Preparing for Adulthood

The work that carries on after the placement ends.

Supported accommodation should provide more than a place to live. It should provide a foundation for growth, development and opportunity. Preparation for adulthood is how that becomes practical: budgeting, cooking, tenancy, health, work, travel and relationships, worked on week by week rather than handed over at the end.

Make a Referral Quality Standard 07
What It Covers

Six areas, worked on in the order each young person needs

Some young people arrive already cooking for themselves and needing help with a tenancy. Others start with a bank account. The programme is the same set of areas, prioritised differently for each person.

01

Money

The skill most young people say they were never taught.

  • Budgeting for food, bills, clothing and recreation
  • Opening a bank account and understanding basic financial management
  • Managing welfare benefits, completing forms and handling bills
  • A weekly allowance supervised in agreement with the placing authority, so responsibility is practised before it is real
  • Saving and general money management
02

Food and nutrition

From a shopping list to a meal on the table.

  • Preparing shopping lists, shopping and cooking meals
  • Cooking classes and cook-offs
  • The importance of nutrition and a balanced diet
  • Food hygiene, proper storage and kitchen safety
  • Maintaining kitchen equipment
03

Home and tenancy

Running a home is a set of habits, not a personality trait.

  • Managing accommodation confidently and understanding day to day responsibilities
  • Cleaning a bedroom, making a bed, laundry and ironing
  • Keeping shared areas tidy and respected
  • Reporting damage and understanding maintenance
  • Fire safety in the home
04

Health and appointments

Knowing how to get seen, and turning up.

  • Registration with a local GP, dentist and optician
  • Knowing where the nearest hospital, NHS walk-in centre, sexual health clinic and substance misuse service are
  • Arranging and attending medical appointments, with support where needed
  • Managing prescribed medication, prompts and collecting prescriptions
  • Regular check-ups as part of a Personal Health Plan
05

Education, training and work

A destination, not just an occupation.

  • Identifying suitable colleges, courses and job opportunities
  • Completing application forms, preparing CVs and practising for interviews
  • Setting and working towards goals around education, training and work
  • Alternative routes such as training programmes and apprenticeships where school has not worked out
  • Working with local colleges, employers and Jobcentre Plus
06

Community and relationships

Independence without isolation is the point.

  • Independent travel and getting to know the local area
  • Leisure, sport and cultural activities chosen around the young person's own interests
  • Continuing clubs, hobbies and interests they already had before the placement
  • Building healthy friendships and positive social networks
  • Advocacy to help them access the services they are entitled to
How It Is Planned

Not a course. A plan with a name on it.

The programme is built with the young person, delivered through key working, and checked every month against what has actually changed.

It starts with a checklist built together

A personalised life and social skills checklist is created with each young person to prepare them for independent living. It reflects what they can already do, not a standard curriculum.

It runs through key working

The Key Worker delivers individual sessions tailored to the young person's needs, and coordinates the wider support around them.

It is reviewed every month

Progress is monitored in the comprehensive monthly case review and the support plan is adjusted where necessary, so the programme keeps pace with the young person.

It is a Quality Standard, not an extra

Preparation for adulthood is one of the seven Supported Accommodation Quality Standards, and we commit to structured independence programmes covering budgeting, cooking, tenancy management, health, employment, education and community participation.

Alongside the Practical

Confidence is part of the curriculum

A young person who can budget but does not believe they can cope has not been prepared for adulthood. These run in parallel with the practical skills.

Emotional resilience

Support with emotional difficulties such as stress and anxiety, informal counselling and guidance, and access to specialist counselling services and external agencies where they are needed.

Identity

Space to explore and develop identity, including racial, cultural, gender, sexual and religious aspects, and support to understand and embrace who they are.

Healthy relationships

Guidance on managing romantic, family and friendship relationships, promoting safe decision making and stable, meaningful connections.

Online safety

Guidance on using technology responsibly, covering online safety, exploitation risks, cyberbullying and healthy relationships.

Placing a young person who is close to moving on?

Tell us where they are with independence now, and we will tell you honestly what we can add.

Contact Our Team