7 - Transitional Safeguarding and transitions

Summary

Introduction

Transitional Safeguarding is often confused with transitions and transitions planning. They are not the same thing. However, there are connections between the two – not least that poor transitions/transfer can create or worsen risks for a young person. We will explore the differences and intersections in this chapter, using case examples to show good practice in local authority transitions work, and discuss the potential safeguarding risks that can occur in this work. In particular this can happen when young people are struggling with issues like homelessness, poor physical or mental health, substance misuse, and financial (in)stability.

The chapter begins with a brief overview of definitions of ‘transitions’ and how they differ from Transitional Safeguarding. This is followed by an exploration of the legislative landscape around transitions planning. This is substantial, which is why it is included in this chapter and is not part of Chapter 3. The case studies we include later in the chapter demonstrate the differences between Transitional Safeguarding and transitions work and how these approaches, concepts, and practices interact with each other.

What is the difference between ‘transitions’ and ‘Transitional Safeguarding’?

A transition refers to a process an individual goes through to move from one situation, state, condition, or age to another (Johansson 2021). The word ‘process’ is important here, as a transition is not a single event. Munro and Simkiss (2020) describe transitions as ‘the process of moving from a child focused system to an adult orientated system’ (p 175) and there are clear legislative and social policy frameworks in place to assist with transitions planning for young people. There are various life stage transitions which are often referred to in the child development literature, such as moving from primary school to secondary school (a life stage event); moving from childhood to adulthood (a life stage that in many western nations is defined legally at age 18 years); or moving from school or university into employment (another life stage event). Other disciplines also reflect on transitions, for example education, child and youth studies, geography (Valentine 2003), and sociology (Giddens and Sutton 2021), noting that the boundary between childhood and adulthood is difficult to define (Valentine 2003), and context is important to understanding the meaning of transitions for individual young people (Johansson 2021).