In most cases, parents, carers and/or young people who will require the support of the preparing for adulthood team will already be known to these services. 

These people will be contacted by the team directly to discuss their individual needs before they turn 18.

For children with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan, the preparing for adulthood team will identify those young people who would benefit from a needs assessment to support their transition to adulthood. This includes meeting with children and their parents/carers at EHCP reviews (from year 9 onwards) and working with colleagues from other teams. 

Otherwise, those who feel they need the support of this service, but who are not known to any of the other Children’s or Adult Services teams, will need to do a ‘Needs Assessment’. 

This could either be a children’s or adult's assessment depending on the age of the individual involved:

• If you are under 18, visit our children's social care needs assessments page
• If you are aged 18 or above and have not had contact with any Children's Social Care teams (such as those listed above), visit our adult social care needs assessments page

Guide for parents of young people with SEND

• Read our detailed guide, divided into specific, year-by-year sections from Year 9 and above. 
• Read our strategy which outlines our responsibilities and vision for delivering this support. 

Links and more information

Visit the Local Offer page which explains preparing for adulthood in more detail.

Alternatively, use the details below to contact the team:

• Email - PFA@bexley.gov.uk
• Telephone - 020 8303 7777