Preparation for Adulthood (PFA) Navigators
Our early life experiences help us to prepare for life as an adult. This should be recognised as early as possible, however, for a child / young person with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities there is an expectation that focus on PFA will start from Year 9 or 14 years of age. Conversations about a child / young persons future should involve themselves, their Parent Carers, teachers and support staff, as well as anyone else involved in their care and support.
Our Prepasration for Adulthood Navigators provide information and guidance to Parent Carers of children and young people aged 14-25 with SEND exploring their PFA journey. They offer guided conversations to explore options and decisions that may be available to you and your child / young person to consider as well as provide information resources that may be useful to you.
Not every child / young person will have an EHCP when exploring their transition into adulthood, that's ok as our PFA Navigators may still be able to help you.
What areas does PFA cover?
PFA covers all areas of your child / young persons life that will enable them to have the best outcomes as they enter adulthood, including:
- Further Education
- Activity Plans
- Finances and Benefits
- Employment and Volunteering
- Annual Health Checks
- Staying Healthy
- Being part of their local community
How does your PFA journey start?
Planning for transition into adulthood should start the year 9 annual review of an Education Health Care Plan with each subsequent review focusing on preparing for adulthood. This must include the move between childrens and adult services where these are applicable. The transition towards adulthood review will start to gather information about a child / young persons and their families aspirations for their future, including who needs to be involved in planning and support and what needs to be delivered to work towards these aspirations and goals. The review should explore provision accessible to a child / young person in order to support them best. This should consider how a child / young person will remain healthy, participate in society, live independantly, and any further education / employment opportunities they may want to persue.
What can our PFA Navigators offer?
As Parent Carers themselves, our PFA Navigators have their own lived experience of the SEND System in Shropshire. They offer an initial consultation call to explore what your experience of PFA is and how they might best be able to help you. Following on from this, they may provide information and resources specific to the support and guidance they have offered you, they may also offer a follow up call or check in with you via email.
You will be asked to complete a short form for our records and to cover our GDPR requirements. This information helps us to report back to our funders the impact of these roles and the importance of the opportunity for Parent Carers to talk to someone about their experiences.
Impact of Shropshires PFA Navigators
Our PFA Navigators provide a listening ear and an opportunity to talk through options to help families make informed decisions about their futures. Feedback from families has been really positive with many families reporting feeling heard, better informed, and having greater confidence in the decisions they are making.
You can read our reports below:
Year 1 Quarter 1
Year 1 Quarter 2
Year 1 Quarter 3
Year 1 Quarter 4
Year 1 Annual Report
Year 2 Quarter 1
Year 2 Quarter 2
Year 2 Quarter 3
Year 2 Quarter 4
Year 2 Annual Report