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5. After the Transition Plan has been drawn up
Once the Transition Plan has been drawn up the LEA must circulate the plan to the parents, head teacher, Social Services, relevant health contacts and any other relevant professionals and carers.
The LEA must ensure that all the services identified as necessary in the Transition Plan are available for the young person as they go through the transition period until they leave school.
Disabled Persons Act Assessment
Under the Disabled Persons Act 1986 the following procedure for assessment should take place. This process should be parallel to, but linked with, the Transition Plan described previously.
- The Education Department is required to notify Social Services of all young people aged 13/14 years who are considered to be disabled.
- Eight months before a child with a disability is due to leave full time education the Education Department is required to notify Social Services in writing.
- Once Social Services have been notified they are obliged to co-ordinate a multi-agency assessment of the young person, which must be completed no later than three months before the person's school or college leaving date.
- The carers of the young person, as well as the young person, should be encouraged to take a full and active part in this process. This can include the right to refuse an assessment or a particular service if this is their wish. Such a refusal would not bar a person from receiving help in the future.
- The final report from this assessment should be discussed with the young person. After any agreed amendments have been made the report should be circulated to all relevant professionals, family members and any other carers.
- After the assessment and report have been produced the social worker concerned should organise a review at which the information contained within the report should be discussed and relevant plans for the young person laid out. A member of the Adult Care team should be present at such a meeting.
Carers Assessment
As a parent/carer of a young person with disabilities you are also entitled to an assessment, known as a Carers Assessment. This is done by Social Services and may be done alongside the young person's assessment or separately. The aim of the Carers Assessment is to look at the care you are providing for the young person and the type of help Social Service can provide to support you. As your child goes through transition his/her needs may change, and your role as a carer may change too. Ask your child's social worker or social services for more information.
What support services are available?
It would be misleading to say that there is a comprehensive support network of services available to individual young people and their carers once a person has left full time education. It is important, however, for the plans that are being made through the transition period to include not just services that do exist but also to state what other services should exist if the person is to be properly supported.
Below we have signposted some of the core support services that should be considered.
It is worth noting at this point that as the law currently stands when a son or daughter reaches 18 and becomes an adult parents have few if any rights over them no matter how severely disabled the son or daughter may be. The law is being reviewed but at present parents have no legal rights to decide where an adult son or daughter may live or what they may do. This also applies to consent to medical treatment. In reality, this is often not an issue for individuals, particularly if they are living at home as regular consultation with sons and daughters is normal good practice.
Even if the young person lives away from home, it is still considered good practice to consult with family and carers.
Further or Higher Education
There are essentially three options for young people who want to continue their education after school:
- Further Education colleges
- Independent specialist colleges
- Higher Education institutions
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