Moving to post-16

This page will guide you through the key transition focuses when moving from secondary education to post-16, and how to prepare for adulthood at this stage

Key transition focuses

The key transition focuses from moving from secondary education to post-16 include: 

• career guidance and vocational skills: this is a critical stage where career guidance, vocational training, vocational profiling and social skills development should be key components of the transition process
• further independence: transition towards greater self-management of learning and life skills, enhanced development of resilience skills and the ability to cope with challenges that lie ahead
• preparation for adulthood: independent living arrangements to be discussed, links with housing and community groups. Employment areas - Supported Internships, movement to paid and voluntary employment as well as social enterprise

Enhanced support

Enhanced support at this transition stage may include: 

• for students who can move into higher education, support in applying to colleges/universities with disability support teams in place, including access to assistive technologies and extended time for assignments
• for students moving into employment, strong links with supported employment services, job coaches, and schemes such as Supported Internships
• where appropriate, referrals to Adult Social Care to ensure that the individual is connected to Adult Health, Transitions Team, Social Care, and/or Housing Services.

This relates to SEND thresholds 1-3. 

Complex support

Complex support at this transition stage may include: 

• ongoing support plans for young adults needing continuous assistance in living or working environments. This may include finding supported living arrangements, personalised job coaching and extensive community-based learning programmes
• collaboration between adult and children's social care, health services and employment agencies to ensure continuity of care and support - explore personal budgets and direct payments
• for students with more complex needs, multi-disciplinary planning may involve social workers, housing officers, mental health professionals and continuing education providers to create a Personalised Life Plan that covers all aspects of independent living, health and employment
• are the Transitions Team involved?

This relates to SEND thresholds 3-5. 

Find out more and SEND thresholds

Preparation for adulthood

There are things to think about for your child for preparing for adulthood at this stage which include:

• development of independent living skills, such as cooking, budgeting, and accessing public transport
• continued participation in social activities and community engagement through local support groups, clubs, and accessible services
• moving onto employment, supported employment and/or voluntary social enterprise opportunities
• understanding the health pathway of services, including GP Health assessments
• understanding of healthy eating, creating good meals and keeping a healthy mind

Stepping Up advice for this transition

1. It may be a good idea for young people and their support networks to visit a range of provisions and pathways to get a real feel and understanding of the offer and having a mentor in the setting to support the young person through the pathways and through visits and discussions. There may be opportunities for dual placements between settings - the question is to ask! Some vocational programmes such as Supported Internships have a job coach who will support the young adult in the workplace and support the settings that they are in.
2. Look up what the welfare benefits for families and young people are in terms of what is available to move towards more independent living and travelling.
3. Explore community-based learning programmes and vocational programmes, including social enterprises.
4. Think about travel arrangements - independent travel - raise questions about supporting them to travel to the workplace
5. In some colleges they have pre-Supported Internship training - do you have knowledge of this? 
6. You could contact your local Family Hub to find out more about work placements, volunteering and employment opportunities available.
7. Check out funding opportunities, links with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and Citizens Advice on what is available and how to access these grants (opens new window).
8. Look at what other support is available - Gateshead Access to Employment Service (businesses) or Learning and Skills
9. You may also want to look at the Mental Capacity Act. The Mental Capacity Act relates to people aged 16 or over. People are assumed to have capacity unless a Mental Capacity Act assessment has deemed otherwise. Assessing mental capacity involves a two-stage functional test. The principles of the Mental Capacity Act are that those that lack capacity are empowered to make as many decisions for themselves as possible and that any decision made, or action taken on their behalf, is done so in their best interests. If a young person is unable to make their own decisions, their parents or carers can app