Page 18 - SEN107 SEN Magazine July-August 2020
P. 18

M  ost primary schools will have heard the term   ‘Preparation for Adulthood’ (PFA). But what does   it  mean, and  how  can  we  ensure  as  primary   schools and as caregivers that we work together   to plan opportunities for our children for the duration of their    school years?   In short, PFA is designed to support families, schools and   other agencies to ensure that children receive the right care   and support to enable them to live as full and active an adult   life as possible.  The PFA programme covers four areas to aid in structuring   a child’s development, which are outlined below. Each area   gives us an idea of the topics we can start discussing with   our children or activities we can start incorporating into their   lives from an early age.   Employment  ‘Employment’ focuses on how we can prepare our children   for future employment opportunities, education and training.   Parents can start by simply talking to their child about what   kind of job they would be interested in, and then using that to   create different experiences for them, such as  volunteering,   meeting role models, or bringing them on real world visits to   build their aspirations.   As schools, we work with parents to ensure our pupils have a   full understanding of their future options and really think about   their short and longer term aims. Our work inside the classroom   means that students have a good understanding of numeracy   and literacy, a key building block for the journey to employment.   Schools can also prepare pupils with a range of experiences,   such as arranging personalised opportunities to visit universities   or colleges for taster days, creating tailored clubs after school   for different interests, and organising chances to visit potential   employers to better understand the working day.   Friends, Relationships and Community  For many of our pupils it is important we help them to create   positive relationships in and out of school. This area of the PFA   framework advises schools on how best to do this, as well as   Schools and parents must work   together to ensure our most   vulnerable pupils are able to live   as independent a life as possible  Tina Murray   talks about how the ‘Preparation for Adulthood’ programme    can help children to achieve a bright future.   Preparation for adulthood:   Support SEND pupils for their futures   SEN  107  senmagazine.co.uk  18  Transition


































































































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