opportunities for people to progress towards independence and to also be included, whether that's in their community or at college. I'm an adult now. I've grown more confidence in myself to go outside and do things on my own. I feel like I've progressed and succeeded in something. To me, loyalty is kindness, honesty, laughter, generosity, and friendship. Those six things are really important, and they also make me really happy.
You will need to consider your living arrangement options and any support or help that you need to be able to look after yourself. This might include thinking about your independence skills such as cooking, housekeeping, travelling and handling money.
If you have a social worker you can talk to them about your living arrangements, and your hopes for the future and they can support you with planning. If you have an EHC plan, it might be helpful to ask your social worker to come to your EHC Plan annual reviews.
If you already have support from social care services, you should be offered a transitions assessment if you are likely to have some social care needs when you turn 18. (Please visit our ‘Transferring to Adult Social Care Services’ section for more information).
If you do not already have support from social care services, you can get in touch with your local authority.
You can find out more information here about getting an assessment.
- Staying in your own home
- Move on Schemes
- Living with another family: Shared Lives Schemes
- Residential care and nursing homes
- Getting your own home.
You can find out more about these options at NottsHelpYourself.
The NottsHelpYourself website has details of where to go for housing advice and support, supported living and sheltered housing. It includes all local district housing offices in Nottinghamshire.
Nottingham City Homes are able to provide advice on Independent Living.
Nottinghamshire County Council can offer support to help people stay living at home safely or in their own communities.
Brighter Futures provides housing-related support for people in Nottinghamshire, who have a range of support needs such as Autism, Learning Disabilities, Asperger's, or where they don't meet the criteria for statutory adult social care.
If you are thinking of moving away from your family home, you might want to consider supported housing. You can find out more about Support Housing services here.
Supported housing is available for people who are vulnerable or have a disability. It helps you to live independently and still receive the care you need.
It’s a good idea to do lots of research and visit any supported housing schemes that you are interested in, before making an application. This will allow you to see the accommodation, the support available and speak to other residents and staff members about your care needs.
To find out more about supported housing options in your area, you should contact your Local Authority.
Nottinghamshire county - Promoting Independence Workers (PIWs) from the Maximising Independence Service (MIS) may be able to work with you (if you are 17.5+ Years old) on your independent living skill goals.
Nottinghamshire County - If you need accommodation through the Local Authority from age 18, you can refer to the Preparing for Adulthood team .
Nottingham City Residents – Maximising independence and supported living options can be accessed here: Care and Support Needs (nottinghamcity.gov.uk)
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