If you are a young carer aged between 14 and 17, you may have been told you are going to have something called a ‘transition assessment’. You might not be clear about exactly what this is, why you are having it, and what it will involve.
To help, we explain all about transition assessments below.
As you approach turning 18, your life may be starting to look very different. It is likely you will be thinking a lot about the future now. You may be finishing secondary education, starting to look for a job, preparing to go to university or thinking about moving out of home. These changes mean that your needs may also be changing.
Plus, when you turn 18 there will be some differences in the support services you can access. The services that are available to adult carers are not the same as those for young carers. The professionals you are used to interacting with will likely be replaced by other people who specialise in working with adults instead.
A transition assessment is a way that the local authority (also known as the local council) finds out if you need any extra support with making this move from being a young carer to being an adult.
It is separate from other assessments you might have had or heard about before such as young carer’s assessments or carer’s assessments. To find out more about these instead, take a look at our guides ‘Young carer’s assessments for under-18s’ or ‘Moving on to carer's assessments when you turn 18’.
The Care Act 2014 says that all young carers are entitled to a transition assessment if it seems likely that they will have a need for support after they turn 18 and if there will be a ‘significant benefit’ to them from having one.
If they decide not to conduct a transition assessment for you, they must tell you in writing why they decided not to, and explain whether they will review this decision in the future. They should also tell you about other support in the community that you can access to help with your transition to adulthood.
It is likely that you will be asked whether you want a transition assessment at some point between the ages of 14 and 17. The local authority has a duty to do the assessment at a time when you are ready to have it and will get a lot out of it. It should also be in plenty of time for any support plans to be implemented before you turn 18.
If your 18th birthday is approaching and you have not been asked yet, then you or a parent/guardian could get in touch with the local authority directly to request them to carry one out for you. If you want to get in touch with the council but don’t know which local authority you come under, you can find out on the GOV.UK website. Or if you don’t want to speak to the council, you could ask a teacher or another professional you see regularly to help you.
The assessment will likely be done by a member of staff from the local authority. They will usually be a social worker and they will be trained in doing these assessments. They will come and visit you and ask you some questions. They may work with you to fill in a form together. If you would prefer the assessment to be done by telephone or online, you can request this.
The aim of the assessment is to support you during your transition from being a child to becoming an adult and to help you to plan for the future. They will be interested in hearing, in your own words, how you feel and what your wishes and views are.
They will ask you about your aspirations for the future, and what you wish to achieve in your day-to-day life. They might talk to you about selecting the subjects you want to specialise in at school, whether you want to go into higher or further education and whether you want to get a job or an apprenticeship. They will probably talk to you about whether you want to carry on living at home or move out and live independently. They may ask about your physical and mental health and how easy you find it to access the healthcare services you need. And they might talk to you about money including how easy you find it to manage your finances and how you hope to be able to support yourself when you turn 18.
During the assessment, they will also discuss whether you want to continue being a carer or not after you turn 18, or if you will want or need to change the care that you provide. If you do want to continue being a carer, they will consider what needs to change to allow that to happen and what additional support is required.
These can all be quite difficult questions to answer, and involve quite a lot of thinking on your part about what you really want to do with your life. You may never have considered this properly, and you may have just assumed that you would carry on with your current caring role as it is. But your future is important, and it is a good idea to take the time to really think hard about what you would like to achieve outside of being a carer.
During the assessment, they will also talk to you about what support could be provided to help you achieve the things you want to. This could include other options that are available for providing the care that you currently do, both from the local authority and other family members, that might allow you to pursue your own ambitions. It could also include providing you with details about additional support provided by colleges and universities for carers, such as bursaries, or support that is out there to help you find a job in a field you are interested in. They could also help you with contacting potential employers, attending university open days and applying for any benefits you are entitled to.
The assessment will involve you directly. If you request anybody else to be involved, then the local authority will also include them too.
It will usually be a joint assessment involving both the children’s and adult services parts of the local authority, so it may involve staff from both.
When doing all of their assessments, the council must take what is known as a ‘whole family approach’. So for instance when they are conducting any assessments on the person you care for, they should consider how their needs impact you and the rest of your family. And when they are conducting your assessment, they will consider how your needs impact on your family too.
Like with young carer’s assessments, you also have the choice about whether or not you have a joint assessment with any other members of your family. It can sometimes help to have them done at the same time so that your assessments are linked and complement each other. It also means you don’t have to repeat the same things again and again to different people at different assessments.
You might want to think about whether there is someone outside your family who you want to be there. If you think you would find it difficult to talk to a stranger alone about how you feel or might struggle to get across the points that you want to make, then it might help to have someone else there too. This could be an adult you already know and trust, such as a teacher or family friend, or it could be what is known as an ‘independent advocate’. This is someone whose job is solely to be on your side and get your views across. To find out more, take a look at our guide ‘Getting an independent advocate’.
The term ‘assessment’ can make you think of it as an exam that you need to prepare for, but it isn’t like that at all. It is not in any way a test of you or the care that you provide and you cannot pass or fail it. You don’t need to revise anything or do any preparation if you do not wish to.
But if you want to feel a bit more ready and in control, it can sometimes help to make some notes about a few things beforehand. You might find it helpful to think about the future, what your hopes and aspirations are, and whether caring features in that picture or not. You might also want to think in advance about any questions you want to ask, so you don’t forget them at the time.
After the assessment, everyone who was involved will receive a written record of it. This will include whether or not the council thinks you need support and whether they are able to provide it.
If they do think you should have some support, they will put in place what is known as a support plan. This plan should be made in consultation with you and it should be flexible so that it can be adapted if your plans for the future change. This might be combined with plans they have in place for other people in your family too, to make one document, or it might be kept separate. It may also contain information about other support services you might find helpful as well as details of who will be supporting you when you turn 18. They will also talk to you about whether the council will provide you or the person you care for with support once you are 18, whether you will be entitled to any financial support for this or if you will have to pay for it.
The report should also tell you what to do if you don’t think the assessment was done correctly or if you disagree with the outcome. If you would like to find out more about this, take a look at our guide ‘Making a complaint about the local authority’.
Online Help and Advice
Visit our online support section where we have provided advice and guidance on a range of relevant topics to help you in your caring role.