It is the head teacher’s responsibility to call the Preparing for Adulthood Review in partnership with the Connexions service in your area. However, sometimes it is the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) who does this, so ask who will be taking the lead.
The head teacher should invite those professionals involved with your young person to the Year 9 Preparing for Adulthood Review. Sometimes it is not possible for everyone to be there, in which case it is good practice that any written reports should be circulated at least 2 weeks before the meeting to those attending.
Your young person should be encouraged to take part in the review and may need support to prepare their views for the meeting. School could help them to prepare their views, or you could help them with this yourself.
It may be helpful for you to provide the head teacher with a list of professionals involved who you would like at the meeting. If you do not have a social worker but feel your child may benefit from having social care support when they become an adult, a social worker can be invited.
Sometimes young people have managed with the support of their parents, but as they get older they may want more independence and support from someone outside the family.
You can ring the social care department to discuss this if you wish as there is no automatic entitlement to a service and your child must meet their criteria.
Social Care
A young person moves from children’s services into adult services when they are 18 years old but there is a period of handover between the teams.
Paul Connelly, Transition Social Worker, Newcastle Children with Disabilities Team is available to discuss your young person’s transition needs. You can contact him on
0191 277 4700.