Leaving children's social care
Who is a care leaver?
A care leaver is a young person who has previously been in care. Your right to support as a care leaver will depend on when and how long you were in care. The Leaving Care Act has defined four categories of Care Leavers:
- Eligible
- Relevant
- Former relevant
- Qualifying
See details below, your worker will help you to understand which category is relevant to you.
Eligible SHOW
Former relevant SHOW
Relevant SHOW
Qualifying SHOW
Our approach
After your 18th birthday, we remain your Corporate Parent and are still committed to you. We want you to be and feel safe, have strong lasting relationships, be healthy, financially secure and achieve your goals. Just because you are leaving our care, we are not leaving you, and we will be with you every step of the way. This offer sets out the framework of the support and services that we and other partner services can and will offer to you. We will work with you to help you become a successful adult.
On or around your 16th birthday an assessment of need will be completed, and a pathway plan will be developed. Your well-being, achievements, aspirations and hopes are important to us. We want to support you so you can establish yourself as an independent and successful member of the local community. We will work hard to ensure you have access to the opportunities, services and support you need to achieve your goals.
View the Review of Care Leavers Offer (pdf).
Useful references for further advice
- Barnardo’s – support for young people leaving care
- GOV.UK - Leaving foster or local authority care
- National Youth Advocacy Service
- National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum
- Princes Trust
Contact us - Pathways Through Care Duty Team
Telephone: 023 8254 5454
Next, see what is a 'local offer'?
