Preparing for Adulthood Strategy

The Strategy

Young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have the same aims and hopes as everyone else: to have fun, learn, work, make friends and be full participants in their community.

The Cheshire East SEND Partnership multi-agency Preparing for Adulthood Strategy (PDF, 2.1MB) outlines our Vision and Principles for Preparing for Adulthood (PfA), along with the challenges we need to understand and our priorities to ensure that young people with SEND in Cheshire East are prepared for adulthood, as early as possible, to achieve their individual aspirations.

How the strategy was developed

Over several years Education, Health and Social Care partners in Cheshire East have worked together to plan for the transition of young people into adulthood. However, the formal strategies and protocols have mainly focused on social care and health partners, rather than capturing the wide breadth of support all young people with SEND need to give them the best possible chance to achieve their full potential.

This area of work has been highlighted as a priority by both the Cheshire East Parent Carer Forum (CEPCF) and by young people themselves. In response, a co-production workshop was held in December 2019 to develop an overarching and holistic Preparing for Adulthood Strategy for the  SEND Partnership. This has been written in equal partnership through our Working Together principles with young people, parents and carers and professionals representing a wide range of partner organisations. Further work took place in January 2020 and September 2020, led by one of the workstreams of the 0-25 SEND Partnership. This builds on the themes identified at the initial workshop and identifies some additional issues due to the impact of COVID-19.

How the priorities will be delivered

The SEND Partnership will oversee and drive the strategy forward, and we will work Together with parent carers, young people and partners to deliver the identified improvements. We will on share updates on this work, alongside other SEND developments from the 0-25 SEND Partnership, regularly through our SENDing you the news webpage.