The preparing for adulthood planning process

It is important to start thinking about your future as early as possible, and sharing these aspirations and ideas with those who can support and help you. As you begin to become aware of all your options in adult life you will find that there are lots of questions to think about and decisions to make. There should be ‘no decision about you, without you’. The most important thing is that everyone listens to you or the person speaking for you, so that they know your thoughts, feelings, aspirations and plans for the future.

To help you prepare for adulthood there is a useful resource called 'what matters island' developed by the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi). There is a step-by-step guide below, to help you complete your own ‘what matters island’ thinking about what matters to you, what is important to you and what you want to do in the future.

What Matters Islands - YouTube Video Clips

• Introduction
• Introducing Georgie
• The flood - what matters
• Things to have - things to do
• What I'm am good at - what others like most about me
• If I could...I would...
• Your north star can change

You should gradually be encouraged and helped to think about what’s important to you and what you would like to do in the future such as:

• jobs you might like to do in the future and further education or training options to help you achieve your job goals
• where you might want to live in the future, and how you could live independently
• things you want to be able to do in your community (your interests and hobbies)
• your future health needs

If you have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan

Each year your school will arrange to review your  EHC plan with you, and preparing for adulthood (PFA) should be included in these discussions. When you are in Year 9, your annual review meeting will have a clear focus on PFA. From this point on, your EHC plan reviews will include discussions about the things that are important to you, what you want to do when you leave school, and what support you will need to make that happen.

In the annual review meetings

Tips for when you have your preparing for adulthood review meetings:

• Prepare beforehand with your named worker (e.g. your Teacher, Social Worker or another professional that knows you well) You can choose which worker you would like as your main contact
• Don’t let the meeting carry on if you don’t understand
• Ask people to slow down and explain things to you if needed
• Use signs, symbols or anything that can help you to understand things better
• Ask any questions you may have. You can ask your named worker any questions about your plans for the future
• Remember it’s your meeting
• Remember to look ahead and think about your future and what skills you need to develop as an adult

Leaving school

You can leave school on the last Friday in June if you’ll be 16 by the end of the summer holidays.

You must do one of the following until you’re 18:

• stay in full-time education, for example at a college
• start an apprenticeship or work with recognised training
• spend 20 hours or more a week working or volunteering, while in part-time education or training

Your  EHC plan may continue past 18 if you need longer to complete your education and training and to achieve the specific outcomes in your  EHC plan.

You are not automatically entitled to continue educational support at age 19. You should not expect to remain in education until you are 25 if you have an EHC plan. The length of time varies according to each young person, and we will make decisions on when to cease or maintain a plan on an individual basis in accordance with the statutory tests and processes.  

Where the EHC  plan ceases and you are eligible for support from Adult Social Care, your support plan will lead on from your EHC plan.

• Find more information about preparing for adulthood

• useful person centred preparing for adulthood planning tools