ASC Practice Hub

Preparation for Adulthood (PfA) refers to the move from childhood into adult life. The PfA team work with young people aged 16-25 with physical or learning disabilities to help people plan support to meet their needs and aspirations.

Transitions occur at various stages throughout a child or young person’s life: from starting school, leaving primary school and starting secondary school, to preparing for independence and leaving home. Each transition can be fraught with uncertainty, fear, confusion, or embraced with enthusiasm and excitement about what happens next. These transitions coincide with physical, emotional and psychological developments that are coupled with changes to roles and relationships with family and friends, professionals and the wider community. This page is concerned with transition in the context of social care support and outlines the process for supporting young people from children’s social care into adult social care.

Key protocols, procedures, and documents

• BASC Transition and Protocol – Bradfords transition protocol from children’s to adults’ social care.  
• PFA Welcome pack – Welcome pack to be shared with people we support. Visual guide on the Preparation for Adulthood service.
• PfA pathway document – Visual poster of the PfA pathway with an EHCP.
• Bradford Local Offer – PfA – Bradfords public facing Local Offer that provides guidance on the Preparation for Adulthood and CTLD teams.

What is transition?

Life transition

Transitions occur at various stages throughout a child or young person’s life: from starting school, leaving primary school and starting secondary school, to preparing for independence and leaving home. Each transition can be fraught with uncertainty, fear, confusion, or embraced with enthusiasm and excitement about what happens next. These transitions coincide with physical, emotional and psychological developments that are coupled with changes to roles and relationships with family and friends, professionals and the wider community.

This protocol is concerned with transition in the context of social care support and outlines the process for supporting young people from children’s social care into adult social care.

Necessary and Proportionate Support Planning

The general philosophy is for Bradford to support young people to remain connected to natural networks of support from family and community. It is only in exceptional circumstances, which is when all local options have been investigated and exhausted, that consideration would be made as to whether it is necessary and whether it is proportionate for an out of area placement to be considered to ascertain whether it is the least restrictive option. This fits with the Bradford overall strategy.

Service transition

In Bradford, the majority of young people who are supported by Children’s Social Care will transition to the Preparation for Adulthood (PfA) / Front Door Team in Bradford Adult Social Care where they have eligible needs under the Care Act 2014. This protocol will outline how this transition should take place so that young people and their families have appropriate support during the process.

We recognise the importance of the last few years at school and the first years of adult life in determining what will happen to young people throughout adulthood. There is a need for all agencies involved to develop robust protocols to ensure positive outcomes for all young people going through the transition process; and in particular for protocols to address the specific needs of children with additional support needs.

Central to achieving these positive outcomes is the need to ensure that young people are fully involved and participate in the planning process and are supported to have as much choice and control over their lives as possible. Those young people who go through this transition process may also have an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP).

As set out in the SEND Code of Practice (2015), Preparing for Adulthood means preparing for:

• higher education and/or employment – this includes exploring different employment options, such as support for becoming self-employed and help from supported employment agencies;
• independent living – this means young people having choice, control and freedom over their lives and the support they have, their accommodation and living arrangements, including supported living;
• participating in society – including having friends and supportive relationships; and participating in, and contributing to, the local community;
• being as healthy as possible in adult life

Eligibility criteria

The PfA / Front Door Team will work with young people whose needs cannot be met by non-specialist services because, even with reasonable adjustments, their learning disability prevents this. People who are ordinarily resident in Bradford district and are assessed as having a profound, severe or moderate learning disability may be eligible for support from the team.

In order to be eligible under the Care Act 2014 for support from adult social care, there must be evidence of a diagnosis of a mental or physical impairment. The specific criteria for the PfA / Front Door Team also requires that there is evidence of a formal diagnosis as follows: l Significant impairment of intellectual functioning l Significant impairment of adaptive/social functioning l Age of onset in early childhood. Or l A physical disability* All three criteria must be met for a person to be considered to have a learning disability and meet criteria for the PfA / Front Door Team. The young person may also have an EHC plan in place. *Physical disability does not require all 3 elements to be met.

The PfA / Front Door Team will only work with young people who have a mental health condition where this is secondary to a disability. The young person must also be eligible for services with regards to the Care Act 2014. Those young people who are not will be signposted to universal mainstream services by the Children’s Services social worker who will complete a Pathway Plan setting out the young person’s destination and rights from age 18, including securing support in relation to housing and benefit entitlements.

Care Act eligibility

As the young person approaches 17 ½ years of age, and if an assessment under the Care Act has not already taken place, where possible the PfA / Front Door social worker will undertake an assessment to determine eligibility for adult social care support from age 18. As required by Section 3(1) of the Care and Support (Assessment) Regulations 2014, the assessment criteria shall be carried out in an appropriate and proportionate manner and involve the participation of the young person. As described in Sections 2.48-2.54 of the Care and Support statutory guidance to the Care Act, in order to be consistent with a strengths-based approach, the assessment shall take into account the young person’s own capabilities, potential for improvement and the role of support from friends and family.

The assessment will determine whether or not the young person meets eligibility for adult social care; section 2 of the Care and Support (Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2015 specify that an adult’s needs meet eligibility criteria if:

• The needs arise from a physical or mental impairment; and
• As a result of that impairment the adult is unable to achieve two or more outcomes which are specified within the regulations

To be considered as an eligible outcome, the assessment shall also consider whether the young person is:

• Unable to meet the outcome without assistance
• Able to achieve the outcome, but doing so would cause significant pain, distress or anxiety
• Able to achieve the outcome, but doing so would endanger their health and safety
• Able to achieve the outcome, but doing so would take significantly longer than expected.

For more information please see the Care Act 2014.

The PfA transitions process

The following process will account for the majority of transitions between Bradford children’s and adult social care.

1. All referrals should come via the PfA/Front Door Duty Team: 01274 435750, or email: awd.frontdoorteam:bradford.gov.uk. Informed consent must be sought.
2. The Duty Team will screen each case and make initial enquiries. A social worker from the Duty Team will carry out a screening assessment in a proportionate and appropriate manner using the delay – prevent – reduce model.
3. If eligible for support the young person will be allocated to the appropriate team who will assign them to a waiting list until such time as a Care Act eligibility assessment is carried out.
4. The allocated social worker may attend meetings as a secondary worker until the young person is 18
5. Support will continue for the young person in the PfA / Front Door Team until their EHCP is ceased. The individual will continue to have support during their further transition to CTLD Locality teams or other adult social care support

The PfA Front Door team

The PfA / Front Door Team will support young people with specific support needs transition into adult social care. Joint working with children’s social care may begin at age 16 and a transition care act assessment to assess likely needs under the Care Act 2014 will be undertaken and completed before the young person turns 18. The team are made up of Social Workers, Community Care Officers and Occupational Therapists. The team is motivated and committed to work together with young people and adults, their families, carers and other partners to ensure they have equal opportunities

A referral to the PfA Team can be made through the Adults with Disabilities Front Door Team around the time of the young person’s 16th birthday*. Consent must always be sought by the referrer and the young person should always be made aware that a referral is being made. Once the young person is allocated a PfA / Front Door social worker the focus of the work age 16 to 18 years will be on preparation for adulthood. The children’s social worker will remain the primary worker until the young person turns 18 and appropriate planning should take place to ensure a smooth handover between children’s and adults’ social workers. The PfA / Front Door Team will endeavour to work with the young person, their family, carers and professionals to explore existing support in order to help with the achievement of the young person’s aspirations and shape the support moving forward. This can involve attending all statutory meetings relating to the young person’s development, ensuring that need is defined and provision is linked back to the young person’s aspirations and the shared outcomes across health and education. All decision making will be informed by the young person’s wishes and feelings.

Situations may occur in certain circumstances where young people who were previously unknown to services will need support and planning: for example, due to people moving house, or as a result of a young person moving into the area. The initial referral should be made to the adult social care Independent Advice Hub (IAH) for a young person over 18 or to Children’s Services Integrated Front Door if the young person is under 18. If the person meets the criteria for the PfA / Front Door Team a worker from that team will be allocated to commence an assessment. *

Age 18 to 25

The PfA / Front Door Team will become the primary worker if they are already involved on the individual’s 18th birthday and will carry out a Care Act assessment during this time prior to this. The PfA Team will remain involved until such time as the EHC Plan is ended (either at age 25, or when educational outcomes have been met and the individual no longer attends an education or training provider) and a social care support plan put into place. The PfA Team will remain involved until complex transition issues are resolved, and support plans formalised; the young person will then be transferred to the relevant adult social work team

Transition responsibilities and governance

Responsibility for transition is shared between social care, education and health. There are different pathways for young people leaving children’s social care and different arrangements which provide governance for financial, clinical and professional decisions depending on which pathway for transition is the most appropriate to meet Care Act eligible needs going forwards.

There is a transitions governance structure which takes the form of the following arrangements in Bradford:

Complex Case Panel

The Complex Case Panel is chaired by the Assistant Director SEND and Inclusion and attended by representatives from health commissioning and the Personalised Commissioning Team, Service Managers from Children’s Services and an Service Manager for Adult Services. The purpose of the Panel is to consider all support plans for young people with a disability from age 16 who Children’s Services assessment indicates may also be eligible for continuing support from adult social care post 18 in addition to continuing funding from the Special Educational Needs and Disability Service.

Adults with Disabilities Joint Quality Assurance forum

Learning Disabilities and Preparation for Adulthood Joint Quality Assurance Forum is chaired by the Head of Service/Service Manager for Adults with Disabilities and attended by representatives from the health Personalised Commissioning Team and Team Managers for Adult Social Care. The purpose of the forum is to consider all support plans for adults with a learning disability who have eligible needs under the Care Act, to quality assure support plans and consider them for approval.

Mental Health Joint Funding Panel

Mental Health Joint Funding Panel is chaired by the Service Manager for Mental Health Services and attended by representatives from the health commissioning Personalised Commissioning Team and Community Mental Health Team Managers for Adult Services. The purpose of the Panel is to consider all support plans for adults with a mental health condition, who have eligible needs under the Care Act, to quality assure support plans and consider them for approval.

Transitional Safeguarding

The framework for how the Local Authority responds to a concern raised about a young person who is transitioning between Children’s Services and Adult Social Care is informed by Bridging the Gap: Transitional Safeguarding and the Role of Social Work with Adults.

The approach taken should ensure that adolescents and young adults are able to be flexibly supported where there is a concern that they may experience harm or abuse and that because of their physical or mental impairment they are unable to keep themselves safe. The approach focuses on providing a safeguarding response to young people during adolescence into adulthood, recognising that transition is a journey not an event, and every young person will experience this journey differently.

Where a safeguarding allegation is made when the young person is aged 16-18, Children Service’s staff will lead on the investigation under Section 47 of the Children Act 1989 and should coordinate protection planning within existing Child Safeguarding Procedures. The PfA / Front Door secondary worker, where allocated, will support by information sharing and advising in relation to the young person’s disability and any reasonable adjustment required to enable the young person’s supported involvement in decision making regarding both the outcome they want from the safeguarding inquiry and any protective measures to be planned for to maintain their safety going forwards.

Once a young person turns 18 any concern raised shall be responded to in keeping with the Joint Multi-Agency Policy and Procedures for West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and York.

Where a concern is raised about an adult (18+) the adult worker shall consider eligibility for a Care Act Advocate or whether an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) should be allocated through the adult service’s contract with Voiceability.

Mental Health Transitions

Information on the interface with Mental Health will soon be updated here.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

SEND is a term used to describe learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for a child or young person to learn compared to their peers. SEND encompasses as broad range of needs and is important for identifying and supporting children and young people who require additional help in educational settings.

The law around SEND changed in 2014 when the Children and Families Act came into force. As a result, SEND legislation now applies to children and young people from 0-25 years old.

Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP)

Children and young people receive additional support in education settings through either SEN Support or through an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). An EHC assessment brings together information and advice from education, health and social care professionals (where they are involved) in order to set out the support needed for a child or young person to achieve their desired outcomes.

An EHCP will stay in place for a child or young person until they have achieved their educational outcomes or they turn 25, whichever is sooner. When a young person goes on to higher education this will also result in an EHCP being ceased.

Where a young person being supported by a social work team has an EHCP, the social worker or practitioner should be involved in the review of this plan which must happen at the minimum annually. EHCP Reviews are generally organised by the school or educational setting; they should send out invites and request updates on the child or young person’s needs and progress towards achieving their outcomes prior to the meeting. They should also seek the family/carer’s views and the views of the child or young person prior to the review meeting.

The information being requested should not be additional to anything covered in existing support planning reviews, and it is entirely appropriate to use this information for an EHCP review if it is still relevant. Once an EHC assessment and plan have been initiated, the family and/or young person should have given their consent to information being shared amongst relevant professionals.

After the EHCP review meeting the school should send all relevant information to the local authority, who must issue the review document within 6 weeks of the meeting. A copy of this document should be sent to the social worker or practitioner involved; it should then be saved to the person’s file on SystmOne.

Education, Health and Care assessments

Generally an EHCP will be in place for a young person by the time they start to access support from adult social care. In a few instances, they may not have an EHCP in place or there is a need for a re-assessment of needs:

• If someone moves to the local authority area and there is a decision made to reassess their needs
• If someone has a significant change in educational needs post-18
• If an EHCP has been ceased and the young person decides to return to education there may be a reassessment.

The local authority will arrange an assessment and ask relevant professionals from education, health and social care for their views in the form of a report. There are statutory deadlines for the gathering of views and, if asked, social care staff must respond to requests for information within 6 weeks. They will also be asked to review the EHCP before it is issued.

There is more information about the EHC assessment pathway here: EHC Assessment One Minute Guide

Ceasing an EHCP

The local authority will cease to maintain an EHCP if it is no longer needed or they are no longer responsible for the child or young person. This could be because the educational outcomes in the plan have been achieved or the child or young person no longer attends an educational setting.

For example:

• a young person has taken up paid employment (excluding apprenticeships)
• a young person has started a higher educational course (or other level 4 course)
• a young person aged 18 or over has left education and no longer wishes to engage in further learning
• a young person has turned 25 (and the LA has decided not to let them keep their plan until the end of the academic year during which they turn/ turned 25); or
• the child or young person moves permanently outside England*.

(*If a child or young person moves to another local authority area, their EHCP moves with them).

The local authority must engage with the child or young person and their family if they want to cease an ECHP and gather their views and wishes. If they still decide to cease a plan after this, then the local authority must set out their decision and the reasons for this decision in writing.

Preparation for adulthood

The legislation is clear that young people should be supported to exercise choice and control over their lives, including the 4 preparing for adulthood outcomes:

• moving into paid employment and higher education
• independent living
• having friends and relationships and being part of their communities
• being as healthy as possible

Preparation for adulthood should begin as early as possible and support for the child or young person to achieve the above outcomes should be set out at the latest during the EHCP review when they are 14 (Year 9). Education, health and social care (where they are involved) all have a duty to support young people with SEND to prepare for adulthood.  Bradford Council and its partners have published a Preparation for Adulthood Strategy; there is also more information for professionals and young people/families in the Local Offer One Minute Guide to PfA. The SEND PfA Workstream has also co-produced a PfA Pathway with children, young people and their families.

SEND – Guidance and legislation

Alongside the Children and Families Act (2014), the government published the SEND Code of Practice 0-25. This outlines the specific responsibilities of the local authority and health bodies to support children and young people with SEND, and to co-operate in EHC assessment and planning. Alongside the Code of Practice sits a Social Care Guide to SEND. This contains advice and guidance to social care staff about their responsibilities under the legislation.

In addition, the SEND reforms in the Children and Families Act link to:

• The Children Act 1989, section 17 of which requires local authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of ‘children in need’ in their area, including disabled children, by providing appropriate services for them
• The Chronically Sick and Disabled Person’s Act (CSPDA)1970, section 2 of which requires local authorities, where they are undertaking an assessment of a child under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, to consider whether it is necessary to provide support of the type referred to in section 2 of the CSPDA 1970. If an local authority decide that such support is needed it must arrange for that support to be provided under Section 2 of the CSDPA 1970 (not section 17 of the Children Act 1989) • The Health and Social Care Act 2012, which requires Health and Wellbeing Boards to develop Joint Strategic Needs Assessments and Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies, both of which support prevention, identification, assessment and early intervention and a joined up approach from those providing services.
• The Care Act 2014, which requires local authorities to promote the integration of care and support with health services. Local authorities must ensure the provision of preventative services, the diversity and quality of care and support services for adults, and the provision of information and advice on care and support locally.
• Working Together to Safeguard Children 2013, which provides guidance on inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children , including a focus on taking account of the needs and views of children, providing help early, information sharing, the roles of partner agencies and local protocols for assessments.

For more information about SEND and EHC assessment and planning see Bradford’s Local Offer here: Bradford Local Offer

Looked after children

Some young people may have Looked After Children status; many of these will have experienced significant childhood trauma but are unable or not willing to engage with support. For advice and guidance in these situations, a case discussion should take place to identify a pathway or signpost the young person to the relevant service. Local authority provision of continuing leaving care support must ensure that throughout the period that each care leaver is provided with leaving care services, their needs are subject to on-going assessment and review

Who is a care leaver?

• Someone under 25 years old and,
• has spent time in care as a child or young person.

The support someone get depends on their age, situation, and amount of time they were in care. For full support from the leaving care service, they must have been in care for 13 weeks between ages 14 and 16.

There are four care leaver statuses.

Eligible, Relevant and Former Relevant care leavers are entitled to a range of financial support from the leaving care service including a Personal Advisor, who will visit regularly, at least up until the age of 21 years and up to 25 years if needed. A Pathway Plan which will be reviewed regularly with the person.

If you’re not sure what a care leaver status is, you can contact the leaving care service 01274 436760 or 01274 437123.

You can also find out more about care leaver status by visiting Coram Voice’s website Am I a care leaver? – Coram Voice

Corporate Parenting responsibilities 

Bradford Children and Families Trust, along with Bradford Council, has a responsibility to act as a ‘Corporate Parent’ which means it is a shared responsibility to be good parents, working together to enable people to achieve.

The Corporate Parenting Panel is founded on 7 key principles as set out within the Children and Social Work Act 2017.

The 7 principles are:

• To act in the best interests, and promote the physical and mental health and well-being of those children and young people
• To encourage those children and young people to express their views, wishes and feelings
• To take into account the views, wishes and feelings of those children and young people
• To help those children and young people gain access to and make the best use of, services provided by the local authority and its relevant partners
• To promote high aspirations and to seek to secure the best outcomes for those children and young people
• For those children and young people to be safe, and for stability in their home lives, relationships and education or work
• To prepare those children and young people for adulthood and independent living

Our Corporate Parenting Panel is chaired by Councillor Duffy and is aligned to the National Corporate Parenting Principles and the Care Leavers Charter.

Services available

Advice and support from a Personal Adviser

The Children Act 1989 Volume 3 planning transition to adulthood statutory guidance states that the local authority must appoint a Personal Advisor to support care leavers when a young person ceases to be looked after and they are a relevant child, or when they reach age 18 and become a former relevant child (referred to as ‘care leavers’).

The Personal Advisor acts as a focal point for the young person, ensuring that they are provided with the practical and emotional support they need to make a successful transition to adulthood, either directly or through helping the young person to build a positive social network around them. All care leavers should know who their Personal Advisor is and how to contact them. Throughout their transition to adulthood and independent life, care leavers should be able to rely on consistent support from their Personal Advisor, who is the designated professional responsible for providing and/or co-ordinating the support that the young person needs. This includes taking responsibility for monitoring, reviewing and implementing the young person’s pathway plan. A Personal Advisor may support a care leaver with their housing, education and finances.

Between the ages of 16 -18 a Personal Adviser will focus on getting to know the child and build a relationship to ascertain what the child may want for their future. The Personal Advisor will help (alongside your Social Worker) bring together the Pathway Plan goals and when the child turn 18 will continue to keep your Pathway Plan under review.

Support from your Social Worker – Children Trust

Between the ages of 16 -17 a social worker in the Children in Care Team. the Social Worker is responsible for making sure the Pathway Plan is focused on what is going to happen both in the present and in the future as far as possible. The Social Worker will include other important people such as family and friends that may be involved in the child’s life, as well as professional support network such as health and education to make sure everyone is working together.

Support from your Social Worker – Preparation for Adulthood Team (PFA team).

A referral for Preparation for Adulthood Team may be needed if a young person has eligible needs under the Care Act 2014. The needs must arise from or be related to a physical or mental illness or impairment. A referral will need to be completed from Bradford Children and Families’ Trust. This may be typically completed by a Social Worker or Personal Adviser from the Children in Care/Leaving Care Service.

The PFA team will screen the referral to ensure that they are the most appropriate team to provide support. The PFA team will allocate a social worker. This social worker will work alongside your personal advisor from the children in care service. A referral can be made once a child reaches the age of 16 years old.

An assessment of the needs will be completed to establish what support is needed prior to turning 18. This assessment may be referred to as a “Lets Connect Assessment or Care Act Assessment”.  This assessment will identify what support may require and how best to promote independency.