Transition

In promoting services and supports that achieve inclusion, we pay particular attention to the issues and impact faced by people who need support throughout their lives.

All too often, people’s experiences and overall life chances are eroded as the result of major change associated with a move from one kind of service/support to another, often on the basis of age (e.g. child-adult, adult-older age); or following major life events (e.g. bereavement, sudden disability or ill health, leaving or moving home, moving into or out of residential care).

We work with local authorities and their partners to better understand and respond to the needs and aspirations of people who need support throughout their lives; and who have become, or are at risk of becoming, disconnected from family, friends, communities & opportunities as a result of these transitions.

In addition to specific pieces of work commissioned by local organisations or as part of broader initiatives (e.g. early intervention and prevention pilots) we capture important learning about what works in relation to this critical theme from all of our work.  For example, circles of support – described under Person Centred Approaches - can increase people’s connections to family, friends and communities as a support mechanism at times of crisis and to facilitate good decision making in the face of major change; the Inclusion Web can help identify the people and places in someone’s life and how these change over time. These examples and specific tools and interventions that can help at particular stages, ages and circumstances can be accessed from the publications and resources pages.

Examples of our work on transition and life chances include:-

• National evaluation of the pre retirement health initiative, resulting in the Gap Years report on supporting people in mid life to increase their health, wellbeing and inclusion in paid and non paid work
• Making a difference through volunteering: research into the nature and impact of volunteer support for people in transition from hospital to home
• Increasing the voice, choice and control of older people at risk of moving into residential care

The National Transition Support Programme

One of the issues identified in Aiming High for Disabled Children (launched in May 2007) was that more work was needed to improve and co-ordinate services for disabled young people in transition to adult life. To address this, the government announced the Transition Support Programme, which would aim to raise the standards of transition in all local areas.

The Council for Disabled Children and partners are working as the National Transition Support Team for the Transition Support Programme.

The partner organisations are: ACT (Association for Children's Palliative Care), ARC (Association for Real Change), The Children's Society, NCERCC (The National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care), National Autistic Society, National Children's Bureau, Scope, Speaking Up and TreeHouse.

The National Transition Support Team has three main roles: 

• Drive and shape the programme in local areas through work with regional advisers, and disabled young people and their families;
• Engage with and exchange good practice in transition through websites, targeted information sheets and other resources to help build capacity; and
• Identify the support needs of local areas and work in partnership with regional advisers, the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department of Health to improve transition practice