What actions need to be taken?
1. Ensure that there is a coordinated approach to transition to adulthood, bringing together children’s and adult’s services and the different parts of the system to work collaboratively together
Currently, there are significant issues with transition planning for young people with a learning disability. Transition planning is supposed to begin early, involve both children’s and adult’s services, and bring together the different parts of the system – Education, Health, Social Care, and Housing, for example – with the young person and their family to create a plan for the future. But too often this doesn’t happen – in some cases, adult services have only ‘found out’ about a young person with a learning disability a few days before their 18th birthday.
The Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care need to:
Write to all a) local authorities and b) integrated care boards to highlight the importance of starting transition planning early
Distribute examples of good practice
Introduce a Named Social Worker who can act as coordinator (see ‘Person-Centred Support’ for more details)
We have worked to co-produce these actions and asks, building on years of work that has gone before it. We are happy to engage with policy makers at a local, regional, and national level about how we can get things right for people with a learning disability whose behaviour challenges. If you would like to talk about any of the actions in this plan, or any work you are planning on doing, please email actionplan@thecbf.org.uk