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Accessibility Statement

PfA Year 9

Why do we need to plan for the future?

We need to start thinking about the future and what it could look like, as well as identifying the right support to help along the way. This means everyone is involved in the planning and decision-making, including the young person, parents, carers and any professionals involved.

Planning for the future (also known as Preparing for Adulthood) formally begins in Year 9, as there is a lot to think about. Years 10 and 11 focus on developing future plans and monitoring progress. But for now, it's about starting to understand the process, what will happen, and the decisions that need to be made. 

What if I have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)?

If you have an EHCP, the preparing for adulthood process is a little bit more formalised. An annual review is a meeting that happens once a year to review your EHCP. At this meeting, everyone involved in supporting you will discuss the support that needs to be put in place to enable you to move towards your educational goals and life aspirations and to live as independently as possible. See the tab at the bottom of the page for specific information on your EHCP.

What do I need to start thinking about?
  • The young person’s personal profile (on their Individual Support Plan) should have an increased focus on goals and aspirations related to PFA, including education and employment. Use person-centred planning tools to support this, for example, PATH.
  • Allow time to gather the young person’s views, especially where they use alternative communication.
  • Raise aspirations for life, increase motivation and challenge stereotypes.
  • Share information about what is available locally and encourage attendance at a Local Offer Live event (held annually) as well as other advertised events, with a focus on having conversations about Preparing for Adulthood. 
  • Identify who will support the young person in accessing work experience or employment. This needs to be a consistent and trusted adult. 
  • Create a Career Plan and/or Vocational Profile. Your school will have a Careers Adviser to help you. They will ensure the young person is regularly encouraged to look at their career plan/vocational profile.
  • Identify post-16 options for the young person to explore after leaving school that will help them achieve their aims, goals, and future outcomes.
  • Start talking about the skills needed for future independence. This may be done at home with the parent and young person, or as part of a planning meeting at school with professionals, depending on the young person's needs. 
  • Start talking about their aspirations for the future and the outcomes they wish to achieve. This may be done using person-centred planning tools.
  • Start thinking about curriculum opportunities that might be appropriate for developing the young person’s independence skills, e.g., travel training, money management/budgeting, and domestic skills.
  • What are the health-related skills required for future independence, for example, making appointments, going to a pharmacy, etc.
  • Use the time the young person spends away from home/family and consider how this can be built upon to help them build independence. If this is something the young person does not currently do, now may be the time to start exploring it, if appropriate. 
  • Begin planning/recording which resources/services may be needed in adult life, e.g., equipment, therapies, prescriptions, dentist, optician, diet and exercise, sexual health, etc.
  • People with a Learning Disability are entitled to an Annual Health Check from the age of 14; ask your GP surgery about support to access one. The Annual Health Check is a great preventive health opportunity; it helps your young person become familiar with accessing the GP for other health appointments in adulthood.
  • Think about the young person’s friendship group, closest friend(s) and other key people in their network (their ‘circle of support’). Support your young person in developing and maintaining friendships – identify how the curriculum can help and record this in their Individual Plan. 
  • Think about any out-of-school activities your young person does or would like to do to promote their participation in society. You can search for activities on the Local Offer Activities Directory
  • Use the time the young person spends away from home/family, and consider how this can be built upon to help them build friendships and gain independence. If this is something the young person does not currently do, now may be the time to start exploring it, if appropriate. 

  • Your school will have a Careers Adviser to help you.

  • Ensure the young person and their parents are aware that some “full-time” college courses are likely to be 3 days long. 

  • The Mental Capacity Act applies from the age of 16. Now would be a good time for parents/carers to understand this information, in case it is appropriate for the future. 

Transition planning and preparing for adulthood should start in year 9. All annual reviews should focus on the young person's aspirations and ideas for their adult life and how these can be met.

This is an opportunity to look beyond educational needs and to include wider aspects of life, such as:

  • health needs,
  • personal and social development,
  • training and employment,
  • transport and independent travel,
  • housing and leisure

It is the responsibility of the school to make sure that the young person, their family and other agencies are informed in good time about the planned annual review meeting and that it will have a focus on transition planning so they can prepare in advance.

Health

It is important that the key health professionals involved in the young person's life attend the year 9 review and start discussing with the young person and their family when the key health service provision changes, from children to adult health services, will occur.

Social care

The disabled children's team will take the lead role in attending year 9 reviews for all young people known to them and will also represent adult social care, providing a range of information about adult services to individuals and parents, if they wish to receive it at this point.

The review meeting should result in a transition plan which records the actions needed to help the young person achieve their short and long-term goals.

Who else is involved?

The key roles involved in the transition process at this stage are:

  • Lead practitioner - acts as a point of contact and provides additional support as required by the young person and/or their family, ensures assessments and other documents are completed by all agencies, and keeps a detailed record of all activity.
  • Disabled Children's Team - works with the specialist adult pathway team to assess and review the social care needs of the young person and their family.
  • Health transitions are the most complex and often involve lots of people; a person-centred approach is taken based on the specific circumstances of the young person. A health lead professional will be identified as the single point of contact, liaising with other health professionals.
  • Your school will have a Careers Adviser to help you
Next PfA Year 10 
en-GB
Last updated: 15/05/2026