Preparing for Adulthood is often associated with transition.

The move into further education, employment, adult social care, and leaving school.

Yet by the time those conversations begin, many of the foundations for a successful transition have already been laid – or missed.

That's why some of the strongest local authorities are starting to think differently.

Rather than treating Preparing for Adulthood as a milestone towards the end of a young person's education, they're embedding it throughout the EHCP journey. Aspirations, independence, community participation, employment, and healthy lives become part of everyday planning, annual reviews, and decision making, rather than conversations reserved for Year 9 onwards.

Beyond compliance

Most SEND teams understand the statutory requirements around Preparing for Adulthood.

The bigger challenge is making those principles meaningful and consistent across every EHCP.

Questions many local authorities are asking include:

• When should Preparing for Adulthood conversations really begin?
• How do we ensure they're reflected consistently across plans?
• How do we support practitioners to have confident, meaningful conversations?
• How do leaders know whether Preparing for Adulthood is genuinely embedded across their service?

These aren't questions with simple answers. They're also questions that almost every local authority is currently exploring in one way or another.

Learning from each other

Across the country, councils are developing different approaches.

Some are introducing new quality assurance processes. Others are reviewing templates, strengthening annual reviews, or finding new ways to improve practitioner confidence and consistency.

Every authority has something to share, and just as importantly, every authority has something to learn.

In a period of continued demand, workforce pressures, and evolving SEND reforms, the opportunity to learn from peers has never been more valuable.

Continuing the conversation

Preparing for Adulthood is a challenge every local authority is approaching differently. Join our next Community Practice Network to hear what's working, share your own experiences, and learn from peers across the country.

This network is usually for our community of local authority customers, but we have a small number of spaces reserved for non-customers who would like to take part.

Places are intentionally limited to keep discussions small, practical, and interactive.