Transitions Planning

Transition means change.

Transition preparation is about assisting young people to acquire the knowledge and build the skills to enable them to make decisions about their future from all the transitions they experience in life.

From age 14 to 25, young people change from being teenagers to being adults. All young people go through this change, but for young people with additional support needs, it can be more complicated for various reasons.

The aim of transition planning is to help the young person with additional support needs make a successful transition to adult life. Transitions management is about helping them get the opportunities and the lives they want.

This means that planning should start well in advance of a young person leaving school, so their needs and choices are fully explored.

Most importantly transition planning and management should mean the support the young person and their family receive is coordinated, with all the key agencies involved working together with the young person and their family.

The Joint NHS Highland Transitions Policy and Procedure outlines the expectation that best practice in transitions planning will be achieved through building on the child’s planning process which is central to Getting It Right For Every Child.

There is a broad range of tools which can be used to ensure that young people are placed at the centre of this process and assisted to develop their competence in exercising control and choice.

There are also tools for supporting staff to facilitate a seamless transition to adult services and the different processes e.g. the Personal Planning process for assessing needs. The Transitions Bridge has been created for this purpose and guidance is available for its use.

All of the tools are easily accessible in the Tool Box on the Highland Children's Forum website.

16+Learning Choices is a universal offer for all young people supported by Schools Partnerships. This is a significant development in Scotland and is about meeting the entitlement of all young people to a ‘suitable offer of learning’ when they reach their eligible school leaving age of 16. These offers include, staying at school, going to college or university; taking up an apprenticeship, Get Ready for Work placement, accessing employment, volunteering opportunities or taking a gap year.

More information is available through the external links section.