Contact NI’s transitions event celebrates achievements and partnerships

3 mins read

Tuesday 20 August 2024

Stakeholders of the Contact NI transitions project together at the celebration event making the project's conclusion


On Friday 26 June, Contact Northern Ireland hosted a special celebration event in Dungannon, Northern Ireland, that brought together a diverse group of parent carers, professionals, and representatives from local and national organisations.

The event marked the conclusion of Contact NI’s three-year ‘Preparing for Transitions’ project, funded by the National Lottery and delivered in partnership with Carers NI. The project supported parent carers of disabled young people as they navigated the transition from educational settings to adult life.

This involved the delivery of a programme of workshops and peer support sessions in schools and community venues. Contact’s Transition Outreach workers led the project, liaising closely with parents, schools and support services to provide tailored and complex support.

Among the attendees at the celebration event were representatives from organisations including Sense NI, Cedar Foundation, and Next Step Transitions. Representatives from the Department of Health’s Strategic Planning and Performance Group, the Learning Disability Unit, and the NHS’s Southern Trust were present. SENCOs and teachers from partner schools came along too.

Key speakers

Attendees heard from a number of speakers throughout the event.

Susan Walls, Contact’s Head of Programmes in Northern Ireland, opened the day. Susan spoke about the importance of the partnerships formed throughout the project and the collective achievements.

Participants then heard from Emma McAleer. Emma is a young person involved in some of the project workshops, talking to parent carers about her experience of the transition process. She described her own inspirational journey from education to independent adult life. This included travelling, volunteering, theatre performing, dog walking and two gold medals at the Ireland Special Olympics!

Other keynote speakers included Jessica Conway, a parent carer who had participated in the project, and Shaunagh Duffin, SENCO at Sperrinview School in Dungannon, one of the project’s partner schools.

Dr Helga Ogden from Outcomes Imp presented an evaluation of the project following the commissioning of an independent report.

Dr Ogden highlighted the excellent feedback from the parent carers and schools involved. Parent carers had really valued the information and support during a critical period in their children’s lives. All the schools reported that it had enhanced their existing provision. Recommendations looked at how the project could be expanded and scaled-up within Northern Ireland and possibly beyond.

Susan Walls, Head of Programmes in Northern Ireland said: “It was a fantastic event. We were delighted to have so many parent carers, professionals and organisations join us to celebrate the commitment and partnership working of everyone involved. We were grateful that representatives from the Department of Health attended the event, and we will be following up with them to keep building the momentum around transitions planning in Northern Ireland.”

For more information about Contact’s work in Northern Ireland, please visit the Contact NI webpage.