A Time of Change

This can be a particularly tricky process for people with learning disabilities who may need extra help and guidance to make decisions about their futures. Yet concerningly, young people with learning disabilities and their families frequently report an absence of clear information about transitions planning, lack of advice and guidance about navigating the complex systems and a lack of joined-up working between services including children’s and adult’s services.

Scotland’s new National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy for Young Disabled People 2025-2030 provides an important opportunity to take a more joined-up approach to transitions for young disabled people in Scotland. The strategy is clear that improving transitions outcomes requires a more co-ordinated and collaborative approach that combines the efforts of all relevant partners.

It is underpinned by ARC Scotland’s seven Principles of Good Transitions which emphasise the importance of early, person-led planning and decision making, and access to information and co-ordinated support.

The strategy identifies six priorities for change:

• Choice, Control, and Empowerment
• Clear and Accessible Information
• Co-ordination of Support
• High-Quality Transitions Practices
• Data Collection and Measurement
• Connecting to a wider policy landscape

For people with learning disabilities having increased choice and control is a crucial part of the solution. A positive transition relies on their full involvement in planning and decision-making alongside the availability of reliable and accessible information for individuals and families at every transition stage. The strategy’s focus on enabling practitioners to adopt a person-led and flexible approach to transitions planning that take account of young people’s needs and ambitions is also critical.

In all these areas the strategy’s direction, intent, and commitments are welcome yet they may require sustained resourcing and some culture change to truly deliver transformative change and improved outcomes for young people with learning disabilities.

The biggest challenge may be genuinely achieving more effective co-ordination of transition planning and support between partners and across sectors. The transitions landscape remains incredibly complex and understandably bewildering for many – the strategy lists 22 separate transitions reports, policy documents and related pieces of legislation since 2020 alone.

The requirements of the Adults Support for Learning Act, the Getting Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) approach, Children and Young People Act, Public Bodies Joint Working Act and the UNCRC Incorporation Act involve multiple agencies and professionals engaging on different levels with young people with learning disabilities and their families.

ARC Scotland’s Principles of Good Transitions says that support should be co-ordinated across all services. The strategy’s commitment to work with ARC Scotland to gather a full picture of what local agencies are doing to collectively improve transitions in their area and to share effective and innovative practice is welcome. The strategy points to a number of activities geared towards more joined up work between professionals.

Is this enough though? Some young people with learning disabilities and families have suggested that having a designated keyworker as a coordinating point of contact and continuity could make a huge impact on achieving positive transitions. This idea remains absent from the strategy – and merits more attention moving forward.

Ultimately any strategy is only as good as its implementation. A shared commitment by all partners and sectors to deliver on these priorities at a national and local level is vital. Monitoring of progress against its aims and commitments will be essential in helping to deliver improved transitions outcomes – and it is essential that young people with learning disabilities and their families are a central part of this process.