Planning your future support and care

Step 1 – when you are 13 years old

If you are known to childrens social care, your school will contact you to arrange a meeting. A social care officer or a social worker will come to school to meet you. He or she will talk to you about how you’re getting on, your aims, what you’re enjoying at school and outside school.

We use this meeting to prepare you for a bigger meeting when you are 14, which is called a transition review.

We will talk to your school about the review, so they know what to expect and can plan ahead too.

We will also meet you from time to time to talk about how you are doing.

Step 2 – when you are 14 years old

When you are in Year 9 your school will arrange the transition review. At the review you will meet:

• your social care officer or social worker
• teachers
• other people such as health professionals/education advice and guidance workers.

You can bring someone to speak for you, or a friend or relative with you.

Together you will talk about what’s happening in school and at home, your health and your care and support. We will also talk about your work experience to come in Year 10 and help you plan for this. This is to help us plan the support you need in the future.

You may also have family, friends and others around you. This network of people we call a ‘circle’. You may decide to have meetings of your circle to help you review your support plan and make other decisions.

It is at this age that we will need to decide whether you qualify for adult services.

Step 3 – when you are 16 years old and over

If you continue in education or college, or receive adult social care services, you will have a review meeting every year. But we will also meet you from time to time between reviews at your circle meetings if you or your social care officer or social worker thinks it would be useful.

At this age your reviews will focus on:

• leaving school, or
• continuing in education or training, or
• finding a job, or
• other options.

You and your team will look go through your support plan and make changes, depending on what has already happened and what you wish to do in future.

Your meetings and reviews will continue and you will see the steps your team are taking to help you, for example:

• live more independently
• find social activities
• go to college.

To qualify for adult services you have to have a certain level of need and meet the criteria under the Care Act 2014.

To receive adult social care you will need to meet the following criteria as stated in the Care Act 2014.

• they have care and support needs as a result of a physical or a mental condition
• because of those needs, they cannot achieve two or more of the outcomes specified
• as a result, there is a significant impact on their wellbeing

For more information on how we decide who gets what care, go to the Care in Newham webpages. 

What happens If I don’t quality?

We may still help you to plan your future. If you want help or advice on the future, leaving school or you have other questions about preparing for adulthood, come to one of our drop-ins.

You find out about the drop-ins from your school or you can phone our 0-25 SEND Service on 0208 430 2000 option 2 or email Accessto.AdultsSocialCareTeam@newham.gov.uk. PFA Duty Tel: 0203 373 6455.

You can also find information about oranisations working in Newham which support young people with SEN and disabilities using our Local Offer Directory.

If you are looked after by us, we will help you plan for the future after you leave care in the same way we help other children. Your care ends at 18 but there is a leaving care entitlement, which means you can get help with:

• finding somewhere to live
• finding training or work
• money which will help you become more independent.

For more information, go to our page on Leaving care - advice and support.

If you live with a foster family, you can stay with your family until you are 21.

For more information about leaving care, go to the Goverment's Website.

Information, advice and guidance on money and benefits

Things to do

Advocacy services if you are over 18

Groups

For more information on peer-support planning groups and the young peoples forum email preparingforadulthood@newham.gov.uk

If you are unhappy with your social worker or social care officer, phone us to talk about it on 020 3373 3521, or email: preparingforadulthood@newham.gov.uk

If you want to complain, go to our complaints page.