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Individual Development Plan review

Find out more about the Individual Development Plan (IDP) and how you can prepare for the review.

If your child has an IDP or a Statement of Special Educational Needs, they will have an annual review of that document and the support provided. Careers Advisers may be invited to those reviews to outline options and support your child with their future plans.

If your child has an IDP the school or local authority can share the IDP with the new provider so they are aware of your child’s support needs. Careers Wales will only share information on your child’s needs with their consent.

If your child is in year 14 in school (age 18/19) and they are looking to enter further learning or Jobs Growth Wales+ the Careers Adviser can write a Learning and Skills Plan. This is a document that outlines their education and training needs and identifies the support needed to meet those needs. The Careers Adviser can share this document with the new provider, so they are aware of what needs to be put in place.

Prepare for an IDP review

Talk to your child about how things are going in school or college and about their ideas for the future. Think about questions you may want to ask in the review. Here are some topics to help you get started:

College

You can ask these questions if your child is thinking of going to college after leaving school or is already in college.

In college now

You could ask questions like:

  • What qualifications will my child have when they leave college?
  • Can they stay on this college course after this year?
  • How is the college preparing young people for when they leave?
  • Will there be any work experience opportunities before they leave college?
  • What support is my child having?

In school now but wanting to go to college

You could ask questions like:

  • Can my child visit the college before attending to see what it's like?
  • How does my child apply for college?
  • What support will my child have in college

Planning for the future

Some questions to help you and your child to start planning for the future:

  • I don’t know enough about options for the future. How can I find out more?
  • My child has support in school and college. Can they get support if they go into work or other options?
  • What is Jobs Growth Wales+ and training?
  • How do you get an apprenticeship, and can young people get additional support on these?
  • How many days a week is Jobs Growth Wales+ or social services provision?
  • My child wants to get a job but needs help. What support is out there for them?
  • How long can a young person stay on training?
  • What happens to any benefits they get when they move on from school or college?
  • What practical support will we get to make sure that the move from school or college is successful?
  • What is supported employment?

Transport

Some transport related questions you could ask:

  • When my child leaves college how will they get to training, work or social services provision?
  • Is there any support for travel to training to help my child learn how to travel independently?
  • If there is support for transport, how do I access it?

Social services provision

Questions related to social services provision related you could ask:

  • What sort of activities could my child do with social services?
  • How many days a week could they access?
  • What age groups would they be with?
  • What happens if my child has medical issues that need to be supported during the day?
  • How do I find out more about supported or independent living?
  • Are there any benefits or grants available?
  • My child has a social worker now. Will they still have a social worker when they leave college?
  • My child doesn’t have a social worker, but I feel that we need one. What can we do?

What's the purpose of an IDP review?

In the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (ALNET) Act Welsh Government describe the purpose of an IDP review.

The purpose of a review is to consider:

  • The child or young person’s progress towards achieving the intended outcomes
  • Whether the child or young person still has ALN and, if so, whether their needs have changed and if so, what those needs now are, the continued suitability of the outcomes and, if appropriate, decide new or revised outcomes
  • Whether the Additional Learning Provision (ALP) and any other provision (namely, a place at a particular institution, board and lodging) to meet the child or young person’s reasonable needs for ALP is still appropriate and whether additional or different ALP is called for
  • Whether the child or young person might need to receive the ALP at a particular school or other institution and whether board and lodging may be needed
  • Consider any other matters related to the child or young person’s education or training which affect the IDP (for instance a forthcoming transition), or in the case of a young person not at a maintained school whether it is necessary to maintain the IDP to meet the young person’s reasonable needs for education or training
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