Southend Preparing for Adulthood Team
The Southend Preparing for Adulthood (PfA) Team supports pupils with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and/or those who are likely to find moving on from school difficult.
The team works with young people in school year 9 and above.
It also works with settings, colleges, young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families to make sure pupils are preparing for adulthood from the age of 13.
The team:
- supports young people with SEND to secure appropriate post 16 provision
- offers training opportunities for parent carers and professionals in relation to transition reviews
- encourages young people with SEND to take part in education, employment and training
- acts as PfA champions within Southend-on-Sea City Council to encourage experiences of the workplace
- promotes opportunities for supported internships, traineeships and apprenticeships. The PfA team will also organise supported employment opportunities and employment advice
- works with adult and community services to increase the number of young people with SEND who are engaged in paid employment
- ensures that appropriate complex needs provision for children and young people with SEND in year 9 and above is available within Southend
Being supported towards greater independence and employability can be life-transforming for children and young people with SEND. This support needs to start early, and should centre around the child or young person's own aspirations, interests and needs. All professionals working with them should share those high aspirations and be clear on the support they can give to help with this.
Transition to Adult Care Services
The team work with children's and adult services, to make sure that the transition to adult care and support is:
- well planned,
- integrated with the annual reviews of EHCPs
- reflects special educational and health provision that is already in place to help the young person prepare for adulthood.
Funding for SEN support
All school and academy sixth forms, sixth form colleges, further education colleges and 16 to 19 academies get resources to support students with additional needs, including young people with SEND.
Like mainstream schools, colleges are expected to provide appropriate, high quality SEN support using all available resources.