You’ve spent years learning the system. You know the EHCP process, the school meetings, the annual reviews. And now your child is approaching 18, and the rules are about to change.
Some of what’s in place carries on. Some of it doesn’t. The EHCP is the part that survives past 18. Social care is the part that doesn’t: it hands over from one legal system to a completely different one, with its own assessments and its own thresholds, and nobody warns you this is coming. None of it waits for you to feel ready, which is why the transition catches so many families off guard, and why the families who cope best start asking questions years before the birthday, not weeks. This is England-specific: EHCPs and the Care Act work differently in Scotland and Wales.
The EHCP continues
The most important thing to know: your child’s EHCP doesn’t end at 18. Under the Children and Families Act 2014, an EHCP can remain in place until the end of the academic year in which the young person turns 25, as long as they remain in education or training.
This includes sixth form, college, apprenticeships, and supported internships. The LA must maintain the EHCP and ensure the provision in it is delivered.
The LA can only cease the EHCP if:
- The young person no longer needs the special educational provision in it
- The young person is no longer in education or training and doesn’t want to return
- The young person has achieved the outcomes in the plan
If the LA tries to end the EHCP and you disagree, you can appeal to the SEND Tribunal.
Social care changes completely
This is the cliff edge. At 18, your child stops being a “child in need” under the Children Act 1989 and becomes an adult under the Care Act 2014.
The Care Act has different eligibility criteria. Support that was available under children’s social care may not automatically continue under adult social care. The assessment is different. The thresholds are different. The people making the decisions are different.
| Before 18 | After 18 | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal framework | Children Act 1989 | Care Act 2014 |
| Assessment | Children in need assessment | Adult needs assessment |
| Who decides | Children’s services | Adult social care |
| Parent role | Full parental responsibility | Changes (see mental capacity) |
| Short breaks | Specific duty to provide | No equivalent duty (though you can ask adult social care to fund them through a care package) |
These changes don’t happen overnight, but they do happen automatically at the point your child turns 18.
The transition from children’s to adult services must be planned well in advance. If the LA hasn’t started this conversation by Year 9, raise it yourself. Waiting until your child is 17 is too late.
Preparing for Adulthood starts at Year 9
The SEND Code of Practice is clear: planning for the transition to adulthood should begin from Year 9 (age 13-14). This is called Preparing for Adulthood (PfA), and it should be a focus of every annual review from Year 9 onwards.
The four Preparing for Adulthood outcomes are:
- Employment - what your young person wants to do, supported internships, work experience
- Independent living - where they’ll live, what support they’ll need at home
- Community participation - friendships, social activities, being part of their community
- Health - managing health needs, transitions between children’s and adult health services
These aren’t optional discussion points. The Code of Practice expects annual reviews to address them explicitly from Year 9 onwards.
The transition assessment
The Care Act requires the LA to carry out a transition assessment if it appears your child is likely to have care and support needs as an adult and the LA is satisfied it would be of significant benefit to them to assess now. There’s no fixed age for this: assessments can happen years before 18, and should happen early enough that support is ready by the time your child turns 18.
- Year 9 annual reviewPreparing for Adulthood planning should begin. The EHCP should start reflecting post-18 goals.
- Transition assessment requestedAsk adult social care for a transition assessment. The LA must carry it out if your child is likely to have needs as an adult and it would be of significant benefit to assess now.
- Adult needs assessmentA full assessment under the Care Act. Determines what support the LA will provide after 18.
- Support plan agreedAdult social care creates a support plan based on the assessment. Should be in place by the time your child turns 18.
- Turning 18Adult social care takes over. Children’s services step back. The EHCP continues if the young person is in education.
This timeline shows why starting this planning at Year 9 makes a real difference.
Don’t wait for the LA to offer a transition assessment. Write to adult social care and request one. The earlier you start this process, the less likely there’ll be a gap in support.
Mental capacity at 18
This is the part that catches many parents off guard. At 18, your child becomes a legal adult. You no longer have automatic parental responsibility.
Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (which applies from age 16), everyone is assumed to have capacity to make their own decisions unless it’s established otherwise. Once parental responsibility ends at 18, this means your young person will be asked to consent to their own care, sign their own forms, and make their own choices.
If your young person lacks the capacity to make specific decisions, you may need to:
- Apply for a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) while they still have capacity to grant one
- Apply to the Court of Protection for a deputyship order if they lack capacity
- Be appointed as a personal welfare deputy for health and care decisions
This is why planning for mental capacity needs to happen well before your child’s 18th birthday.
The Mental Capacity Act applies decision by decision. Your young person might have capacity to decide what to eat but not to manage finances. Capacity is assessed for each specific decision, not as a blanket judgement.
What you can do now
Whether your child is 13 or 17, here’s where to put your energy:
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Raise Preparing for Adulthood at the next annual review. If it’s not already being discussed, ask the school to include PfA outcomes in the EHCP. You’re entitled to this from Year 9 - you don’t need to wait for the school to bring it up.
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Request a transition assessment from adult social care. Don’t wait to be offered one. Write to the LA and ask for it: you have the right to request one under the Care Act, and if it would be of significant benefit to assess now, the LA must carry it out. The earlier you start, the less likely there’ll be a gap in support.
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Explore supported living options early. If your young person may need supported accommodation, waiting lists can be years long. Research what’s available in your area now, not when your child is 17.
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Start the mental capacity conversation. If your young person is unlikely to manage certain decisions at 18, start the LPA or deputyship process well before their birthday. It takes longer than most people expect.
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Meet the adult social care team before the handover. Knowing who’ll be responsible, and who to call when something goes wrong, makes the transition far less frightening than it looks on paper.
Getting help
Preparing for Adulthood has detailed resources on what good transition planning looks like, including guides for families.
IPSEA advises on EHCP rights beyond 18, including when the LA can and can’t cease the plan.
Your local Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) can support you through annual reviews focused on transition and help you navigate adult social care.
Start early, push hard
The transition to adult services doesn’t have to be a cliff edge. But it takes planning, and it takes you pushing the LA to start that planning years before your child turns 18.
Don’t assume it will happen automatically. In most areas, it won’t. The families who get the best outcomes are the ones who start asking questions at Year 9 and don’t stop until everything is in place.