| Summary: | Care Experienced Individuals (CEI) are found to experience disadvantage in adulthood compared to the general population across a range of domains, including health, education, and employment. Research indicates that CEI often experience an accelerated transition to adulthood, characterised by abrupt endings to support, which has been defined as the Care Cliff. Interpretation of research from an ecological perspective illuminates the influence of variables which compound CEIs’ transition to adulthood and highlights the importance of their meaningful participation in decision-making. Despite this, CEIs’ views have been found to be sought tokenistically, indicating a role for Educational Psychologists (EP) for promoting CEIs’ voice in line with the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice 2014 (Department for Education & Department of Health, 2015). A systematic literature review found there was a lack of consideration given to CEIs’ experiences of preparing for adulthood, particularly that which pertains to EP practice. This research aims to address this gap, informed by the Lundy Model of Participation (2007) to explore how CEIs’ voice can influence EP practice.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six CEI aged 19-22 years, recruited from two Local Authorities in England. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methodology was utilised to illuminate CEIs’ voice and investigate shared meaning amongst experiences. Four Group Experiential Themes (GETs) were interpreted using IPA: ‘The Journey to Adulthood’, ‘Agency and Influence in Decision-making Processes’, ‘The Role of Supportive Networks’ and ‘Developing Skills for Adulthood’. These findings are largely supported by existing research and theory, whilst offering original interpretations around the influence of events within CEIs’ chronosystem, such as the cost-of-living crisis, upon their preparation for adulthood. A methodological review is completed before highlighting implications for EP practice, such as promoting CEIs’ voice through person-centred planning and understanding their subjective experiences to inform support for their preparation for adulthood.
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