As parents we are preparing our young people for becoming adults from when they are born. Teaching young children to communicate, to feed and dress themselves and to cross the road safely is all part of getting them ready for independence. As they get older and begin formal education other adults become part of this preparation. There are a number of resources available to help with this (we have listed some of them below), and the Code of Practice tells us that from year nine, planning for a young person’s future should come under four main areas, or outcomes:

1. employment – this can include paid employment, self-employment, and volunteering opportunities
2. independent living – planning for what decisions a young person wants to make for themselves, and where they would like to live, which could be in their own house or flat, renting, supported accommodation or the shared lives scheme
3. community inclusion – having friends, being part of their community and having relationships
4. health – looking after themselves to keep healthy, knowing who can help them with any health concerns they may have

Image used courtesy of NDTi from their Preparing for Adulthood programme.

Working together with the young person and their family to plan for achieving the young person’s aspirations is called person centred planning, keeping their hopes and dreams at the heart of what everyone wants to achieve.

Something else to consider is that the Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) employ a Young Person Advisor who is there to help and support young people. They could support your young person to look at the different options available, explain reports and help them to say if they don’t agree with decisions which are being made. They also have a section for young people on their website SENDIASS guidance for young people.

Resources

We have listed several resources here that we have found online or have been recommended to us, which may help and support you with the four Preparing for Adulthood (PfA) Outcomes. We have made every attempt to ensure all information held here is accurate, but we cannot accept any responsibility for third party websites, their inclusion here is for your information only and does not represent endorsement or recommendation by the council.

The Council for Disabled Children have a dedicated PfA section on their website Preparing For Adulthood (councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk), with useful guides, tools and case studies. They have also included the PfA outcomes toolkit PfA outcomes Tool.pdf (councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk). This was developed by the National Development team for inclusion (NDTi), which is an independent, not for profit organisation which has worked alongside people, communities, policy makers, support organisations and services for over 30 years.

The charity Contact have a useful section on their website, with key topics to think about when you are looking towards adulthood for your young person. Preparing for adult life | Contact

The NDTi have developed a range of resources and tools to help with this area, which are widely used across education and social care. You can find them all here Preparing for Adulthood: All Tools & Resources - NDTi. NDTi have dedicated resources for three of the four outcome areas, which we have listed below, for ease of access.

• Preparing for Adulthood: Employment Resources - NDTi
• Preparing for Adulthood: Friends, Relationships & Community - NDTi
• Preparing for Adulthood: Independent Living - NDTi