Fife Council invited to share support needs practices

Fife Council has been asked to provide presentations to three national conferences arranged by the Scottish Government in relation to the approach being taken in Fife to help young people with disabilities and additional support needs make the transition to adulthood.

Roseanne Fearon, Head of Adult Services said: “Transition from childhood to adulthood can be a challenging time for young people with additional support needs and their families, as they move from formal structured support to adult services that offer greater independence.

“We have made significant progress in Fife through the development of a multi-agency improvement plan which was created to build on current activities and best practice. Most of the recommendations reflect opportunities to improve how we plan and deliver services collectively and, improve engagement and communication with service users and, a good amount of work has been undertaken to move this forward.

“We are delighted to accept the invitation to share with colleagues in other councils our approach and the work that we are doing here in Fife.

Councillor Tim Brett, Chair of the Social Work and Health Committee said: “This invitation is a result of the positive reputation which is emerging nationally regarding the approach being taken in Fife to ensure best practice in Transition Planning.

“This reputation has been achieved as a result of the work which has taken place within Fife and which commenced with the establishment of an Elected Members Scrutiny Panel, chaired by Councillor Willie Clarke to look at the multi-agency arrangements in place to support young people with additional needs in the transition from childhood to adulthood. This approach was originally proposed by the Social Work and Health Committee of 23 April 2010 and approved by the Standards and Audit Committee of 25 May 2010.”