National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy for Young Disabled People

Our vision

Our vision is that young disabled people in Scotland feel confident in their transition to adulthood and are empowered and supported to control their own path to success.

“Not everyone will have the same path; success looks different for everyone… People shouldn’t dictate what you do, you should decide what support you need.”

“We should feel happy, supported and confident as we move towards whatever comes next.”

“[Support should] help disabled young people and students with additional support needs transition to whatever destination they want to go to.” Young People during engagement on the Vision Statement

This vision statement has been developed with young disabled people themselves, based on the things they told us. Many young disabled people express optimism and excitement about the future and are keen to move on to the next stage of their lives, but need support to be more empowered, listened to and to be able to direct the transitions process through the journey towards whichever destination is right for them.

86% of respondents to question 3 of the online survey on the Statement of Intent strongly agreed or agreed that the proposed vision statement as set out in the Statement of Intent, was the correct one for the strategy. However feedback acknowledged that, whilst the aspiration of the vision statement was welcome, there were some reflections on its relevance to young people who may lack capacity for decision making or to independently identify their own goals. Practical challenges in relation to measuring and quantifying happiness, in the proposed wording for the vision in the Statement of Intent, were also raised.

The vision statement was subsequently revisited and amended by the External Strategic Working Group, who endeavoured to retain as much of the aspiration and voices of the young people who had contributed to its development, in the context of the feedback.

The vision statement seeks to motivate everyone with a stake in the strategy and provide direction towards a shared future for young disabled people in their transition to adulthood. Whilst important as serving as a constant reference and anchor point to the change required, we know that the vision cannot stand on its own.

For that reason, we have developed a theory about what needs to change to achieve the vision. This is communicated in the driver diagram below and explained in more detail in the next chapter which looks at the identified priorities for the strategy.

Text for graphic below:

Vision

In order that:

• Young disabled people in Scotland feel confident in their transition to adulthood and are empowered and supported to control their own path to success.

Primary Drivers

We must:

• Enable choice, control and empowerment for the young person.
• Provide clear and accessible information.
• Co-ordinate support and encourage communication across sectors.
• Establish high quality transitions practices.
• Collect data to measure progress and improvements.
• Connect to wider policy landscape.

Secondary Drivers

This means:

• Allowing enough time for the planning process.
• Supporting practitioners to adopt person-led approach to transitions planning.
• Ensuring young people can explore and express their aspirations and ambitions.
• Helping young people and parent and carers to access networks of support.
• Providing young disabled people and parent/carers with the right information they need in a way that suits them.
• Ensuring young people are aware of their rights, how to claim them, and where to go if they feel they are not being upheld.
• Everyone working well together to deliver the young person’s plan.
• Practitioners understanding their roles, responsibilities and statutory duties in relation to transitions.
• Supporting local planning partners to better assess, resource and deliver services which support young disabled people to experience a smooth transition in the move from children’s services to adult services.
• Incorporating ARC Scotland’s seven principles of good transitions into local policy and practice
• Ensuring that learning from local transitions work informs national policy and the continual improvement of transitions support for young people across Scotland. 
• Collecting and making available robust and relevant data where possible
• Using data collection and reporting to improve transitions, including effective planning and commissioning of local services
• Collating the existing range of policies, legislation and improvement activity in a more strategic and coherent way, making it easier to navigate.