"Preparing for Adulthood" is a phrase many families in England first meet in a review meeting, often around Year 9. It can sound like a big formal process, but the idea behind it is simple: planning early for the life a young person wants as an adult, and the skills and support that will help them get there.
This article explains what it means, the four areas it covers, and how you can use the same ideas at home, whether or not your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). It is general information about England, not legal advice.
Preparing for Adulthood, often shortened to PfA, is a way of thinking about the move from childhood to adult life for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). It comes from the SEND Code of Practice, which says planning for adult life should start early and should be built around what the young person wants for their own future.
It is not a test or a checklist that someone passes or fails. It is a shared way for families, schools, colleges and services to talk about the same things.
If a young person has an EHCP, every annual review from Year 9 onwards should include Preparing for Adulthood. The plan should start to look ahead, with outcomes and support linked to these four areas, and it can continue up to age 25 if the young person stays in education or training and still needs the plan.
The most important part is the young person's own voice: what they want, what they find hard and what helps. Reviews should be planned around that, not just around what adults think.
If you are unsure what your child's plan should include, your local SENDIAS service gives free, impartial advice, and IPSEA has clear information about EHCPs and the law.
Most young people with SEND do not have an EHCP, and many have no diagnosis at all. The four areas are still a really useful way to look at growing up, because they cover the parts of life that school subjects often don't. You can use them to:
The four areas are broad, so it helps to break them into small, concrete skills. For example:
For each skill, it can help to say how much help it needs now: with help, with a reminder, on my own, or "I could show someone". Our article on independence skills for autistic teenagers explains this step-by-step approach.
Our free Life Skills Checklist lists 108 everyday skills sorted into the four Preparing for Adulthood areas, with the four steps for each. It is a printable PDF with no sign-up, and it can be a helpful thing to bring to a review.
If your young person would rather keep track on their phone, On My Terms is our app built around the same areas. They tick a skill each time they do it, choose when they are ready for the next step, and can print a report with their own words for review meetings. It has a 14-day free trial.
Both use the Preparing for Adulthood areas as a guide. They are independent tools, not connected to or approved by the Department for Education, NDTi or any local authority.
If you would like to put the four areas into practice, these may help.
Free
To buy, if it would be useful
Employment (including further education and training), independent living, community inclusion (friends, travel and being part of the community) and good health.
For young people with an EHCP in England, every annual review from Year 9 onwards should include Preparing for Adulthood, and a plan can continue up to age 25 if the young person stays in education or training and still needs it.
No. Formal Preparing for Adulthood planning is part of EHCP reviews, but the four areas are a useful way for any family to think about growing up, with or without a plan or a diagnosis.
Your local SENDIAS service gives free, impartial advice, and IPSEA has clear information about EHCPs and the law. This article is general information, not legal advice.
