Preparing for adulthood: planning from Year 9

Step by step

1. Start with the Year 9 annual review

   From Year 9, every EHC-plan review must focus on preparing for adulthood. Put the young person's wishes, communication needs and decision-making support at the centre, then revisit the plan at every annual review.

2. Write outcomes across four areas

   Plan for employment or further education, independent living, friends and community participation, and good health. Turn aspirations into clear outcomes, provision and named actions rather than leaving them as general hopes.

3. Compare post-16 routes early

   Use open days, current course pages and the relevant council Local Offer to compare mainstream college, supported learning, supported internships and specialist provision. For an EHC plan, ask the caseworker about consultation and naming deadlines; a provider visit is not an offer or funding decision.

4. Coordinate health transition

   Ask each children's health team when its adult-service planning starts, who will take over and what will be handed across. Include communication, medication, equipment, annual health checks and a health passport where relevant. Different services transition at different times.

5. Ask about social-care assessment when need is likely

   There is no single automatic referral age for every young person. If adult care and support may be needed, ask children's and adult social care when an assessment should begin, who owns the transition and what happens if adult eligibility differs from children's services.

6. Plan decision-making, money, housing and travel

   From 16, decision-making rights increasingly sit with the young person, with support where needed and the Mental Capacity Act applying. Check benefits, money management, housing options, travel training and post-16 travel assistance separately; none follows automatically from a college place.