Preparation for Adulthood (PfA) Update
Following public consultation, one of the five key priorities within Haringey’s SEND Strategy 2022 – 2025 is that we will prepare our children for their adult lives and support their transition with the commitment to develop a strategic action plan that beings together key stakeholders to develop clear areas of focus and a robust action plan that is ambitious and achievable within a short time frame.
A PfA workshop was held at the end of January with over 80 attendees from the education, health, care, voluntary sector and parents and carers which then informed four areas of focus:
- Good health
- Employment
- Independent living and housing
- Friends, relationships, and community
Alongside delivering operational services to support young people to prepare for adulthood, this then led to the development of four subgroups in February to work together to agree the actions within each area of focus. Each subgroup is chaired by a relevant professional whose expertise is in that area with parents and carers represented in each group. Draft actions were then shared through focused task and finish groups with young people, parents and carers throughout March and April. Focused engagement with young people took place via:
- The Autism Hub
- Haringey Youth Space
- Independent Youth Advisors meeting at Markfield (SENDIASS)
- Haringey Youth Space – 11-16 and 14-19 youth groups
- Linking via SENCOs
- Post 16 Transitions Event
We are now at the stage of finalising the strategic action plan and are working with Markfield and SEND Power (Haringey Parent Carer Forum) to share this wider with young people, parents and carers via their networks to get further feedback over the summer before it goes live in September. The strategic action plan will then be monitored through the PfA Operational Working Group which is jointly chaired by Children's and Adults services to ensure that actions are completed within a timely way resulting in positive impact and outcomes for young people with SEND.