Transition Planning for Young People With Learning Disabilities: What Families Need to Know
The transition from children’s services to adult services is one of the most critical and most frequently mismanaged periods in the life of a young person with a learning disability. For families who have navigated the SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) system for years, the shift from the familiar world of Education, Health and Care Plans, SENCO support, and children’s therapies to the very different landscape of adult social care, employment support, and healthcare for adults can feel like falling off a cliff edge.
It does not have to be that way. This guide explains when transition planning should start, what processes are involved, what families are entitled to, and how to make the most of the transition period to set your young person up for the best possible adult life.
When Does Transition Planning Start?
By law, transition planning must begin by the time a young person is 14 years old. In practice, genuinely effective transition planning the kind that leads to good adult outcomes rather than placement crises requires meaningful engagement from age 14, with a substantial increase in activity from age 16 onwards.
The Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) review at age 14 should include a Transition Plan as a formal component. This plan should address: what the young person wants for their future in terms of employment, independence, and community life; what outcomes are being worked toward in the remaining school years; what adult services are expected to be involved; and who the key transition coordinator is.
The Key Processes in Transition
EHCP Annual Reviews and Transition Planning
The EHCP is the central document governing a young person’s education, health, and care provision from childhood through to age 25 (in education). Annual reviews from age 14 must include transition-specific content. From age 16, the annual review should be a formal transition review with explicit forward planning for adult services, housing, and employment.
Year 9 Review: The Starting Point
By the Year 9 annual review (typically age 13-14), the EHCP must include information about any provision to assist the young person in preparation for adulthood, including employment, independent living, community participation, and health. This is the legal trigger for transition planning to begin.
Adult Social Care Needs Assessment
Before a young person’s 18th birthday, local authorities should ensure that an adult social care needs assessment is completed under the Care Act 2014 not just a children’s assessment. This is a separate and distinct assessment from any children’s services assessment, and families should proactively request it if it has not been initiated. The assessment determines whether the young person has eligible care and support needs in adulthood and what the personal budget will be.
Continuing Children to Adult Health Services Transition
Health services transition alongside social care: the young person will move from children’s community teams (paediatric consultant, children’s community nurse, CAMHS) to adult health services (adult learning disability psychiatrist, community learning disability team, CMHT if needed). This handover must be planned, not abrupt. Families should request joint meetings between children’s and adult health services during the transition period.
What Families Are Entitled to Demand
- A named transition coordinator someone from the local authority or EHCP team who is responsible for coordinating the transition plan and holding agencies to account
- Involvement in all transition planning meetings families and, critically, the young person themselves must be central participants, not just informed of decisions made by professionals
- A draft adult care and support plan before the 18th birthday not a promise of a plan, but an actual plan with funded provision in place
- A Carer’s Assessment if you are a parent or family member who provides unpaid care, you are entitled to a separate Carer’s Assessment from the local authority, and your needs as a carer must be considered in transition planning
- Information about housing options whether that is supported living, living at home with outreach support, or residential care, the housing question must be addressed explicitly in the transition plan. It should not be left until after the young person has turned 18 and the EHCPhas ended
Common Failures in Transition and How to Push Back
Transition planning failures are unfortunately common. The most frequent are:
| Common Failure | What to Do |
| Transition planning that starts too late – not until 17 or even 18 | Request an immediate Year 9 or Year 10 transition review in writing; cite Section 19 of the Children and Families Act 2014 |
| Adult social care not engaged until after the 18th birthday | Formally request an adult Care Needs Assessment under Care Act 2014 s.9 in writing at age 17; the duty to assess is triggered immediately on request |
| EHCP ending with no adult provision in place | This is a planning failure with serious consequences; contact IPSEA or your local SENDIASS service for urgent advice on challenging the decision |
| Young person not included in their own transition planning | All meetings must include or meaningfully consult the young person; request accessible formats, supported communication, or an Independent Advocate |
| Housing not addressed in the transition plan | Raise housing explicitly at every transition review from age 16; some supported living waiting lists are 2-3 years long – you cannot start this conversation too early |
AESN Care’s Transition Support
AESN Care works with young people approaching adulthood, their families, and local authority commissioners to plan and deliver smooth transitions from children’s to adult support. We provide specialist supported living, community outreach, and transition support services and we engage with families from the transition planning stage, not just at the point of placement. Contact AESN Care to discuss transition support for your young person.
