Transition – Post 19

Pupils typically leave Amwell View School at the end of Year 14 (the end of the academic year that they turn 19 years old). Most young people transition to a local Further Education college to continue their education within a supported learning department.

Transition planning discussions usually begin from Year 9 with initial conversations about parent and carer wishes for the future, and the options which may be available to explore post-school. From Year 13, parents and carers are supported by Coral Thomas (senior parent support adviser) to have more detailed discussions about next steps and options for the future. Parents and carers are encouraged to visit local colleges, and Coral can support with arranging visit dates; these ideally take place within the college day so that families can see what a typical college day looks like and ask questions about the provision that is available. Due to Local Authority processes, it’s recommended that families explore their nearest college along with any others that they may be interested in.

College assessments usually begin in Year 13 and involve college transition support workers and tutors visiting pupils in school to get to know their interests and support needs. School staff will seek permission from parents/carers to share pupil plans and profiles with colleges to support the assessment process. In Year 14, pupils may also be invited into college to spend some time in the college environment.

In the final year of school, the EHCP review will be held in the Autumn Term to ensure that the EHCP fully reflects the young person’s interests and support needs. As part of this process, parents are asked to state their preference for the college they would like their young person to attend. The EHCP is then sent to the local college (and any others that have been identified) as a formal consultation by the Local Authority SEND Team so that colleges can respond to state whether they can meet the identified needs. The legal deadline for provision to be named in the EHCP is the 31st March of the final year of school.

College provision is usually 4 days per week, and many young people access an appropriate social care provision on their non-college day and during the holidays; this could include a carer to take them out in the community or access to a local day service. The 0-25 Together Service in Hertfordshire provide social care packages to young people with a learning disability and carry out an assessment to explore support that may be available to families during non-college time. It is import that families are known to the 0-25 Together Service before leaving Amwell View School to ensure this process is as smooth as possible (other Local Authorities will have similar teams to refer to). The school parent support adviser can support with information about the referral process.

Families can apply for transport to college via the Local Authority school transport team. Part of the criteria for transport being agreed is that the young person is attending their nearest suitable college as named in the EHCP.

We use Arbor and Compass + as a way of sharing pupil information, including a record of work-related experiences they have had, measured against the Gatsby benchmarks. All this information is shared with the destination college for pupils. The pupil’s belongings, learning, communication aids and final school plans are sent home to parents at the end of the year so that they can be shared with the college the young person transitions to.

If you have any queries or concerns, Coral Thomas (senior parent support adviser) can be contacted via email - Coral.Thomas@amwell.herts.sch.uk or by calling 01920 293176.