Guidance
Below is a list of key policy, guidance, consultations and
legislation that refers to or has an impact on disabled
young people in transition to adulthood.
NTST Policy Briefing
This briefing
summarises current developments in key policy areas relating to
disabled young people’s transition to adulthood. Published
8 November 2010.
Aiming High for Disabled Children
Aiming
High for Disabled Children: Better support for
families
The government’s transformation programme for disabled children's
services.
Aiming High for Young People
Aiming High for Young People: a ten year strategy for positive
activities
This document considers how the Government can help all young
people, particularly those in deprived areas, to take part in
enjoyable and purposeful activities in their free time which can
help them develop new skills and raise their aspirations. The
Every
Child Matters website also gives information about the Youth
Opportunity Fund and Youth Capital Fund. NTST have also produced a
guide on How to involve
disabled young people in Aiming High for Young People: a ten year
strategy for positive activities.
Adult Social Care
Director of Adult Social Services guidance
This guidance on the Statutory Chief Officer Post of the Director
of Adult Social Services published by the Department of Health in
2006, states:
"The DASS and the Director of Children's Services have put adequate
arrangements in place to ensure that all young people with
long-term social care needs have been assessed and, where eligible,
receive a service which meets their needs throughout their
transition to becoming adults."
Links to this can also be found on the Transition Information
Network website.
Use of resources in adult social care: A guide for local
authorities
This guide is to stimulate discussion
and debate for local authorities on how to commission and shape
services for tomorrow by making best use of resources.
(Department of Health, 15 October 2009)
Education
Supporting young people with learning difficulties to
participate and progress - incorporating guidance on Learning
Difficulty Assessments
The Education and Skills Act 2008 places a duty on local
authorities to promote participation in education or training of
young people in their area. This is particularly important in
ensuring that learners who need support to access education and
training are appropriately assessed and supported by local
authorities in fulfilling their duties under the Act. This guidance
will help local authorities make consistent, effective and robust
decisions that will lead to positive outcomes for young people with
learning difficulties and/or disabilities.
NTST has also produced a briefing about Section 139A
Assessments.
(DCSF, April 2010)
Placement Information: Learners with Learning Difficulties
and/or Disabilities at Independent Specialist Providers
2010/11
This document is intended to support
local authorities to fulfill their legal duties in securing the
provision of education and training for learners with learning
difficulties and/or disabilities (who are over
compulsary school age but under 25 and are subject to a
learning difficulty assessment) at independent specialist providers
from 1 April 2010, as detailed in the ASCL Act.
(YPLA, April 2010)
Important Note: The Secretary of State
announced in July that the government will be simplifying the
proposed new system for post 16 education commissioning. The
National Commissioning Framework document, which was also published
in April, has hence been withdrawn. You can find out more
information about this here.
Commissioning Support Programme
The Commissioning Support Programme website includes information on
delivery arrangements for 16-19 education and training.
2010 Post-16 Transport Guidance
This guidance
covers local authorities post 16 transport planning duties for all
post-16 learners including the changes made by in the
Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act (ASCL) 2009.
Section 57 of ASCL 2009 Requires local authorities from 2011 to
prepare and publish a new Transport Policy Statement for young
people aged 19-24 with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.
See esp points 27-32.
Employment
Valuing Employment Now: real jobs for people with learning
disabilities
Valuing Employment Now sets out the Government's strategy to
radically increase the number of people with learning disabilities
in employment by 2025. The Valuing Employment Now (VEN) cross-government
delivery team has developed a range of
resources to promote best practice and support local and
regional delivery of the VEN strategy.
(Department of Health, June 2009)
You can also download an NTST briefing on
Valuing Employment Now. The briefing is intended to give an
overview of the strategy in relation to young disabled people’s
transition into adult life.
(NTST, August 2009)
Health and Wellbeing
e-Learning for
Healthcare
The Adolescent Health e-learning
project aims to ensure that all health professionals have essential
youth communication skills and understand young people's rights to
consent and confidentiality. The project is delivered by the Royal
College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and e-Learning for
Healthcare (e-LfH) and is funded by the Department of Health’s
Children & Young People's Public Health Programme, to support
Healthy Lives, Brighter Futures - the Children and Young People's
Health Strategy. Module 6 is about disability and transition.
Healthy lives, brighter futures – The strategy for children and
young people’s health
Please note that it may no longer reflect current
government policy.
This joint DH/DCSF strategy presents the former Government’s vision
for children and young people’s health and wellbeing. (DH/DCSF,
February 2009)
Download the Council for Disabled Children's policy analysis of the
Child Health Strategy and its implications for disabled children
and young people.
Transition: Moving on Well
A good practice guide on effective transition from children's to
adult services for young people with complex health needs. The
guide will help ensure that the young person and their family is
better prepared for the move to adult care and that the adult care
team has been involved in planning for the transfer.
(DH/DCSF, March 2008)
You're Welcome quality criteria: Making health services
young people friendly
You're Welcome quality criteria sets out principles that will help
health services (including non-NHS provision) become young people
friendly. It covers areas to be considered by commissioners and
providers of health services.
(Department of Health 2007)
You’re Welcome quality criteria self-assessment
toolkit
The You’re Welcome self-assessment toolkit has been designed to
enable service providers and commissioners to see what to do to be
“young people friendly” and more appropriate to the needs of young
people – as detailed in the quality criteria.
(Department of Health 2009)
Independent Living
Independent
Living Strategy
Please note that it may no longer reflect current
government policy.
This cross-Governmental strategy, published in 2008, sets out
a five-year plan that seeks to realise the Government’s aim that
all disabled people should be able to live autonomous lives, and to
have the same choice, freedom, dignity and control over their lives
as non-disabled people.
(Office for Disability Issues, February 2008)
Information, Advice and Guidance
Quality Standards for Information, Advice and
Guidance
Since April 2008 responsibility for
commissioning information, advice and guidance (IAG) services for
young people, and the funding that goes with that
responsibility, was devolved from the 47 Connexions
partnerships to the 150 Local Authorities in England. This document
outlines the framework for planning, managing and reviewing IAG
services in a locality, in a co-ordinated way.
Legislation
Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning
Act
The ASCL Act takes forward significant reforms to post-16
education and training to improve the delivery to young people
and adults. The Act received Royal Assent on 12 November 2009.
Person Centred Planning
Person Centred Planning: Advice for using person-centred
thinking, planning and reviews in schools and
transition
This is part of a series of
good practice guides on person centred planning published by
the Putting People First and Valuing People Now teams. It is
intended to show how person-centred thinking, planning and reviews
can be useful in schools and in transition, to ensure that young
people with disabilities are listened to and leave school or
college for paid employment and full lives.
(DH, 6 April 2010)
Safeguarding
Safeguarding disabled children
This guidance is aimed at local safeguarding children board (LSCB)
partners and other professionals working with children and young
people and their families. It is intended to help them safeguard
and promote the welfare of disabled children and young people. It
is supplementary to, and should be used in conjunction with, the
government's statutory guidance, Working Together to Safeguard
Children.
(DCSF, 2009)
Transition
A transition guide for all
services
This guide brings together all key information for professionals
about the transition process. It includes information on statutory
duties and offers examples of effective practice to illustrate how
services are addressing local need. Supplementary
information to this guide is also available.
(DH/DCSF, October 2007)
SEN Code of Practice 2001
Code of Practice under the Education Act 1996. Describes the annual
review process from Year 9 and the place of the transition plan
within that process. The SEN
Toolkit 2001 adds further detail to this guidance.
(DfES, November 2001)
Valuing People Now
Valuing People Now: a new three-year strategy for people
with learning disabilities
Valuing People Now sets out the Government's strategy for people
with learning disabilities for the next three years following
consultation. It also responds to the main recommendations in
Healthcare for All, the independent inquiry into access to
healthcare for people with learning disabilities.
(DH, January 2009)