The Leaving Care Service

The Leaving Care Service is based at:

Ashton Old Library, Old Street, Ashton-Under-Lyne, OL6 7SG 

and can be contacted on 0161 342 4477.

Working Hours: 

Monday – Wednesday 8.30am – 5pm  

Thursday 8.30am – 4.30pm  

Friday 8.30am – 4pm

In an emergency if you need to speak to someone urgently outside of these hours you can contact the Tameside Emergency Duty Team on 0161 342 2222

The Leaving Care Service has a duty system to cover staff absence, if you are unable to contact your Social Worker or Personal Adviser and the matter is urgent you can request to speak to the duty worker. You can also pop into the office during the above hours and ask to talk to the duty worker.

If the matter is really urgent you can also request to speak directly to the duty manager.

If you are a care leaver aged between 21 and 25 and no longer have an allocated Personal Adviser, you can contact the duty worker on the number above. The duty worker will be able to support you if you require any assistance or if you wish to access support that is identified within the local offer. 

What is leaving care and who are the Care Leavers Team? 

We are team of people who are here to help care experienced young people to step into adulthood. We work hard to make sure you have a good plan, the right support and lots of positive opportunities. The team is made up of a Service Manager, Team Managers and Personal Advisors. Every eligible care experienced young person aged 16 and 3 months to age 21 will have a Personal Advisor (also known as a PA) allocated to them. If you still want support or would like to return to working with us after 21 you can, and we will support you until you’re 25 or in very specific circumstances for a little longer.

Am I a Care Leaver?

You are a care leaver if you are under 25 years old and have spent time in care as a child or young person. The amount of support you can get will depend on your age and circumstances. To get our support automatically and in full, you must have been in care for 13 weeks between the ages of 14 to 16.  

In order to understand the type of support that you will receive from the Leaving Care Service you will need to understand some key words which are used to describe the 4 categories of Care Leaver. These key words and definitions are described below. 

Eligible

 You are an Eligible Care Leaver if... 

• you are aged 16 or 17; and 
• you are currently a young person in care, and 
• you have been looked after for a period of 13 weeks (or periods amounting to 13 weeks) which began after you reached 14 and ended after you reached 16

Relevant 

You are a Relevant Care Leaver if... 

• you are no longer cared for by the Local Authority but you have previously been an ‘Eligible’ care leaver and, 
• you are 16 or 17 years old. 

Former Relevant 

• You are a Former Relevant Care Leaver if... 
• you are aged between 18 and 25 and before reaching 18 you were or had been a Relevant Care Leaver or 
• immediately before you stopped being cared for you were an Eligible Care Leaver. 

Qualifying 

You are a Qualifying Care Leaver if... 

• You are at least 16 but under 25, and 
• You were a cared for young person prior to the making of a Special Guardianship Order which was in force when you reached 18, or 
• If at any time after you reached the age of 16 you were no longer looked after, or accommodated or, 
• You were privately fostered and assessed to be in need. 
• As a Qualifying Care Leaver you are able to access advice and assistance based on an updated needs assessment completed by the Leaving Care Service

Your Social Worker or Personal Adviser can help you to understand which of these categories applies to you. 

The Role of Social Workers 

As an Eligible Care Leaver, you will be allocated a Social Worker who will act as your lead worker and be responsible for the regular update of your Pathway Plan. As an Eligible care leaver, you will be jointly allocated to a Personal Adviser from the age of 16.

Your Social Worker will remain allocated until you either leave care or you reach 18 years of age. However, you will remain allocated to your Personal Adviser whilst you continue to have a care leaver status, therefore this will be until you reach 21 years of age and possibly up to the age of 25 if you request or agree to a continued service and are assessed as having unmet needs.

If you are a young person supported by the Children with Disabilities Team, you will continue to receive support from your current Social Worker until you transition to Adult Services. The Leaving Care Service will allocate you a Personal Adviser from the age of 16 who will work alongside your existing Social Worker and later on with your Adults Service’s Worker to fully support your transition to adult life.

Role of a Personal Adviser

All Eligible, Relevant and Former Relevant Care Leavers will be allocated a Personal Adviser from the age of 16. Your Personal Adviser will support you to develop the skills that will assist you to live independently at a time when you are ready to do so. A key role of your Personal Adviser is to provide and coordinate the support, advice, and guidance you will need in support of your transition to adult life.

Until you reach 21 your Personal Adviser will see you at least once every two months and when required keep in touch with you between visits.

As part of your Pathway Plan review prior to your 21^st birthday, discussions will be held regarding the level of support you continue to require, this may include continued support up until the age of 25 or closure to a Personal Adviser if you do not require ongoing support. As a Care Leaver you will continue to be able to access support via the duty service up until the age of 25.

The Pathway Plan covers the following areas:

• Accommodation and housing 
• Money and finance 
• Relationships 
• Health and wellbeing 
• Participation, voice and influence 
• Education 
• Employment and training 

At 18, your Social Worker will stop working with you and your Personal Advisor will become your main point of contact. Your Personal Advisor will take time get to know you so we can begin building a relationship with you. Your Personal Advisor could be a part of your life for up to 7 years providing advice, guidance and support when you need it. They will give you access to financial support from the local authority, help you access other services and more generally just be there for you. 

Your pathway plan 

A pathway plan is a document that you will complete with your Social Worker at 16.  Every 6 months you and your social worker or pathway advisor will review this plan up to the age of 21 and if you need it up to 25.  At 18, your Personal Advisor will be the one who meets with you to review your pathway plan. Your pathway plan will set out your needs, your views, any future goals, and what support you will receive. The best pathway plans are the ones that young people have been most involved in completing, as they become a place to record your needs, goals and aspirations, set by you.

We are committed to supporting vulnerable Care Leavers up until the age of 25 including young parents, young people entering and leaving custody and separated young people. We will support you for as long as you require up until the age of 25.

Young parents 

We will provide support to our young parents up until the age of 25. We will ensure that you have access to the appropriate services that will support you to care for your child. Your Pathway Plan will identify any further support needs you may have as a young parent.

Your Personal Adviser will support you to access any benefits or grants that may be available to you as a young parent.

Care Leavers entering and leaving custody

If you find yourself in an unfortunate position where you have entered custody, we will continue to offer you support up until the age of 25. The level of support that will be offered to you will be agreed with you as part of your Pathway Plan.

Separated Young People 

A separated child or young person is defined as an individual who is under 18, who has arrived in the UK without a responsible adult, is not being cared for by an adult who by law or custom has responsibility to do so, is separated from both parents and has applied for asylum in the United Kingdom in his or her own right.

As a separated young person, we will continue to support you up until the age of 25. You will be supported with your asylum application and seeking identification. Any further support needs will be reviewed as part of your Pathway Plan.

Pathway Planning  

If you are an Eligible, Relevant or Former Relevant Care Leaver you will have a Pathway Plan completed with you.  

From the age of 16 your Pathway Plan will replace your Care Plan. Your Pathway Plan is about your needs, aspirations and what we all need to do to ensure you have a successful transition to adult life. Your Pathway Plan is written by your Social Worker and Personal Adviser in consultation with you and the important people in your life. This is to ensure that we all work together to provide you with clear and consistent advice and support.

We will try to enable you to keep the same Personal Adviser, though this may not always be possible. The level of support that you receive from your Personal Adviser will depend on what you would like and your circumstances.

The Leaving Care Service will consider with you what extra support you may need. You might, for example, need extra support because:

• You have special educational needs or a disability.
• You are a separated young person, and your immigration status is unclear
• You are in or leaving custody or you have had contact with the criminal justice system
• You are pregnant or a young parent
• You are going through a difficult time in your personal life

How will you be involved? 

For your Pathway Plan to be effective it will be based on an up-to-date assessment of your needs, the plan will set out the support that you require to achieve your aspirations. We aim to fully involve you in the development of your Pathway Plan. You have a right to be involved in all decisions about your plans for leaving care. You also have the right to support from an independent advocate if you want to challenge any of the decisions about the support we give you (please refer to Advocacy Services in useful information section or talk to your Social Worker or Personal Adviser for more information).

When will my Pathway Plan be completed and reviewed? 

Your initial Pathway Plan will be completed before you are 16 years and 3months old. If you are already over 16 when entering the care of the Local Authority, then your Pathway Plan will be completed within 3 months of your accommodation start date.

Your Pathway Plan will then be reviewed every 6 months or within every 20 working days of any significant change to your plan such as a change of address, significant health event or at your request. Whilst you are under 18 your Social Worker will remain responsible for updating your plan and your IRO will continue to review your plan. Once you turn 18 your Personal Adviser will take over the responsibility of updating your plan.

Independent living skills 

Learning the necessary skills to live independently does not begin after you have left care, it begins whilst you are still being cared for.  You will be encouraged to develop skills to support you to live independently both within your home and via a range of support services.

Your Social Worker and Personal Adviser will begin to assess your independence skills and will provide you with support, advice, and guidance on a range of issues relating to leaving care including:

• Accessing education, employment, and training
• Developing independence skills
• Finding and managing suitable and secure accommodation
• Managing your finances and claiming benefits
• Support to access health services including access to emotional and mental health support

Your Social Worker or Personal Adviser will also help you to access specialist support when you need it, this may include counselling and advice services, issues relating to alcohol and drug use, sexual health, budgeting, and benefits such as Universal Credit, and Housing Benefit.

Your Social Worker or Personal Adviser will work with you to enable you to put into place the things in your life that will enable you to live independently in your own accommodation.

You will be provided with an Independence Pack to help you understand what you need to know to support you to make a positive transition into adulthood.