Post 18 Planning
As parent carers we’re all familiar with the challenges posed by any kind of transition for our children. But if you have children in their teens, you may have been worrying about what happens in terms of planning for the essential transitions they will face in their lives. At the age of 18, most young people are no longer eligible for support from CAMHS or the Disabled Children’s Team, for example. It’s well worth finding out what sort of planning and preparation we can make to support our young people with these unavoidable changes.
The Bath & NE Somerset council website has a combined Social Care and Parent Carer Forum page on how to make an online referral for a transition to Adult Social Care. This page includes a “Quick Start” guide to help you get started, as well as information about eligibility, at: www.adults.bathnes.gov.uk
The NDTi (National Development Team for Inclusion) ran a “Preparing for Adulthood” programme for several years, which came to an end in 2022. Although the programme is no longer active, NDTi still offers its huge range of resources supporting preparing for adulthood. You can access them in a dedicated area on the NDTi website, here: www.ndti.org.uk/resources/preparing-for-adulthood-all-tools-resources
As well as case studies and resources prepared for NDTi events, this page hosts resources to inform parent carers on preparing for EHCPs and Annual Reviews, especially for topics including post-16 placements and Higher Education. There is also a set of materials on planning and preparing for independent living. It’s well worth having a look through the topics on this website to see what would be most useful to you.
We’re hosting an event with Adult Social Care on Wednesday 30th April, at 11am-1pm, to talk about what kinds of support may be available for your young people. Please do come along: email to book a place on the workshop, and remember you can stay afterwards until about 3pm to talk to other parent carers more informally – tea and biscuits will be provided! See the events page here: www.banespcf.co.uk/event/transition-planning/
Rachel Hale

