The approach
After five years at Prior's Court young
person Charlie transitioned on in
November 2019.
Charlie's transition preparation was
spread over five weeks. The priority was
for him to become settled within his new
home and to build positive relationships
with his new support staff.
The transition plan involved key people
from across Charlie's life, alongside visits
to Prior's Court from key professionals
from Charlie's new provision. There were
opportunities for these new key people
to build a relationship with Charlie and
adopt the skills of the staff who he was
being supported by in his house and
class.
New provision staff were introduced
gradually alongside Prior's Court staff
who knew Charlie well, including the
Nights team. Overall, there were around
130 hours of observation shifts at
Prior's Court by staff from Charlie's new
provision.
Meanwhile, Charlie got the opportunity
to become familiar with his new
placement through transition visits and
taster sessions involving familiar staff
members from Prior's Court and his
parents.
A booklet using symbols and photos
of his new environment and new staff
was also made available to Charlie,
while Prior's Court staff visited the new
provision independently to complete risk
assessments.
Making transitions smooth and successful
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Transitioning to life after Prior's Court can
be challenging for our young people, so it is
important for us to make the process as smooth
as possible.
An important part of this is to empower the parents/guardians
of our young people with information on the process and
options available to them.
Our Transitions Officer Ania Zielnik leads on the process as well
as hosting information events, providing guides and being a
supportive point of contact.
Another method of support is showing examples to parents of
what goes into successful transitions. This is one such example.
The parent's view
Charlie's mum Helen said: "Ania
was very proactive in managing
the transition along with the
excellent social worker. I don't
think there is anything that
could have been managed more
effectively.
"It obviously was still difficult for
Charlie as it was a big change and
I think it took six months for him
to really settle in well.
"We are happy with what we have
chosen for Charlie and he is now
happy and settled."
Why this transition was a success
1. Joint working between parents, the local authority and
Prior's Court throughout the process.
2. Putting Charlie at the centre of the transition. This
included:
• all parties working out what Charlie's future placement
would look like including location, accommodation type,
support levels and access to opportunities.
• thorough sharing of information.
• once the placement was approved, holding a dedicated
transition meeting with all stakeholders to cover all aspects
of transition and specific actions that need to be completed.
• ensuring Charlie had ongoing access to specialist
provision to meet his needs, including health,
communication, behaviour and sensory support.
• working out a transition plan which offered Charlie opportunities to build
relationships with his new staff and to become familiar with new environments at his
pace.
• providing information to Charlie in his preferred format, at the right time, so he
was fully involved in the transition.
3. Involving a consistent core team at Prior's Court that knew Charlie well in
supporting visits to the new placement to make it a positive experience and share their
knowledge with Charlie's new staff team.
4. Ongoing communication with all parties involved to review and adapt the
transition plan as required, depending on Charlie's response, throughout the transition,
right up to move day and beyond.