News archive
Past news about the Transition Support
Programme
Year 3 Self Assessment Questionnaire
NTST has launched SAQ 3 for the third year of the Transition
Support Programme. Click here for
further information.
(14 October 2010)
Regional SAQ Reports
The second year of the programme saw a real improvement in the
quality and level of support at transition across the country.
Regional reports based on the Self
Assessment Questionnaires submitted in Year 2 of the programme
are now available.
(10 September 2010)
New resource on Disability Equality
NTST
with support from Scope have
published Disability Equality: Fulfilling duties for young
people in transition. This information leaflet focuses on what
local authorities and their partners can do to ensure they are
taking positive action to fulfil their duties to disabled young
people under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) during the
transition to adulthood. The leaflet can be downloaded from the
resources section of this website.
(25 August 2010)
Innovation and Outcomes fund
Local areas
were notified of funding for their I&O bid on 28 July. A link
to the funding letter will be added to this website in the near
future.
(30 July 2010)
The Equality Act
In July, the Council for Disabled Children (which hosts NTST) held
a seminar on the Equality Act and its implications for disabled
children and young people. Keith Clements, Policy Officer at NTST,
has written a briefing
on the Equality Act and issues arising from the seminar.
Presentations
from the day are also available to download.
(23 July 2010)
TSP Case Studies
We are currently developing a range of case studies that show
examples of good practice that local areas have been developing
through the Transition Support Programme. Case studies available to
download so far include Oldham Borough Council's work on employment
and housing, and how Thurrock Council are using drama to support
students with complex needs learn about transition and how they can
make choices about their lives. Visit the case
studies section of the website to view the case studies.
(23 June 2010)
Short film about the Transition Support
Programme
The Aiming High for Disabled Children
website now includes a
short film interview with a parent about the impact of the
Transition Support Programme.
(29 March 2010)
AHDC national indicator Year 2 local
reports
The Disabled Children’s Services national
indicator Year 2 local reports are now available for almost all
local authorities (LAs) and
primary care trusts (PCTs). The reports provide indicator,
sub-indicator and other survey findings, together with analyses of
questionnaire results and parents' comments on the local health
care, education, and care and family support services they have
received for their disabled children. New this year is a fuller
analysis of disabilities and conditions, including their incidence
among children receiving DLA and who have a SEN, and improved
graphics.
Also available are indicator survey comparison Excel
spreadsheets for local areas which allow for easy area comparisons
for "benchmarking" purposes. For more information go to the
'Disabled children's services national indicator' page.
For information on the
Aiming High for Disabled Children programme (AHDC), email the
AHDC Implementation team at ahdc.implementation@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
(12 March 2010)
Article on transition in SEN
Magazine
The National Transition Support Team and the
Transition Information Network have contributed an article about
transition to the March/April 2010 edition of SEN Magazine.
(5 March 2010)
Update on Year 3 of the Transition
Support Programme (18/02/10)
(1) Funding and support
Notice of funding and support
for Year 3 of the Transition Support Programme was sent to all
local areas in England today (18/02/10). This information was sent
from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in
the weekly email to Local Authorities (SURE START, EARLY YEARS
& CHILDCARE GRANT AND AIMING HIGH FOR DISABLED CHILDREN GRANT:
2010-11 MEMORANDUM OF GRANT Ref: 2901100002). It was sent directly
to Directors of Children’s Services, Chief Executives and finance
leads.
Funding allocations for local areas can be found on the
Every Child Matters website in the 'summary allocations 2008/11
SSEYCG and AHDC grant' document.
(2) Year 3 Development Stages ('offers of
support')
In Year 2 of the Transition Support
Programme we provided local areas with an 'offer of support'. For
Year 3, all local areas will be viewed within a four stage development area
model. This model will provide a further stage of development
which represents excellent support at transition being provided.
During Year 3 local areas will be supported to reach this stage of
development going well beyond good practice and embedding
sustainable, high quality services for young people at
transition.
(3) Key statistics from Year 2 Self Assessment
Questionnaires
The second year of the programme saw a
real improvement in the quality and level of support at transition
across the country. Key statistics from the Year 2 Self Assessment
Questionnaires (SAQ) and the Named Advisor support shows that:
- 143 local areas now meet minimum standards. This is an increase
from 108 local areas meeting minimum standards in Year 2.
- In Year 2 44 local areas were not meeting minimum standards.
This is reduced to 9 local areas in Year 3.
- 151 out of 152 Year 2 SAQs were returned.
- 99% of local areas have demonstrated improved family and young
people engagement in the transition process.
Further analysis of the Self Assessment Questionnaires can be
found in the Year 2 SAQ summary report.
(4) Innovation and Outcomes Fund
As well
as the main TSP funding, all local areas have the opportunity to
apply for additional money through a new fund called the Innovation and Outcomes fund. This creates an
opportunity for every local area to apply for up to £20,000 to
undertake work above and beyond that set out in their Transition
Development Plan.
Download the full
update about Year 3 of the Transition Support
Programme.
(18 February 2010)
Guidance Letter – Valuing Employment Now: Real jobs for people with
learning disabilities
Letter from the National
Director for Learning Disabilities at the Department of Health to
Directors of Adult and Children's social Services and Chief
Executives of Local Authorities, Trusts and SHAs. This is an update
on the Valuing Employment Now resource pack and a reminder of the
business case for investment in supported employment.
(29 January 2010)
Year 2 Self Assessment Questionnaire
In
September 09, the National Transition Support Team launched the
Year 2 Self Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ 2) for local areas to
complete in partnership with PCTs, children and adult social care
services, other partner agencies and disabled young people and
their families. The aim of SAQ 2 was to identify effective practice
and strategic models being developed by local areas and to monitor
progress during the second year of the Transition Support
Programme.
The deadline for completing SAQ 2 was 1 December 2009. Once
again, we've had an amazing response with nearly all local areas
completing their SAQs. Thank you to everyone who put a huge amount
of work into completing these questionnaires.
The information we've received from these SAQs, alongside
information from the TSP named advisors who have been supporting
local areas to implement their Transition Development Plans, will
contribute to our recommendations to DCSF and DH for the following
year's support to local areas. More news will be available
shortly.
(4 January 2010)
Year 2 Self Assessment Questionnaire
The TSP Year 2 Self Assessment
Questionnaire is now online. Each local authority transition
lead will be sent a password on Friday 4th
September in order to access the online form. If you have
any queries please contact the NTST information line on: 0207 843
6348 or tsp@ncb.org.uk.
(1 September 2009)
Presentations from TSP Pan Regional Events
Our pan regional events took place in March and April 2009. The
National Transition Support Team gave an overview of the Transition
Support Programme, and our partners the National Strategies and
Child Health and Maternity
Partnership briefly described what their roles would be in the
programme. There was also a range of presentations from good
practice sites across all regions.
Presentations can be downloaded here:
Intro
from the National Transition Support Team.
National Strategies'
presentation.
Child Health
& Maternity Partnership's presentation.
Right Time, Right Place, Right Future - Sue Rickell.
ARC -
Ethnicity, Learning Disability and Transition.
Getting a Life.
Children's Society. (coming soon)
Birmingham
- Chris Bush.
Cornwall -
Yvette Yates.
Devon - Kate
Sandel & John Shaw.
Oldham -
Julie Sweeting.
Redbridge -
Sara Merriman.
Richmond - Becky Powell. (coming soon)
North East
Lincolnshire - Angie Kershaw.
Suffolk - Cheryl Sharland.
Hertfordshire -
Catherine Evanson.
Leicester City - Sue North. (coming soon)
Transition Support Programme - Year two offer to all
local areas
All local areas will have
access to a wide range of resources and support in year two of the
Transition Support Programme. The support will include one to one
work, project planning, networks, developing good practice and
resources. The national transition support team, along with the
National Strategies and the Child Health and Maternity Partnership
(CHaMP - formerly the Care Services Improvement Partnership) will
be leading this work.
Following on from the
completion of the Self Assessment Questionnaire in January this
year, we have developed a series of support offers for local areas
to best use the resources available and make sure every local area
benefits from the Transition Support Programme. The structure of
these offers is set out below.
In addition to the work
outlined above, all local areas will receive £10,000 to be used to
support the improvement of transition. This includes offsetting the
cost of working completing the Self Assessment Questionnaire (this
will be sent out in September 2009 with a December 2009 deadline)
and to develop practice on participation of disabled young people
and their families.
24 local
areas will receive an extra direct grant of
£37,500 to develop best practice and improve support
across transition in other areas.
These 24 local areas
are:
Birmingham, City of York,
Cornwall, Coventry, Devon, Dudley, Gateshead, Hertfordshire,
Leicester City, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, LB of Redbridge, LB
Richmond upon Thames, North Tyneside, Northamptonshire, North-East
Lincolnshire, Nottingham City, Oldham, Rotherham, Royal Borough of
Kingston upon Thames, Suffolk, Thurrock, Warwickshire and West
Berkshire.
The 24 local areas who
receive direct grants will work directly with the national
transition support team to further develop effective practice.
All other local areas will
be offered a range of support and will be contacted by National
Strategies and CHaMP to look at what will be most helpful to
each local area.
(26 March 2009)
TransMap: From theory into practice
The Council for Disabled Children has
published a new report that identifies areas of effective
practice and developments in transition. TransMap: From theory into
practice, identifies a number of underlying principles
that, when applied, lead to a high quality service for young people
in transition. Implementing these underlying principles across
transition practices will mean that young people regularly have a
positive experience of transition.
(19 March 2009)
Local areas
show their commitment to improving support for disabled young
people
The national transition support team are
delighted that 147 local areas have so far shown their commitment
to improving support for disabled young people by completing the
ntst Self Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ).
The purpose of the SAQ is to
contribute to existing information from things like Children and
Young People’s plans and inspection reports to help identify and
determine how well each local area is working towards or beyond
offering basic standards in services for transition. The
information we receive will help us to work with local areas and
our partners to work out what the best type and level of support
each local area needs to build on their existing transition
services. Information from the SAQs will be used along with other
data to complete a report for the Department for Children, Schools
and Families and Department of Health with recommendations of what
level of support and funding would benefit each local area.
The deadline for
completing the SAQ has now passed. If you have not yet completed
the SAQ for your local area, please email us on tsp@ncb.org.uk or
ring 0207 843 6348 as soon as possible.
(4 February 2009)
DCSF Minister launches Transition Support
Programme
Yesterday (2 December 2008)
Sarah McCarthy-Fry, Minister for Schools and Learners, formally
launched the Aiming High for Disabled Children Transition Support
Programme (TSP) for disabled young people. During the launch the
Minister confirmed that every local authority area is receiving
£10,000 to assess their current support for transition including
drawing in the views of young people and families and completing a
self assessment questionnaire; and 13 LAs are receiving an
additional £37,500 to extend their practice in the following
areas:
• engagement with disabled
young people and also their families
• personalisation
• joint assessment processes in
children’s and adult services
• education, employment and
training options at 16+
• strategic partnership
working
The national transition
support team (ntst) brought together a range of professionals,
young people and parents to celebrate the investment in
transition.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry,
Minister for Schools and Learners, said:
‘We are investing £19m over
three years (2008 – 2011) in transition services through the
Transition Support Programme which aims to ensure that all services
meet minimum standards and provide opportunities for some to extend
their practice across England. I am pleased to award £37,500 this
year to the 13 areas identified by ntst as ready to extend their
practice. These areas, with the support of the national transition
support team, will continue to develop good practice and their
improvement will help to inform improved transition services in
every local area.
The national transition
support team are well positioned to work with the key local and
regional agencies to help make the necessary changes that will make
such a difference to many disabled young people’
Speaking at the
launch, Helen Wheatley, Programme Director, national transition
support team, said:
‘This is a golden
opportunity for the sector to work together to radically improve
the services for disabled young people. One crucial objective of
ntst is to change culture - this can only be achieved if disabled
young people are involved in the transition process. The funding
awarded by the department will improve services but we will need to
go further and reach out to disabled young people and engage with
local advocacy groups, providing them with a range of tools and
support options.’
The 13 areas are Birmingham, Cornwall,
Coventry, Devon, London Borough of Redbridge, London Borough of
Richmond, Leicester City, Medway, North East Lincolnshire, North
Tyneside, Nottinghamshire, Oldham, & Suffolk. The areas were
selected by the ntst using existing evidence from Children and
Young People’s Plans and inspection reports, regional support
agencies and CDC’s practice based transition mapping exercise with
60 local authorities and PCT partners.
Photo: Dinesh Sattee (Young
Person Representative and guest speaker) and Sarah McCarthy-Fry
(Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools and
Learners)