Transitional safeguarding considers how we safeguard older children and young adults, in a system that has been traditionally divided and substantially different before and after a person reaches the age of 18. Transitional safeguarding requires a fluid approach that draws on evidence from both children’s and adults safeguarding, taking into account steps that young people need to prepare for adult life, and preventing the cliff-edge of support that young people may experience when they move into the adult system.
Research in Practice and Research in Practice for Adults have produced a strategic briefing exploring transitional safeguarding in greater detail.
Why it matters
We can learn from the lived experience of people who have transitioned from children’s to adults social care, please see: Preparing for adulthood.
Risk of harm changes as a child gets older, with greater risk outside the home. Safeguarding people from exploitation and other risks as a child is learning independence and transitioning to adulthood require different approaches to safeguarding.
Risk of harm does not go away on your 18th birthday, but the whole safeguarding system changes shape. Poor transition planning, siloed systems, and inflexible approaches to thresholds can lead to serious harm.
Transitional safeguarding may require whole-system change across agencies to look at support across age and experience.
Core principles
There are six interdependent principles widely shared across transitional safeguarding guidance:
- evidence-informed
- contextual/ecological
- developmental
- relational
- participative
- attentive to equity/equalities/diversity/inclusion.
These principles apply both to why transitional safeguarding is needed and how it should be experienced by the person.
Legal literacy
Safeguarding people as they move through older childhood and into adulthood requires a strong understanding of both the Children Act 1989 and the Care Act 2014, as well as how the Mental Capacity Act all work together to protect human rights and provide a framework for protecting human rights and wellbeing.
For more information please see our legal literacy e-learning course.
Additional reading
Transitional safeguarding requires organisations and teams that historically haven’t worked together to reach out and collaborate. There are a number of resources readily available to help think about how transitional safeguarding can be progressed and many safeguarding boards are looking at this in a local area context.
Bridging the gap: transitional safeguarding and the role of social work with adults