LEICESTERSHIRE TRANSITION STRATEGY
2012 - 2015
Children and Young People’s Service
and
Adults and Communities
VERSION 8 December 2012
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Introduction
The objective of this strategy is to improve co-ordination and communication between
children’s and adult services and health to achieve better outcomes for young disabled
people leaving school. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 defines disability as, ‘a
physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a
person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.' The definition covers physical
impairments including those affecting the senses such as sight and hearing, heart
disease, diabetes, epilepsy; and mental impairments including mental ill health and
learning disabilities.
The Strategy is aimed at professionals and partners e.g. further education, schools,
colleges, connexions, voluntary sector, who support children with disabilities to prepare
for adulthood, and outlines what families and young people can expect from agencies to
support a successful transition. This strategy seeks to provide a seamless transition and
therefore it highlights good practice. This can be shared with partners and stakeholders
for them to consider pathways for other young people that need support
Transition is about preparation for the future in adult life. Leicestershire County
Council recognises that transition for all people means change. It is acknowledged
that young school leavers with special needs will require extra support during
periods of great change as they move into Adulthood. Change can be a difficult
time for anyone and our aim is to work together with partners to make that period of
change as smooth as possible for young people moving from Children’s into Adult
services
‘Families and young people still say that the transition from Children’s
Services to Adult Services is the most difficult time in their lives and that
they feel excluded from decisions. The outcomes are often segregated
services rather than helping them to achieve the same things as other young
people, that is, an education, a job, and living with their friends in their local
community’ (Valuing People Now 2007)
This Strategy: Describes the Vision for Transition in Leicestershire
 Outlines the national context for Transition
 Identifies proposed local arrangements for the future
 Describes the legal responsibilities of the Local Authority including
Safeguarding
 Identifies the objectives for a smooth transition
 Provides a strategic action plan to achieve better outcomes for young people
going through the transition from Children’s to Adult Services
Vision
Children with Special Educational Needs and/or disabilities want to be able to move
into adulthood with real opportunities for work, housing choices and a social life in
the community, so that they can explore the possibilities and make decisions about
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their future life. It is therefore important that all agencies work together to provide a
seamless transition that provides the support that young people need to live the
lives they have chosen.
2.
National Context
In 2001 the Government published Valuing People: a new strategy for learning
disability for the 21st century. This white paper identified four key principles:



Civil Rights,
Independence,
Choice
Inclusion.
Valuing People takes a life-long approach, beginning with an integrated approach
to services for disabled children and their families and then providing new
opportunities for a full and purposeful adult life.
Valuing People Now 3 published in 2009, consolidates and builds on this work. It
expects all young people with learning disabilities:


To have person-centred transition reviews and plans by 2012.
Young people and their families to have a strong voice at review meetings.
To know what is positive and possible in terms of the future, and that clear
actions have been set in the areas of health, housing, jobs and careers, and
friends and relationships.
While progress has been made, the above work has also led Leicestershire County
Council to become even more aware of the issues and barriers faced by young
disabled people. It is clear that this group of young people want the same things in
life as everyone else: to travel, to get a good job, have friends and relationships, to
live independently, to have a good social life and to be valued citizens. Individual
budgets, person-centred planning and advocacy are just a few of the important
ways of helping young people to plan for themselves and to have control over how
they want to be supported.
3.
Regional Arrangements
A Young Peoples Charter
This has been developed by the East Midlands NHS Strategic Health Authority,
following consultation events throughout 2009-2011 with disabled young people,
partner agencies and stakeholders. This Charter clearly outlines what disabled
young people are saying they require for a smooth transition into adulthood and
identifies services they may need. It also forms part of this Strategy.
Link to be added
Successful regional work through the Aiming High for Disabled Children
programme enabled progress in co-ordinating services and information for young
people and families. Person Centred school reviews introduced across the region
have improved transition planning and outcomes for young people.
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Local Arrangements
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Leicestershire has a well established multi-agency Transition steering group that
reports to the Transition Board on the following issues:
a)
Ensuring integrated inter-agency approach to Transition Planning
b)
Ensuring smooth transition from Children and Young People’s Disability
Services to Adult Disability Services
c)
Develop the targeted use of person centred planning approaches to
transitions, and development of a post to promote short breaks (Aiming High)
d)
Identifying and resolving issues surrounding transition arrangements
e)
Providing information to support transition
f)
Developing protocols / procedures as required
g)
Support transitional arrangements for LSC
h)
Respond to relevant government reports and initiatives
i)
Develop an annual work plan for the group for approval by the Transition
Board
The steering group reports to a newly formed Transition Strategic Board, with
senior management membership from Health, Children and Adults services
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4a
Self assessment
At a Local level, in Leicestershire, a self assessment following implementation of
the Transition Aiming High agenda (2008-2011), has been completed which
identified significant developments in transition. The outcome of the self
assessment informs some of the objectives identified in the Action Plan attached to
this strategy. Appendix 1
4b
Resources
In response to the National and local agenda, resources have been identified that
will support the Transition process in Leicestershire and this includes development
of a Transition coordinator post.
Legal Responsibilities
The Local Authority has specific statutory responsibilities in respect of children with
Statement of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
Legislation and guidance relating to disabled children and children with SEN
include:
Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act
1986 Sections 5/6 set out one of the key responsibilities around Transition
planning
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5a) Identification
(Section 5). Identifying disabled children who will need help into adulthood
because of their disability. This process of identification starts when the child is in
Year 9 at school (i.e. aged 14 years).
5b) Assessment
(Section 6). Assessing the individual needs of users and carers and devising a
service/care plan appropriate to their needs. For Leicestershire children
assessments will be undertaken in the final / penultimate year, before the child is
due to leave school or college.
5c) The Children Act 1989
Part 3 section 17 states that “a child shall be taken to be in need if:


he/she is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or to have the opportunity of
achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development
without the provision for him/her of services by a local authority under this
Part
his/her health or development is likely to be significantly impaired, or
further impaired, without the provision for him/her of such services, or
he/she is disabled”
Looked after and former looked after children
The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 made a number of amendments to the
Children Act 1989 in order to:
"improve the life chances of young people living in and leaving local authority
care. Its main aims are:
To delay young people's discharge from care until they are prepared and ready to
leave; to improve the assessment, preparation and planning for leaving care; to
provide better personal support for young people after leaving care; and to provide
the financial arrangements for care leavers." (Paragraph 1 Children (Leaving Care)
Act 2000 Guidance).
The effect of the amendments together with the Children (Leaving Care) (England)
Regulations 2001 is to place a statutory duty on the local authority to provide a
social worker and personal advisor and to assess and prepare a pathway plan for
an eligible child and to carry out reviews of that plan.
The assessment must look at the young person's needs to identify what advice,
assistance and support the young person needs whilst they are looked after and
when they are no longer looked after by the local authority and the pathway plan
must be prepared as soon as possible after assessment.
The duty applies to every child aged aged 16 or 17who is or has been looked
after by a local authority for more than 13 weeks and that period includes at
least a day after the child's sixteenth birthday.
The contents of the pathway plan are set out in the regulations (Reg 8) and the
schedule to the regulations and includes support, accommodation, education and
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training, financial assistance and contingency plans. It may also include for
provision for support until age 21 and education upto the age of 24.
The pathway plan should be undertaken with support from the personal advisor for
the young person and within three months of the child's 16th birthday or after they
have been looked after for 13 weeks if that is later.
Housing Act
Young persons formerly looked after by the local authority may seek
accommodation through the Housing Act 1996 and qualifies as a person in priority
need by reason of the Homelessness (Priority Need for Accommodation) (England)
Order 2002.
The NHS and Community Care Act 1990
This states that Social Services are expected to arrange multi-disciplinary
assessments and establish plans which may include further education for Children
In Need including those with significant special needs. Social Services should also
ensure that a social worker attends the Year 9 (13/14 years) Annual Review
meeting and contributes to the formation of the Transition Plan.
Mental Capacity Act 2005
Although the Mental Capacity Act applies mainly to adults, decisions made for
future care and support of young people in transition need to have regard to the
Mental Capacity Act and whether application to the Court of Protection will be
required for sanction of future arrangements for care, residence and welfare, if not
otherwise provided for under Section 5 of the Mental Capacity Act or the
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.
Where a person is deemed to lack capacity to make the decision in question, the
Mental Capacity Act provides that for decision in respect of care and treatment a
decision may be made in that person's best interests. Section 5 does not apply to
decisions relating to finance and property or where the care and treatment amounts
to a deprivation of liberty.
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
Future care provision may include making decisions about where a person should
live and how they should receive their care. sometimes the provision of care will
require a degree of restraint. Where the care is being provided in a care home or
hospital authorisation and involved restraint such that there is a deprivation of
liberty, authorisation should be sought through the deprivation of liberty process.
Where care is provided in supported living in circumstances that amount to a
deprivation of liberty, authorisation will need to be sought from the court.
Connexions Statutory duty follows the SEN Code of Practice (2002) In 2001 the
Special Educational Needs code of practice14 was published to support the special
educational needs provisions of the;
Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 This includes specific
requirements relating to transition planning. Connexions must attend the year 9
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transition review aged 14 years and the school need to produce a transition plan that
the Connexions service has to coordinate,
Learning and Skills Act 2001 identified the (140) now 139A Learning Disability
Assessment, legal responsibility of the Local Authority to produce for all leavers that
have a statement of SEN and are moving into post 16 learning. This needs to be
completed in the final year of statutory education. The Local Authority contract
Connexions to complete these assessments.
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Child Protection and Safeguarding in Transitions
The Local Authority has statutory functions and a duty of care in ensuring we keep
children and vulnerable adults safe. We take the lead in respect of safeguarding
adult and child protection investigations, following the criteria below
The Children Act 1989 gives local authorities the general duty to:

safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who
are in need;
so far as is consistent with that duty, to promote the upbringing of
such children by their families, by providing a range and level of
services appropriate to those children’s needs
The Children Act 1989 specifies that a child shall be taken to be in need if:


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he/she is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or have the opportunity of
achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development
without the provision for him of services by a local authority under this Part
his/her health or development is likely to be significantly impaired, or further
impaired, without the provision for him of such services
he/she is disabled
A Vulnerable Adult is:“A person over 18 years, who is or may be in need of community care services by
reason of mental or other disability, age or illness; and who is or may be unable to
take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant
harm or exploitation”.
The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Multi-Agency Safeguarding Adults Policy &
Procedures, revised in January 2010, applies to all adults in need of safeguarding and
all agencies that have contact with adults in need of safeguarding in Leicester,
Leicestershire and Rutland..
The multi agency policy statement states:
All adults in need of safeguarding have the right to live their lives free from abuse of any
description. All agencies and individuals that have contact with adults in need of
safeguarding have a duty to protect them from abuse.
Where abuse is reported to or suspected by any person in any agency the response will
be prompt and in line with the Multi-Agency Procedures.
In some situations it may become necessary to commission a serious case review to
establish whether there are lessons learned and to review the effectiveness of
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procedures. Any recommendations resulting from a serious case review are
incorporated into practice by acting on learning to improve and inform local inter agency
practice.
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Key risks in Transition identified by The Council for Disabled Children,
Transition Information Network 2009

Period of change (often widespread)
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Young People can fall through the gaps
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Young People can become isolated from services and support
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Young People have the right to make choices for themselves
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Personalisation increases community interface
Link to LSCB procedures http://www.lrlscb.org/
Link to Safeguarding Adults Procedures
http://website/safeguarding_no_secrets.pdf
Young people want to be able to move into adulthood with real opportunities for
work, housing choices and a social life in the community,
We therefore need a more collaborative approach to planning with young people,
so that they can explore the possibilities and make decisions about their future life.
Post-16 education, training and support for employment services must all be able to
respond to the young person’s individual aspirations.
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Objectives of this Strategy
Local priorities in Leicestershire are to work with Partners to improve outcomes
for young people by achieving the following objectives:
Improve co-ordination and communication, including a shared language, between
Children’s and Adults Services and Health
Co-ordinate the transition review process with all other reviews (eg Looked After
Children, Youth Offending Service, Early Support, Educational SEN Statement
review, Connexions, Section 139A)
Provide comprehensive information and guidance about effective engagement of
young people and their families, to enable them to be pro-active, with partners, in
their own transition planning process
To ensure that Health Action plans are included alongside educational and
learning needs in a streamlined (integrated) review process, for young people with
complex needs
To ensure that Primary care delivers Health Action Plans and co-ordinate health
transition services between children and adults
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To create a seamless person centred transition planning process for young
people between the ages of 14 – 25 years in line with transition standards (See
Appendix 2)
To ensure that all Stakeholders share the responsibility for delivering the
successful outcomes in Transition Planning
To develop a Transition Action Plan for Leicestershire (See Appendix 1)
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Equality and Diversity
This Strategy seeks to ensure that all SEN and /or disabled young people moving
through transitions have an equal opportunity to make choices and participate in
decisions about their future lives. Person centre thinking is integral to ensuring
that young people and their families are involved and that all decisions made
regarding future needs and support are transparent and open. An Equality Impact
Assessment Questionnaire has been completed in respect of this Strategy and
monitoring arrangements and future consultation on the outcomes of the
objectives set will be reviewed.
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Conclusion
An effective transition from receiving services to children to access relevant and
eligible adult services can set young people up for the rest of their lives and make
a huge difference to their outcomes. If young people and their families have a
range of choices, good quality information and clear pathways, while they are still at
school, this will provide a positive lifelong impact in adulthood.
All partners working with SEN and /or disabled young people and their families will
be committed to providing information and advice, when families require this, at the
times they need it. The focus will be to maximise independence and choice and the
outcomes will be reviewed and utilised to inform future planning and needs.
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