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How can RSE support young people with SEND to be prepared for adulthood?

24 October 2024

What does it mean to be prepared for adulthood? Prepared to go off to uni, to live alone, to get a job, to meet a special someone or start a family? What about for learners for whom those adulthood milestones feel out of reach – what does it mean to be prepared for adulthood if your version of adulthood might be so different?

The Preparing for Adulthood outcomes in the SEND Code of Practice are all about independence and autonomy. Being able to play a meaningful role in society by your work, hobbies or achievements, being able to live as independently as possible, even if that might be in a semi-independent or supported setting, or being able to start and maintain reciprocal friendships or intimate or sexual relationships. Being prepared for adulthood means being prepared to navigate adult life with as much autonomy and independence as possible, and anything we can offer to support our learners to enjoy this should be celebrated.

Independence looks different for different people, and yes for many young people independence means the keys to your own flat, or tickets on your trip around the world, or choosing your route to qualifications. But for many young people, independence starts with being able to change your own menstrual pad, or choosing your own clothes, or deciding to move from your parents' home to a shared residential setting with other young people like you. Without support to be prepared for adulthood, our learners' face isolation, and exclusion. Not being prepared for adulthood doesn’t protect you – it stops you from participating.

Relationships and sex education underpins the preparing for adulthood outcomes, and is a brilliant foundation on which learners with learning disabilities can build their adult lives. Skills and knowledge learnt through the RSE curriculum helps learners   navigate being part of a community, advocate for their own health, employment and hobbies, and take steps towards living as independently as possible. Supporting our learners with learning disabilities to be prepared for their adulthood empowers them to grab life with both hands with a sense of readiness for some of life’s challenges and excitement about what is ahead.

Further support for educators 

- Browse our advice and guidance resources to support SEND inclusive RSE 

- Join Nicky Waring on 11th November for a 2-hour online workshop Preparing for Adulthood: Teaching RSE to older learners with SEND