Post-16 (16–25)
Adulthood doesn't start at 18. It starts now.
Your story is now legally yours
At 16, you become a 'young person' in law. Your EHC plan continues to 25 if you stay in education. You can make your own decisions. You can name your own preference. The LA must listen to YOU — not just your parents. This is your story now. Tell it your way.
Your options after 16
College
Full-time further education. Mainstream college with support, or a specialist college. Your EHCP names the placement.
Apprenticeship
Work + study. You earn while you learn. An EHCP can support an apprenticeship — the plan continues.
Supported internship
A structured work placement with a job coach. For young people who need extra support to move into employment.
Traineeship
A short course to prepare you for work or an apprenticeship. English, maths, and work experience.
Preparing for adulthood — the 4 outcomes
Employment
What job do you want? What skills do you need? Work experience, careers advice, supported employment.
Independent living
Where will you live? What support do you need? Travel training, budgeting, cooking, housing options.
Community
Friends, relationships, hobbies, being part of your community. Social activities, advocacy, staying safe.
Health
Managing your own health. Moving from children's to adult services. Knowing your medications, appointments, needs.
One plan, all the way through
Brian is 20. His plan was requested when he was ten and it is at the transition stage now — proposed for cease, because what it set out to do happened. He did not take the route anyone drew for him: he taught himself, sat the GED in place of the regular exams, and went to university by way of another one. He is reading economics.
“My name is Brian. I'm twenty. I didn't take the usual school route.”
Two things his plan still owes him are on that page, and one of them is late. A plan that worked is not a plan with nothing left in it.
Start a plan on this road
8 stages, request to transition, with 3 statutory windows as waits in days — decision by week 6, advice by week 16, final plan by week 20 (SEND Regulations 2014). It was cut from the plan above with the artefacts taken out: the road, not the case.
Benefits — DLA to PIP
At 16, Disability Living Allowance (DLA) stops and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) starts. This is a different benefit with different rules. Apply 3 months before your 16th birthday. Get help from Citizens Advice or a welfare rights adviser. The form is long — don't do it alone.
If you're a parent: The young person must make the PIP claim themselves (or with an appointee). You can help, but it's their claim now. Start the conversation early.