Thursday 7th November 2024 saw London Borough of Sutton (LBS) host another highly successful Preparation for Adulthood (PfA) event for children and young people aged 14+ in the local area. Over 300 young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) visited the event which took place at the new site at Westcroft Leisure Centre across two sessions. The event was an opportunity to learn more about the support provided by 55 local services that are available locally linked to the 4 key PfA topics:
- Independence – In this zone, young people were able to gather information on keeping safe both out and about and online, managing their money, transitioning into adulthood, local clubs, and much more to help gain skills to become more independent and improve their social lives.
- Education and Supported Employment – In this zone, young people gathered information from further education and supported employment providers in Sutton and nearby areas. There was information about courses, supported internships, jobs and support available to enable young people to make informed decisions about post-16 options.
- Community Inclusion – In this zone, young people gave their ideas and opinions on what they need to be independent and what independence looks like for them. There was information on short breaks and youth opportunities in the local area and how to get involved in the community.
- Health – In this zone, young people learnt about healthy diet, dental hygiene and health in general. There was information on sexual health, mental health and substance misuse
In addition, organised games were held by Carshalton Athletic, Sutton United Football Club and there was a free raffle with some great prizes. In response to feedback from parent/carers, LBS hosted a workshop on ‘Transition from Children’s to Adult Social Care’, which was well attended.
Following on from the success of Cognus Therapies’ interactive shopping and budgeting stall from the 2022 PfA event (you can read more here: Therapies Post 16 team hosts interactive shopping and budgeting… – Cognus), and then the following year’s session on independence and self-care (see here: Cognus Therapies run interactive stall at Preparation for… – Cognus), the team consulted with young people locally and decided to focus on home management and the resources needed to complete these more independently.
Following an initial workshop with young people hosted at the Sutton Civic Centre, visual schedules were selected for each of the following home management activities:
- Cleaning surfaces
- Doing laundry
- Washing dishes
- Emptying bins
In the afternoon session, the Cognus Therapies team were assisted by a young person completing work experience. His role was to engage visitors to come to the stall and explain the interactive shopping process, which he did extremely well.
Young people attending the event were invited to borrow £5 (an increased budget from the previous year in line with the young people’s comments regarding inflation!), select a visual schedule for their chosen home management task, experience the cleaning products on display in whatever way was meaningful for them before role-playing the process of using money to purchase the item/s. You can see the therapists modelling this process in a short video here: https://www.wevideo.com/view/3683128942
Kieran Holliday (Acting Strategic Lead for LBS) gave the following feedback after attending the event: Just wanted to thank you all for your considerable efforts to make the PfA event at Westcroft such a success this year!
When young people were asked about the difference the event has made to their preparation for adulthood journey, approximately 75% said the event had helped them to feel more prepared for adulthood.
The Post 16 Therapies team are already thinking of ideas for next year’s event to make it even bigger and better. If any local providers would like to get in touch to donate or sponsor the event, please contact ashlea.stephens@cognus.org.uk or emma.perridge@cognus.org.uk to discuss.