How social care support changes from age 14 to 25 if you have complex needs
Who this page is for
If all of these things describe you, then this is the right page for you:
- you have been diagnosed with a learning disability
- you’re living in Lewisham
- you have an education, health and care (EHC) plan
- you’re between 14 and 18 years old
- you’re in a special school
- you are, or were, supported by the Children with Complex Needs (CWCN) service before the age of 18
- you got support through the Social Care team before you were 18
- we have told you you’re eligible for a full Care Act assessment to decide if you’re eligible for adult social care
- you have been through a financial assessment that’s decided whether Lewisham will pay for your adult care.
If you meet all of the descriptions on this list you should be eligible for support from the Transitions team.
Who this page is not for
There is other guidance you’ll find useful if any of these other things describe you:
- The ‘who this page is for’ list does not describe you: If all the things on the list does not describe you then you are not eligible for support from the Transitions team. You can do a social care self-assessment to find out what social care support you might get as an adult.
- No Education, Health and Care plan: If you’re under 18 and do not have an Education, Health and Care plan, but believe you should have, then contact Lewisham Special Educational Needs team or the NHS via your GP.
What you can expect each year
This is what’s likely to happen for you each year. This is just a guide. The timing might end up being slightly different for you.
14 to 15 years old
As a child you’ll already have been having a meeting with your school every year. The meeting is called the education, health and care (EHC) plan annual review. If you have not been having this meeting, contact your school’s Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) to arrange it.
The meeting will happen every year until you are 25.
When you reach age 14 or 15 (in year 9 of school), your EHC plan annual review meeting will be about preparing you for adulthood at the age of 18.
In the meeting we’ll talk about:
- finding a job (and the education you’ll need)
- where you’ll live
- having friends and being part of your community
- being happy, healthy, safe and confident about your future.
We’ll listen to what you want and need.
Someone from Lewisham Council may be invited to this meeting. We call that person a preparing for adulthood (PfA) senior case officer. They’re from the Special Educational Needs (SEN) team. That team will tell you the person’s name.
15 to 16 years old
You’ll get help from someone at your school. It might be your special educational needs co-ordinator (Senco).
They’ll complete a form about you. They’ll get you and your parent or carer to check it. We call the form an early notification form.
Professionals will look at your form. They’ll pick the best person or service to support you when you’re an adult. It might be one of these people or services:
- the Adult Social Care Transition team
- the Clinical Learning Disability Service
- an occupational therapist
- the Single Point of Access (Physical, Sensory and Autism) (SPA) team
- Mental Health Services
- Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) for continuing health care (CHC).
For some services, depending on where you get your education, we’ll assign you an occupational therapist, nurse or social worker from Adult Social Care. This will happen before you are 18 years old.
Your transition worker will make sure everyone supporting you works closely together. They’ll also come to your EHC plan annual reviews.
You’ll have another education, health and care plan annual review.
17 years old
Your social worker will work with the place where you learn. Together they’ll write down your:
- care needs
- strengths
- abilities
- things you want to do as an adult.
We call this a Care Act assessment. Your social worker will use it to work out if you can get adult social care support. They’ll be checking a government law called the Care Act 2014.
You do not have to read the Care Act in full, but if you’d like to understand it better you can see an Easyread version of the Care Act (PDF file).
If they find out that you cannot get support as an adult, you’ll be given information and advice about other services and resources available.
You’ll have another education, health and care plan annual review.
17 and a half years old
If the Care Act assessment finds you can get support after 18 years old, we’ll tell you what kinds of support it is. The support will probably be different from what you have as a child. We’ll explain the differences.
We call the full list of support that we create a personal budget allocation and support planning.
We’ll create a plan to make sure there’s no gap in your support when you turn 18. The support plan must be validated by a manager to make sure it meets the council’s statutory responsibilities.
18 years old
This is when you’ll move from child health and social care. We call this time transition.
We’ll make sure the adult care and support package is ready for your 18th birthday.
You can do a self-assessment to find out what social care support you might get as an adult.
You’ll have another education, health and care plan annual review.
18 to 19 years old
We’ll review how the support plan is working. That will usually be within 6 weeks of it starting.
We’ll usually do another review of your support plan each year, or when your needs change.
You’ll also have another education, health and care plan annual review.
20 to 25 years old
If you are in further education, the Adult Social Care team will help you think about what you want to do when you leave.
You’ll have an education, health and care plan annual review every year.
We’ll usually do another review of your support plan each year, or when your needs change.