We will support you and your family to feel in control and experience a smooth transition into adulthood.
We want to make sure young people with additional needs are prepared for adulthood. This change is called a transition.
Our vision: We will work with you to plan for your future. We will always focus on what you want and need.
Until the age of 18, services for children and young people with additional needs are provided by children’s social care.
If you require ongoing support after you turn 18, this will be provided by adult social care. The approach to your care may differ to what children’s social care provides.
This short video explains what happens when you move from children’s social care to adult social care.
You can also read about preparing for adulthood and our vision in easy read format.
If you require ongoing support after you turn 18, you will need to complete a:
The support you receive from children’s social care is free. However, when you turn 18, you will likely have to pay towards the cost of your care. Our paying for care webpage provides further information.
As an adult, you may be eligible for benefits, such as Universal Credit or Personal Independence Payment (PIP), depending on whether you are still in education or able to work.
If you receive support from children’s social care, at 14 years old your support worker will have a discussion with you and your family about your ambitions.
A support worker from our Preparing for Adulthood team may attend some of your meetings about your care, support and education. Their role is to support you and the people closest to you to start planning for your future.
Around the age of 17 and a half, you'll be allocated a social worker from our Preparing for Adulthood team. They'll work with you to make sure you're ready for adult services and support you through the transition.
Your assessment will be completed before you turn 18. You and your adults support worker will then work with your children’s support worker to plan how your care and support needs will be met as an adult. When you turn 18, your adults support worker will become your main point of contact.
Below you will find further information to help you make plans for your future care arrangements.
If you do not have a children’s support worker and you think you may need care and support as an adult, you can:
We consider everything you can do for yourself and then look at the things you may find difficult.
We will discuss how best to support you to do the things which are difficult and work with you to enhance the things you excel at.
We will assess your needs in the following areas:
You will be allocated a worker from our Preparing for Adulthood team to provide support as you transition from children’s social care to adult social care.
To begin with, they will look at what you can do well. This is called a strengths-based approach.
Depending on your needs assessment, you may be eligible for a direct payment, so you can arrange your own care and choose the services you want.
We can also provide support with:
Between the ages of 14 and 18, the transition to adult health services will begin, and you will start to notice changes to your health support, if you receive it.
It’s a good idea to speak to each service you receive treatment from about what changes you can expect and how you can prepare.
Your doctor (GP) will remain the same unless you move out of the area.
From the age of 16, you will be able to consent to your own medical treatment, examination or test. This can only be overruled in certain circumstances.
The NHS website provides further information.
If you have a learning disability, you can ask to be added to the Learning Disability Register at your local GP practice.
The register lets the health staff at the GP practice know you have a learning disability and that you may need reasonable adjustments.
You will also be entitled to Annual Health Checks from the age of 14.
The Mencap website provides helpful information on:
If you or the young person you care for has an EHCP (Education and Health Care Plan) and wants to continue in further education, you can find more information on our ‘what is an EHCP?’ webpage.
Employment or training is an important part of preparing for adulthood and something you can access any time after leaving school or college. Your allocated social worker will speak to you about your aspirations, which may include getting a job.
If this is something you are interested in, you can ask to be referred to our Supported Employment coordinator to discuss our Supported Employment programme.
When your child turns 18, you change from being a parent or carer to the carer of an adult.
You may need to prepare for changes to your household budget. For example, you will no longer receive Child Benefit and your child may receive benefits of their own which they will need help to manage.
When your child turns 18, they may also be eligible for advocacy services which can help them communicate their thoughts.
You can help your child to prepare for adulthood by thinking about the support they might need to become independent in the future. This could include:
If you need help identifying the support your child will need as an adult, you can:
If you’re not eligible for adult social care, we will work with you and your family to identify what support is available.
It’s important that you still have a conversation with your children’s social worker about preparing for adulthood.
If you would like to speak to our adult social team, you can contact us by: