What's Next? Transitions advice for families

Information and advice to help young people in Plymouth make the move from services for children to adult services was the focus of an event for families yesterday.

The ‘Transitions’ event took place in the Upper Guildhall on Tuesday 23 April from 9.30am until midday and included a wealth of exhibitions and information stands, staffed by professionals in children and adult social care, education, health and other support services available for young people and those with disabilities.

It is organised annually by the ‘Plymouth Parent & Family Forum’, facilitated by Plymouth Parent Partnership – an arm’s length service of Plymouth City Council responsible for providing advice and support for parents in the city.

The event aims to create a one-stop-shop for parents and young people wanting to know more about the services on offer to help make the move to adult life. It caters for all young people including options for those with disabilities, mental health issues and those simply leaving school and embarking on training or a career.

Transition is a hot topic within the Council, as its services were recently reviewed as part of the 100 priorities introduced by the new administration in May. As a result the Council now offers better public information, a wider variety of short break services for families of children with disabilities and more face to face contact with professionals throughout the transitions process.

Councillors Nicky Williams and Sue McDonald went along to the event yesterday to show their support. “The Transitions event is fantastic and is a good, visual and informal way for families to talk to professionals about their options.” said: Cllr Williams, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People. “It’s tough enough for your average teenager nowadays to become an adult, and disabled young people and their families have lots of other considerations, as well as the usual questions of education, training, employment, housing and finances.

“We’ve streamlined our transition processes to make them easier and more user-friendly, we’ve introduced more face to face contact through meetings at schools, which means young people meet their adult support workers much earlier, and we’ve revamped the information we provide to young people and families.”

The Plymouth Parent & Family Forum is hosting a number of events this year for parents including: Summer Forum on Tuesday 2 July 2013 from 9.30am until 12.30pm in The Upper Guildhall and the annual Special Needs Forum on Tuesday 5 November 2013 from 9.30am until 1.30pm in The Upper and Lower Guildhall.

For more information about these events or any issues affecting parents in the city, contact the Plymouth Parent Partnership on 01752 258933 or email parentforum@plymouth.gov.uk