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Transition guide: Bridging the gap

Think of your transition from school and beyond as a series of journeys from one location to another e.g. school to college, university or employment.

The journeys that get you from one location to another are what we call your points of transition.

Careful planning for these times of change is very important especially for practical reasons i.e making sure that you have the support and equipment you need in place before starting your next step. There is a lot of support out there but you may not be aware of it. Knowing what help is available enables you to take control of your future and allows you the freedom to make informed choices about what you want to do next.

UK Transition guides

RNIB, in partnership with VICTAR, has produced transition guidance for young people who are blind or partially sighted. Entitled "Your future, your choice: bridging the gap", the guide outlines the support and services available to assist young people through their journey from school, through further and higher education, and into employment. You can download your country's guide below:

Transitions workshop resources

Moving On: Preparing young people with vision impairment for post-16 transitions is a new workshop pack which can be used by professionals and organisations supporting young people with vision impairment. The pack contains plans, activities and resources that you cab use to run a series of sessions for a group of young people, covering a range of topics including further and higher education, employment, technology, self-advocacy, independence and understanding your vision impairment.

Tell us what you think! We want to engage with people who are using this resource. If you have any feedback or would be willing to complete a short evaluation please contact our partners at VICTAR, University of Birmingham at [email protected].

Transitions video series

In each of these videos, a group of young people talk about their experiences of leaving school and making the transition to college, university or work. The videos have been produced as part of a longitudinal research project into the experiences of young people in transition to adulthood, and can be viewed alongside our Bridging the Gap transitions guides found in the links above.

Chris - The transition from school to university

Claire - The transition from school to college

Liam - The transition from school to college

Diarmaid - The transition from school to university

Natasha - The transition into employment

Rosie - The transition into employment

Zara - The transition from school to university

Callum - Independent travel and studying abroad