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  • Chailey Heritage Join the APPG Meeting on Transitioning Into Adulthood With Cerebral Palsy

Chailey Heritage Join the APPG Meeting on Transitioning Into Adulthood With Cerebral Palsy

27 April 2022

Paula Marten, Assistant Headteacher at Chailey Heritage Foundation, joined the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Cerebral Palsy meeting on 26th April. The group, including MP’s and other charity representatives, met via Zoom to hear from expert speakers about the Lived Experiences of Transitioning into Adulthood with Cerebral Palsy.

The focus was on Health and Education and the aim was to shine a spotlight on the huge challenges faced by young people and their families as they approach the move into adult services – a time which should be exciting and empowering.

The APPG on Cerebral Palsy is a forum for Parliamentarians to better understand the challenges faced by individuals of all ages with cerebral palsy and their families.  Action Cerebral Palsy is the sponsor of this group, the first ever APPG on Cerebal Palsy.

Chailey Heritage Foundation support young people through the transition to adult services by providing information and guidance for parents in a variety of ways.

At the meeting, Paula spoke about the work done by the Foundation to support young people and their families in preparation for leaving school, and the difficulties they face as they go through this transition.  

Moving into a new placement can be frightening for young people with Cerebral Palsy, as well as for their families, and there needs to be support in place to minimise this uncertainty. The discussion focused on these issues with a future meeting planned for June to look at actions needed to address these.

How can Chailey Heritage help with the transition to adult services?

  • We create opportunities for parents to meet others in similar situations and/or who have faced similar challenges in the past.
  • We hold regular meetings for parents, the Multi-Disciplinary Team, and external services to meet and discuss plans, with agreed actions and deadlines.
  • We are working continually to improve our internal systems for responding to the requests made by Health and Education services for evidence for needs assessments.
  • We support students practically in the classroom with communication around Transition and make sure that their voice is heard, and their questions are answered in accordance with their needs and abilities.
  • We also support with handovers to a new placement.

Judging by the tweets after the meeting, the speeches were well received but the question remains – what action will be taken, and what more can be done to support choice and empower young people as they prepare to leave school?

A recording of the meeting on 26th April is available to watch on YouTube.

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