If your child has a statement of special educational needs, you will have been invited each year to a review meeting at school to talk about their progress.
What are transition planning reviews/meetings?
If your child has a statement of special educational needs or now has an Individual Development Plan (IDP) you will be invited to a review meeting each year. The review looks at the document to see if your child’s needs are being met. As your child gets older the meetings also focus on their future post school – what they may be interested in, what support they may need and what their options are.
Under the new Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal Act (ALNET) one of the key priorities for school Additional Learning Needs Co-ordinators (ALNCos) is to liaise with careers specialists to ensure that learners with ALN receive appropriate careers advice.
Careers Wales advisers work with young people in school to help them think about what they want to do when they leave school and in the longer-term future. Advisers can also speak to parents to ensure that you are aware of the options available and help your child to make informed decisions that are right for them.
Professionals working with your child, such as the Careers Adviser, may be invited to the review meetings to provide information and advice. Reviews should be person-centred and focus on the needs and wants of your child. Your involvement in these meetings is important so it is useful to prepare what you want to say and what you would like to ask.
What can I do to prepare for transition planning meetings?
Talk to your son or daughter about how things are going in school and about their ideas for the future. Think about questions you may want to ask. Here are some topics to help you get started:
School
- What qualifications will my child have when they leave school?
- Can they stay on after Year 11?
- How is the school preparing young people for when they leave?
- Will there be any work experience opportunities before they leave school?
- What support is my child having in school?
Future options
- I don’t know enough about options for the future. How can I find out more?
- My child has support in school. What happens when they leave and go onto college?
- What sort of courses does the local college offer?
- What is Jobs Growth Wales+/Training?
- How do you get an apprenticeship, and can young people get additional support on these?
- How many days a week is college/Jobs Growth Wales+/social services provision?
- My child wants to get a job but needs help. What support is out there for this?
- How long can a young person stay in college or training?
- What happens to any benefits they get when they move on from school?
- What practical support will we get to make sure that the move from school is successful?
Social Service provision
- 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 son or daughter has a social worker now. Will they still have a social worker when they are 18?
- Will our social worker change when my child reaches 18?
- My child doesn’t have a social worker, but I feel that we need one. What can we do?
Health provision
- How will my child access health support when they are 18?
- My child has therapies in school, what happens when they leave?
Transport
- When my child leaves school how will they get to college/work/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?
- Is there a bus to the college and who pays for it?
You might also like
Find out what things you should be thinking about to help you support your child with planning their future.
Find out what options are available for your child when they leave school.
Find out the support available from Careers Wales to help you and your child plan for the future.
Find out the many agencies that support young people with Additional Learning Needs (ALN) and their families.
Find out about the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal Act Wales 2018 (ALNET).