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Contents

1. Introduction – The Purpose of Introducing the Pack
2. Social Worker’s Responsibilities
3. Carers’ Responsibilities (Family Placement and Residential)
4. Child/Young Persons’ Responsibilities
5. Children in Care Review
6. Adaptations for Children/Young People with Specific Needs

1. Introduction – The Purpose of Introducing the Pack

The Get Ready for Adult Life Pack was put together to give young people who are in or leaving local authority care information and advice to help prepare them for adult life.

The needs of children and young people in and leaving care change over time. They should be addressed from when they first come into care and be reviewed on an ongoing basis, so that preparation for adult life and moving on from care is a gradual process rather than a time-limited event.

The Get Ready for Adult Life toolkit is designed to be used by children and young people, with carers and workers to prepare young people for preparation for adulthood and independent living. Carers play a significant role in helping young people develop a range of skills needed for adulthood. Work on the pack should be started as early as possible, but the toolkit will be integral to the pathway planning process which starts at 15 ¾ yrs. Areas covered in the toolkit should be referenced within the young person’s Care Plan / Pathway Plan in order that there is a record of work completed and that progress can be monitored and reviewed.

When the young person status changes from an Eligible to a Relevant or Former Relevant young person the pack will continue to be reviewed alongside the Pathway Plan.

2. Social Worker’s Responsibilities

The child/young person’s social worker will issue the Get Ready for Adult Life Pack to the young person at the earliest opportunity – this could be at age 14, but no later than 16 years. The toolkit will link into the Needs Assessment/Pathway Plan when the young person is 16.

Knowledge targets and tasks will be included in care/pathway plan with agreed timescales.

The social worker will liaise with the carers and Personal Adviser (if post 16) and communicate regularly to ensure the Care/Pathway Plans are being followed and knowledge targets/tasks identified in the plan are being carried out and will take remedial action where the plan is not being followed through.

The tasks/knowledge progress will be discussed as part of the Care/Pathway Planning and Pathway Plan Reviews.

3. Carers’ Responsibilities (including Family Placement and Residential)

• Attend Preparation for Adult life training;
• Participate in Care/Pathway Plan reviews;
• The child/young person will complete the self assessment sections and/or have support from carers to identify knowledge targets;
• Consider and provide opportunities for child/young person to learn and practise independent living/life skills as outlined in Care/Pathway Plans;
• Carers should lead by example and be aware as carers, the need to demonstrate these skills and ensure that young people see them using these skills;
• Liaise regularly with the child’s social worker and Personal Advisor as appropriate.

4. Child/Young Person’s Responsibilities

• Participate in the assessment and Care/Pathway Plan review;
• Identify knowledge targets and tasks within the Get Ready for Adult Life toolkit;
• Discuss targets and tasks with carer/s and professional/s;
• Develop independent living/life skills outlined in Care/Pathway Plans with support from carers;
• Review/record progress in pack;
• Take ownership of toolkit.

5. Statutory Review

During the statutory Review the Independent Reviewing Officer will discuss the Care/Pathway Plan and will explore the current and future goals which help the young person to learn and develop skills that will help their preparation for adult life.

6. Adaptations for Children/Young People with Specific Needs

Young people with severe learning disabilities are unlikely to benefit from using the toolkit due to the format. Alternative workbooks to Get Ready for Adult Life which are person centred should be utilised, i.e. ‘My Kind of a Future’ (supplied by Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities). Workbooks currently in use can continue to be used by key workers if the format is presented in a user friendly way and meets the needs of the young person.

Areas covered in toolkit/workbook should be referenced within the young person’s Care/Pathway Plan in order that there is a record of work completed and that progress can be monitored and reviewed.

Adaptations for young people with specific learning needs should be considered beforehand and may need to be signposted to relevant agencies if necessary. For example, if the need is for support with dyslexia contact The British Dyslexia Association or contact the helpline on 0333 405 4555.

Specific support and guidance is also available through local colleges.

Free screen readers which can be used with the Get Ready for Adult Life CD-ROM and can be downloaded from the NaturalSoft website and the ReadPlease website. Both will also work with any text available electronically, including web pages.

Each young person with dyslexia and/or literacy or numeracy difficulties will have an individual learning style. They will need to be assessed; two examples of different learning styles are thinking in pictures or being shown practical tasks. Using a CD-Room is an alternative to using the toolkit or by working through tasks on a 1:1 basis.

To meet the needs of young people whose English is not their first language, translation services can also be accessed through the ReadPlease website and is also available through Microsoft Translator available on some computers.

Young people with a visual impairment (an eye condition that cannot be fully corrected using glasses) are likely to have support from the Sensory or Visual Impairment Support Services and may already have need adapted resources, specialist ICT equipment and low vision aids. Useful Websites are the National Blind Children's Society (NBCS) and the Royal National Institute of Blind People.

End